Energy, Exergy and Thermoeconomic Analyses on Hydrogen Production Systems Using High-Temperature Gas-Cooled and Water-Cooled Nuclear Reactors

The use of nuclear energy is inevitable to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels in the energy sector. High-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) are considered as a system suitable for the purpose of reducing the use of fossil fuels. Furthermore, eco-friendly mass production of hydrogen is crucial because hydrogen is emerging as a next-generation energy carrier. The unit cost of hydrogen production by the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) method varies widely depending on the energy source and system configuration. In this study, energy, exergy, and thermoeconomic analyses were performed on the hydrogen production system using the HTGR and high-temperature water-cooled nuclear reactor (HTWR) to calculate reasonable unit cost of the hydrogen produced using a thermoeconomic method called modified production structure analysis (MOPSA). A flowsheet analysis was performed to confirm the energy conservation in each component. The electricity generated from the 600 MW HTGR system was used to produce 1.28 kmol/s of hydrogen by electrolysis to split hot water vapor. Meanwhile, 515 MW of heat from the 600 MW HTWR was used to produce 8.10 kmol/s of hydrogen through steam reforming, and 83.6 MW of electricity produced by the steam turbine was used for grid power. The estimated unit cost of hydrogen from HTGR is approximately USD 35.6/GJ with an initial investment cost of USD 2.6 billion. If the unit cost of natural gas is USD 10/GJ, and the carbon tax is USD 0.08/kg of carbon dioxide, the unit cost of hydrogen produced from HTWR is approximately USD 13.92/GJ with initial investment of USD 2.32 billion. The unit cost of the hydrogen produced in the scaled-down plant was also considered.