HydroMine

The project with the acronym HydroMine, titled " Development of hydrogen-oriented municipal waste refinery based on a novel borehole gasification process combined with advanced gas separation techniques " is an international action, co-financed under the Research Fund for Coal and Steel on the basis of Grant Agreement No.: 101112629 - HydroMine, of 11/07/2023

Duration of the project::
November 1^st, 2023 – October 31^st, 2026

The Project Coodinatort and the Head of the project in GIG-PIB:
dr Krzysztof Kapusta
Department of Energy Saving and Air Protection
e-mail: kkapusta@gig.eu
tel. 32 324 65 35

Description of the action:

The HydroMine project proposed an innovative approach to the production of hydrogen from the high-energy fraction of municipal solid waste (Refuse Derived Fuel - RDF). An innovative method of RDF gasification in batch mode using horizontal channels in the created raw material bed and technology oriented towards hydrogen production will be developed based on the previous experience of the project consortium members in the field of in-situ coal gasification. The project will use the existing research infrastructure, previously used to conduct research and development work in the area of ​​in situ coal gasification, located at the Center for Clean Coal Technologies (CCTW) of GIG. As part of the HydroMine project, the existing fixed-bed gasification reactor with a length of 7 m will be adapted to gasify waste raw material - RDF. Raw RDF provided by one of the industrial partners of the project - MASTER Odpady i Energia Sp. z o. o., will be subject to preliminary processing (refining) using techniques used for mechanical processing of coal in an aqueous medium. The project also involves conducting research, experimental and modeling work on the separation of carbon dioxide produced in the gasification process, in a form ready for use in CCU/CCS technologies (CO₂ storage and use). For this purpose, membrane separation processes of CO₂ from other gas components (H₂, CO, CH₄) located at the gas outlet from the gasification installation will be used. In order to increase the degree of hydrogen recovery and purity, the operation of the membrane separation module will be supported by two additional processes - pressure swing adsorption using MOF (Metal-Organic Framework) sorbents and plasma-catalytic conversion. As part of the project, an intensive research program will be carried out aimed at increasing the technological readiness of the proposed solution from the current TRL level estimated at 2-3 to 4-5, through independent validation of individual process stages and their conceptual integration.

The project consortium:

1. GŁÓWNY INSTYTUT GÓRNICTWA - PAŃSTWOWY INSTYTUT BADAWCZY (GIG-PIB), Poland – the coordinator,
2. HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM POTSDAM EUTSCHESGEOFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM GFZ (GFZ), Germany,
3. CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE (CNR-ITM), Italy,
4. MASTER - ODPADY I ENERGIA SPÓŁKA Z OGRANICZONĄ ODPOWIEDZIALNOŚCIĄ (MASTER), Poland,
5. MATERIA NOVA (MANO), Belgium,
6. IPAS (IPAS), Belgium,
7. UNIVERSITE DE MONS (UMONS), Belgium.