Interest around hydrogen utilization and carbon capture to facilitate carbon emissions reductions has been gaining speed in the last few years with new technologies, infrastructure, and policies being developed backed by strong public support.
Hydrogen has potential to be used in various applications such as for high-grade heating in industrial processes, ammonia for fertilizers and chemicals, refining processes, blended with natural gas or other gaseous fuels for electricity generation, transportation fuel, or in the production of ammonia and methanol.
BrightLoop™ Next Generation Low-Carbon Technology for Power and Industry
To meet these challenges, B&W has developed an innovative energy production technology that can simultaneously support industry’s low-carbon initiatives and the energy transition. Our BrightLoop™ chemical looping process can be used for a wide range of applications, including hydrogen production.
The BrightLoop hydrogen production technology can utilize a wide range of feedstocks, including solid fuels such as biomass, coal, petcoke and waste fuels. While the output of the process can be configured in multiple ways, the most beneficial near-term opportunity for using this technology is to produce hydrogen cleanly and efficiently.
The BrightLoop system is highly scalable and can be applied to a range of industrial processes. With its inherent isolation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to enable storage, sequestration or beneficial use, there is no need for post-combustion CO2 scrubbing, thus, significantly reducing both capital and operating costs.
Product output capacity
- Hydrogen
- Steam
- Syngas
- Methanol or other fuels
Advantages
- Solid Fuels can be used as the feedstock
- Low-Carbon Intensity from >95% pure CO2 stream
- Low-Cost Hydrogen production due to efficient process
Applications
- Refineries
- Power generation
- Pulp & paper
- Food manufacturing
- Cement
- Many more
Feedstock
- Natural gas
- Coal
- Petroleum coke
- Biomass
- Biogas
- Organic wastes
BrightGen™ Hydrogen Combustion
Another way that B&W is supporting the hydrogen economy is through our BrightGen™ hydrogen combustion technology. Burning cleaner hydrogen in industrial processes results in lower-carbon intensive byproducts from the combustion process. Hydrogen can comprise 100% of the input fuel or be combined with other readily available gaseous fuels.
We have designed and provided more than 60 industrial water-tube boilers firing hydrogen or a hydrogen-blended fuel throughout the world. We are currently evaluating many opportunities to retrofit solid fuel-fired boilers with BrightGen hydrogen combustion technology. Detailed evaluation of the entire boiler system includes:
- Combustion equipment – burners, ignitors, flame scanners, fuel trains
- Boiler performance – heating surfaces such as superheaters and reheaters
- Air system – fans, air heaters, air ducts, overfire air systems
- Controls – burner management system, control systems