Modeling and comparative analysis of wet oxidation of various metals for hydrogen production in a fluidized bed power plant

Abstract

Hydrogen can support decarbonization, but its value depends on how it is produced, stored, and integrated into energy systems. Metals are precursors for hydrogen production because they can store energy under ambient conditions and release hydrogen through reaction with steam. This thesis compares aluminum, calcium, magnesium, titanium, and zinc within the same CFB-based EBSILON Professional simulation framework. A validated 90 MWth CFB reference simulation model is adapted from coal combustion to metal-wet oxidation hydrogen production. The comparison uses four indicators: hydrogen heating value, gross electrical output, district-heating output, and total energy efficiency. Zinc gives the highest hydrogen output, with the hydrogen heating value of 59.51 MW. Calcium gives the highest gross electrical output at 26.3 MW, while aluminum gives the highest total energy efficiency and district-heating output, at 88.2% and 18.60 MW. The results show that metal choice strongly affects the balance between hydrogen, electricity, and heat. The main contribution is a consistent comparative EBSILON Professional simulation approach for evaluating metals as precursors for hydrogen production in a CFB-based energy-system context.