Optimizing a blue hydrogen fuelled gas turbine combined cycle

Hydrogen has gained significant momentum in recent years due to its versatility in addressing various challenges within the energy system. As the electricity sector evolves with increased integration of renewable sources and a growing need to limit CO2 emissions, the utilization of hydrogen as fuel in technologies such as gas turbines has gained considerable attention. However, the current production of green hydrogen remains limited. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), hydrogen production is estimated to have generated approximately 920 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2023, with only about 1% of global hydrogen classified as low carbon. A promising solution for this transitional period is "blue hydrogen," which combines traditional steam methane reforming (SMR) with carbon capture technology to mitigate the impact of hydrogen production. The reforming process is highly endothermic, requiring the combustion of natural gas to provide heat, while the carbon capture unit also consumes significant energy for solvent regeneration, making both processes highly energy-intensive. This highlights the critical need for effective process integration to limit their impact on the environment. In this short paper, we focus on the first step in optimizing the integration of a gas turbine combined cycle powered by blue hydrogen, which involves performing a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the impact of the parameters in the flue gases of the SMR. The analysis will be done by employing Aspen Plus models for each system. Additionally, pinch analysis, a well-established method for energy integration, is utilized to improve system efficiency. As a result of this analysis, key parameters impacting the performance of the system are identified. To facilitate the integration of hydrogen into the energy system,