� TECHNOLOGY �
Two-step thermochemical hydrogen and fuel production technologies have also been almost exclusively tied to concentrating solar power , which greatly limits potential operational sites while imposing low-capacity factors and high capital costs . By shifting to electrical and waste heat to drive the reaction , OMC can globally deploy industrially integrated , low-cost systems .
Current status
Along with the aforementioned ongoing durability campaign , OMC has supported the development of an integrated prototype reactor at CU Boulder , one that is capable of producing 30kg of syngas per day in a configuration that resembles what we project a commercialscale reactor will likely adopt . Here , efforts are underway to formally establish the recordbreaking energetic efficiencies that CU ’ s innovations in material formulation and operating strategy ( i . e ., isothermal , pressure swing ) consequently enable .
OMC seeks to begin design work on a pilot facility in the next few months and work on its detailed design in 2024 . To this end , OMC is looking for partners that have underutilized waste heat and
CO 2 emissions or have an interest in low-cost hydrogen production and / or reduction of
CO 2 into CO or syngas .
Potential applications
OMC ’ s process can utilize waste heat across a broad range of temperatures , including up to blast furnace temperatures . In principle , the more waste heat available , the less heat is needed to directly support the OMC process . In this manner , the ability for heat integration could lead to a much lower balance of plant energy consumption when compared to competing approaches , such as lowtemperature electrolysis .
Furthermore , OMC ’ s process could convert CO 2 from existing steelmaking processes into CO or syngas ( if H 2
O was also a reactant ), which could be recycled back into the steelmaking process as a reducing gas , thus greatly lowering overall process CO 2 emissions . By circumventing the need for a catalyst , OMC ’ s technology is intrinsically tolerant to impurities in flue
About the authors
Britt Boughey , MS , MBA , PE , is the CEO of OMC Thermochemistry and has extensive leadership experience in power , energy , and fuels R & D .
gas streams . We look forward to discussing gas compositions and their process implications with interested parties .
If usage as a reducing process gas is not desired , there are multiple mature conversion technologies for upgrading syngas into products such as diesel and jet fuel , lubricants , chemical precursors such as ethylene , or alcohols such as methanol or ethanol . These may present higher economic value than use as a reducing gas while still lowering the carbon intensity of the produced steel .
OMC could also supply hydrogen to any current need or in the future Direct Reduction of Iron facilities . The potential for heat integration and the ability to rapidly scale to commercial volumes could change what is possible in this field in both aspects of cost and deployment times .
Kent Warren , PhD , is the CSO of OMC Thermochemistry and a Research Associate at the University of Colorado Boulder . Dr . Warren has published and patented research in a variety of applications that involve thermochemical transformations .
Green Steel World | Issue 9 | November 2023 27