Simulation Study to Investigate the Effects of Operational Conditions on Methylcyclohexane Dehydrogenation for Hydrogen Production

Abstract

In the recent era, hydrogen has gained immense consideration as a clean-energy carrier. Its storage is, however, still the main hurdle in the implementation of a hydrogen-based clean economy. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are a potential option for hydrogen storage in ambient conditions, and can contribute to the clean-fuel concept in the future. In the present work, a parametric and simulation study was carried out for the storage and release of hydrogen for the methylcyclohexane toluene system. In particular, the methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation reaction is investigated over six potential catalysts for the temperature range of 300–450 °C and a pressure range of 1–3 bar to select the best catalyst under optimum operating conditions. Moreover, the effects of hydrogen addition in the feed mixture, and byproduct yield, are also studied as functions of operating conditions. The best catalyst selected for the process is 1 wt. % Pt/γ-Al2O3. The optimum operating conditions selected for the dehydrogenation process are 360 °C and 1.8 bar. Hydrogen addition in the feed reduces the percentage of methylcyclohexane conversion but is required to enhance the catalyst’s stability. Aspen HYSYS v. 9.0 (AspenTech, Lahore, Pakistan) has been used to carry out the simulation study.