Two-Stage Optimization of Reformer-Based Hydrogen Production Network Considering Cost, Reliability and Safety

Hydrogen can be one of the alternative energy carriers to replace those produced from fossil fuels. Steam methane reforming is a low-cost, high-yielding hydrogen production technique. However, there are other technologies available to produce hydrogen and they can vary in terms of safety, reliability and cost. The variation in technologies has made it challenging to design a safe, reliable and low-cost system. A system with high reliability results in higher capital costs due to added technologies. Therefore, an optimization model addresses all aspects simultaneously. A fuzzy optimization model is used to determine an optimal reformer-based hydrogen production network considering reliability, cost and safety. To illustrate the model framework, a case study with three different scenarios was presented. An inherent safety assessment was carried out to evaluate the inherent safety hazards for each scenario. Based on the results obtained from the case study, an optimal reformer-based hydrogen production network with a trade-off between cost and reliability was developed. The optimized reformer-based hydrogen production network in scenario 3 met all the objectives, with a degree of satisfaction with cost and reliability of 0.58 and 0.66, respectively, and a lower level of inherent safety hazard with a total capital cost of 49,631,850 USD.