Researchers prepare to start hydrogen fuel production

Posted: August 29, 2012 3:00 p.m.

The hydrogen production pilot plant will be installed in the Greenhouse Gas Technology Centre and is expected to be operational later this fall. Photo: Faculty of Engineering, Jirayu Uttaranakorn

Last year researchers in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science received $2.7 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments through the Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA) to design, construct and commission a hydrogen production pilot plant to demonstrate new hydrogen production technologies being developed at the University of Regina.

This week the newly-constructed plant, built by Continental Technologies in Colorado, USA, was delivered. It will be installed in the University of Regina Greenhouse Gas Technology Centre.

The plant will demonstrate the technical feasibility of novel catalyst-based hydrogen production technology developed by professors Raphael Idem, Hussameldin Ibrahim, and Ataullah Khan.  The technology will enable hydrogen to be produced from both hydrocarbon and bio-fuels and will capture CO2, a portion of which is utilized in the process. The catalyst technology and plant are feed and process-flexible, meaning operators can switch between fuel sources without changing catalysts and disrupting plant operations.  The technology will also allow hydrogen to be produced on much smaller scales than the current steam-based processes.

The pilot plant is expected to be operational by October, 2012.