Hydrogen separation in advanced gasification processes (Hydrosep).
Date: 2012-02-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: hydrogen, industrial research, iron and steel industry, steel

The  project  concentrated  on  the  development  of  high-capacity  carbon-based 
adsorbents to capture CO2, and thin-film metal and composite membranes for hydrogen 
separation  with  polymer  gas-liquid  contact  membranes  for  cold  removal  of  CO2  and 
other  acid  gases.  Also,  an  evaluation  of  integrating  hydrogen  production  units  into  an 
IGCC  power  plant  was  undertaken  to  facilitate  the  future  utilisation  of  the  adsorbents 
and membranes developed. 

On  the  laboratory  scale,  high  capacity  carbon-based  sorbents  were  developed  and 
optimised  for  their  CO2  adsorption  efficiency  at  both  low  and  high  pressures.  Larger 
(kilogram) quantities of the best performers were prepared and similarly tested. Ceramic 
membranes were studied and means to improve their selectivity in hydrogen separation 
investigated. Novel thin-film metallic membranes were deposited on porous supports to 
assess  their  efficacy  in  hydrogen  separation  and  in  catalytic  conversion  via  the  water–
gas  shift  reaction,  and  were  tested  in  a  novel  reactor.  Polymer  membranes  were  also 
tested for their ability to remove CO2 from syngas by liquid contact, thereby resulting in 
a higher purity fuel gas. Design for integration scale of some of these technologies on an 
industrial into an existing IGCC plant at Puertollano, Spain, were developed. 

K
I
-
N
A
-
2
5
0
7
1
-
E
N
-
N

doi:2777/20679

E
U

H
y
d
r
o
g
e
n
s
e
p
a
r
a
t
i
o
n

i

n
a
d
v
a
n
c
e
d
g
a
s
i
f
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
p
r
o
c
e
s
s
e
s

(

H
y
d
r
o
s
e
p

)

E
U
R
2
5
0
7
1

Hydrogen separation in 
advanced gasification processes 
(Hydrosep)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interested in European research?

RTD  info  is  our  quarterly  magazine  keeping  you  in  touch  with  main  developments  (results, 
programmes, events, etc.). It is available in English, French and German. A free sample copy 
or free subscription can be obtained from:

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Information and Communication Unit
European Commission
1049 Bruxelles/Brussel
BELGIQUE/BELGIË
Fax +32 229-58220
E-mail: research@ec.europa.eu
Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo.html

HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS 

Free publications: 

•  via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu); 

•  at the European Union’s representations or delegations. You can obtain their 

contact details on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu) or by sending a fax  
to +352 2929-42758. 

Priced publications: 

•  via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu). 

Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the Official Journal of the 
European Union and reports of cases before the Court of Justice  
of the European Union): 

•  via one of the sales agents of the Publications Office of the European Union 

(http://publications.europa.eu/others/agents/index_en.htm). 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Research Fund for Coal and Steel Unit

Contact: RFCS publications
Address: European Commission, CDMA 0/178, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Fax +32 229-65987; e-mail: rtd-steel-coal@ec.europa.eu