| dc.description.abstract | In recent years, green hydrogen has emerged as one of the energy carriers for the future sustainable development of our society. Due to its non-emission of pollutants during its generation and use, hydrogen is seen as a perfect substitute for current fossil fuels. However, the main drawback of producing hydrogen via water electrolysis and using renewable energies to supply energy is its lack of economic competitiveness compared to existing energy carriers. Therefore, this thesis focuses on analysing the sustainability of a green hydrogen production plant, not only considering its environmental parameters but throughout its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) is selected as the most prominent method of green hydrogen production in the medium to long term. Subsequently, a small-scale production plant is simulated using Aspen HYSYS software, which provides key data for evaluating sustainability indicators. The selected indicators are based on the Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for the Environmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a Multi Objective Process Evaluator (GREENSCOPE) methodology, and they are used to compare the simulated PEM plant with an Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) plant, which is a more mature technology. Finally, to analyse the real feasibility of this process, a scaling-up process of the process simulation is carried out. | |
