Solid oxygen hydrogen liquefaction, the missing link for blue hydrogen production

This repository contains the code and data for the paper "Solid oxygen hydrogen liquefaction, the missing link for blue hydrogen production" by J. D. Hunt, D. M. Prabhudharwadkar, M. A. Vasconcelos de Freitas, W. L. Roberts and H. E. Beck.

Solid oxygen hydrogen liquefaction (SOHL) ships liquid hydrogen from a blue hydrogen exporter to an importer. At the import terminal, the cold of the regasifying hydrogen separates air and freezes the oxygen in the empty cargo tank. The solid oxygen returns to the exporter, where its cold pre-cools the hydrogen liquefier and the oxygen feeds the autothermal reformer that makes the next cargo.

The repository includes the Python models used in the paper: the enthalpy balances and pinch cascades at both terminals, a stage-by-stage model of the air separation unit at the import terminal, the autothermal reformer and its carbon capture, the cost balance against a conventional liquid hydrogen chain, the Monte Carlo analysis and the comparison with ammonia. It also includes the scripts that draw every figure, and the data behind every figure and table of the paper and its Supplementary Information. Data that the paper only summarizes are included too: all 5,000 Monte Carlo samples, the alternative air separation designs and the sensitivity runs.

Running run_all.sh reproduces all results in a few minutes. The README maps each figure and table to its data file and script. The code is released under the MIT licence and the data under CC BY 4.0. The map uses the public-domain Natural Earth land polygons.