Hydrogen is one of the most important components of the clean energy system of the future. At present, the production of environmentally "pure" hydrogen is associated with high energy costs in the implementation of the water electrolysis process and steam methane reforming process due to the separation, capture and storing of carbon dioxide. Hydrogen Source AS has developed a technology for Hydrogen Generation from Hydrocarbons Sub-terrain (HGHS) and hydrogen production without emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The HGHS process can be also applied in low permeable reservoirs, noncommercial hydrocarbon fields; in the depleted gas and gas-oil fields at the late production stage for conversion of remaining non-economic reserves to hydrogen for its commercial production; in coal fields containing methane.
This article presents the results of an assessment of HGHS application in a field with residual, non-commercial hydrocarbon reserves. In experiments carried out in high-temperature reactors at reservoir pressures, the degree of conversion of hydrocarbons to hydrogen was up to 70%. In the HGHS process in addition to steam reforming of hydrocarbons also a catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons is taking place. A numerical chemical-thermal model of the process, history matched by experimental data, was used in reservoir simulations and for assessing economic efficiency of HGHS. Application of HGHS in a depleted field becomes profitable and achieves a payback with the conversion to hydrogen of more than 5% of the remaining hydrocarbons in place. The estimates show that the cost of hydrogen produced in the HGHS process is several times lower than in he currently widely used steam methane reforming or water electrolysis.
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