Thermodynamic investigation of the hydrogen production by steam reforming of the biogas from manipueira

The use of renewable energy has become a necessary alternative to reduce the emission of polluting gases in the atmosphere. Hydrogen is a promising alternative fuel and its use has increased in the last decade. There are different ways of producing hydrogen, however there are few reports in the literature on the production of biohydrogen using waste water from the processing of cassava (manipueira). This study discusses the exergetic efficiency of the biohydrogen production using a large factory production plant using the HYSYS process simulation software (version 8.0). Exergy is a part of the energy used to become useful and, therefore, linked to an economic perspective of an adjusted project. The exergetic analysis revealed that the steam reformer and the steam generator are the most inefficiently equipment of the exergetic point of view. The overall efficiency of the simulated plant is 73.71%, which represents a value very similar to reports in the literature of hydrogen production, by steam reforming, using other kinds of fuels. Finally, we can conclude that the production of H2 by steam reforming can be a viable alternative, considering the good exergetic performance of the plant.