This Week in Engineering explores the latest in Engineering from academia, government and industry.
Episode Summary:
Decarbonization of transportation is a high priority in the battle to reach Paris Accord CO2 targets, but in heavy trucks and industrial power, there are few alternatives to fossil fuels with current technology. Cummins Inc., a large diesel engine maker, has developed a series of fuel agnostic diesel engines for commercial use that can run on diesel fuel, natural gas, or hydrogen gas. If run on blue hydrogen, CO2 emissions can be reduced or eliminated, and a new project at the world’s largest oil refinery will demonstrate blue hydrogen with low-cost carbon capture. The Reliance Industries Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, India, will make blue hydrogen from syngas production, part of a coke gasifier process. Reliance expects carbon capture at 30 percent of the cost of atmospheric capture.
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Transcript of this week’s show:
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Decarbonization of transportation is a key part of the fight against global warming, with electric vehicles widely regarded as logical next step for cars and trucks. EVs, however are not the only way to achieve zero carbon emissions, and Columbus, Indiana-based engine maker Cummins has introduced a new engine that the firm calls “fuel agnostic”, capable of operating on either diesel fuel, natural gas, or hydrogen.
Natural gas has a long history in internal combustion engines and is a proven technology in diesel cycle power plants. Although not carbon neutral, natural gas is widely recognized an efficient intermediate fuel with a lower carbon footprint than diesel fuel, but the significance of the new Cummins engine series is that a zero CO2 hydrogen fuelled version shares the same engine architecture below the head gasket as the diesel and natural gas variants. Cummins X series, L-series and B series engines will be offered with hydrogen fuelling.
With a common engine block architecture, engineers designing equipment for diesel or natural gas power can specify a hydrogen power plant with minimal changes in engine mounting, accessory drives or cooling systems. Hydrogen as a fuel for internal combustion engines has not been extensively explored compared to hydrogen fuel cells generating electricity, technology first widely applied in spacecraft.
According to Cummins, burning hydrogen gas in an engine has another key advantage beyond packaging commonality with diesels: hydrogen ICEs tolerate hydrogen gas with higher levels of impurities than fuel cells can tolerate. Locations where hydrogen gas supply can be made locally with existing technologies, like methane steam reforming, combined with the ability to use industrial grade gas can significantly lower operating costs. But could that hydrogen be made both carbon neutral and cost effective?
Fossil fuel derived hydrogen carries a CO2 cost compared to electrolyzer hydrogen but is significantly cheaper. One possibility is carbon capture at the point of production, a strategy planned by India’s Reliance Industries for the firm’s Jamnagar oil refinery in Gujarat India. There, blue hydrogen will be produced from syngas, which is already made at the refinery’s petroleum coke gasifier complex, in significant volumes, up to a million tons annually.
Keeping costs competitive, currently estimated at just under $1.50 a kilogram, depends on the carbon capture scheme. The gasifier system produces highly concentrated CO2 byproduct which can be captured at 15 million tons per year at the refinery at 30 percent of the cost of atmospheric carbon capture technologies. Diesel engines use fossil fuels in the form of kerosene and natural gas, but in the future, they might use fossil fuel derived hydrogen, without the CO2 impact, but with similar performance.