Novel integration of steam-methane reforming with fixed-bed adsorption for efficient blue hydrogen production

Abdelwahab N. Allam; Naef A.A. Qasem; Alaa M. Khedr; Medhat A. Nemitallah; Rached Ben-Mansour; Mohamed A. Habib

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720

Novel integration of steam-methane reforming with fixed-bed adsorption for efficient blue hydrogen production

Abdelwahab N. Allam
, Naef A.A. Qasem^*
, Alaa M. Khedr
, Medhat A. Nemitallah
, Rached Ben-Mansour
, Mohamed A. Habib

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Hydrogen is a promising low-carbon fuel, with blue hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming (SMR) and carbon capture. This study presents a CFD coupled with a user-defined function model in ANSYS Fluent, integrating an SMR reactor with a fixed-bed adsorption unit. Performance was evaluated over SMR temperature (T_SMR) = 873-1073 K, SMR pressure (P_SMR) = 5-20 bar, steam-to-carbon (S/C) = 2-5, gas hourly space velocity = 5000 h−1, and adsorption temperature of 298-358 K. Activated carbon was employed as the adsorbent to capture CO₂, CO, and residual CH₄. Under optimal conditions (T_SMR = 1073 K, P_SMR = 5 bar, S/C = 5, T_ads = 298 K, P_ads = 20 bar), methane conversion, hydrogen purity, and recovery reached 98.15%, 99.87%, and 79.6%. H₂ adsorption reached 2.934 mol kg−1, while CO₂ capacity decreased from 0.80 to 0.17 mol kg−1. A four-bed cyclic system enables continuous hydrogen production.

Original language	English
Article number	155720
Journal	International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume	247
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720
State	Published - 1 Jul 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Adsorption-desorption
Blue hydrogen
Carbon capture
Optimization
Steam methane reforming (SMR)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Fuel Technology
Condensed Matter Physics
Energy Engineering and Power Technology

Access to Document

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720

Cite this

@article{28a29bac0bb84d9cb170b62f94f999a5,

title = "Novel integration of steam-methane reforming with fixed-bed adsorption for efficient blue hydrogen production",

abstract = "Hydrogen is a promising low-carbon fuel, with blue hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming (SMR) and carbon capture. This study presents a CFD coupled with a user-defined function model in ANSYS Fluent, integrating an SMR reactor with a fixed-bed adsorption unit. Performance was evaluated over SMR temperature (TSMR) = 873-1073 K, SMR pressure (PSMR) = 5-20 bar, steam-to-carbon (S/C) = 2-5, gas hourly space velocity = 5000 h−1, and adsorption temperature of 298-358 K. Activated carbon was employed as the adsorbent to capture CO2, CO, and residual CH4. Under optimal conditions (TSMR = 1073 K, PSMR = 5 bar, S/C = 5, Tads = 298 K, Pads = 20 bar), methane conversion, hydrogen purity, and recovery reached 98.15\%, 99.87\%, and 79.6\%. H2 adsorption reached 2.934 mol kg−1, while CO2 capacity decreased from 0.80 to 0.17 mol kg−1. A four-bed cyclic system enables continuous hydrogen production.",

keywords = "Adsorption-desorption, Blue hydrogen, Carbon capture, Optimization, Steam methane reforming (SMR)",

author = "Allam, \{Abdelwahab N.\} and Qasem, \{Naef A.A.\} and Khedr, \{Alaa M.\} and Nemitallah, \{Medhat A.\} and Rached Ben-Mansour and Habib, \{Mohamed A.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.",

year = "2026",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720",

language = "English",

volume = "247",

journal = "International Journal of Hydrogen Energy",

issn = "0360-3199",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Novel integration of steam-methane reforming with fixed-bed adsorption for efficient blue hydrogen production

AU - Allam, Abdelwahab N.

AU - Qasem, Naef A.A.

AU - Khedr, Alaa M.

AU - Nemitallah, Medhat A.

AU - Ben-Mansour, Rached

AU - Habib, Mohamed A.

PY - 2026/7/1

Y1 - 2026/7/1

N2 - Hydrogen is a promising low-carbon fuel, with blue hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming (SMR) and carbon capture. This study presents a CFD coupled with a user-defined function model in ANSYS Fluent, integrating an SMR reactor with a fixed-bed adsorption unit. Performance was evaluated over SMR temperature (TSMR) = 873-1073 K, SMR pressure (PSMR) = 5-20 bar, steam-to-carbon (S/C) = 2-5, gas hourly space velocity = 5000 h−1, and adsorption temperature of 298-358 K. Activated carbon was employed as the adsorbent to capture CO2, CO, and residual CH4. Under optimal conditions (TSMR = 1073 K, PSMR = 5 bar, S/C = 5, Tads = 298 K, Pads = 20 bar), methane conversion, hydrogen purity, and recovery reached 98.15%, 99.87%, and 79.6%. H2 adsorption reached 2.934 mol kg−1, while CO2 capacity decreased from 0.80 to 0.17 mol kg−1. A four-bed cyclic system enables continuous hydrogen production.

AB - Hydrogen is a promising low-carbon fuel, with blue hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming (SMR) and carbon capture. This study presents a CFD coupled with a user-defined function model in ANSYS Fluent, integrating an SMR reactor with a fixed-bed adsorption unit. Performance was evaluated over SMR temperature (TSMR) = 873-1073 K, SMR pressure (PSMR) = 5-20 bar, steam-to-carbon (S/C) = 2-5, gas hourly space velocity = 5000 h−1, and adsorption temperature of 298-358 K. Activated carbon was employed as the adsorbent to capture CO2, CO, and residual CH4. Under optimal conditions (TSMR = 1073 K, PSMR = 5 bar, S/C = 5, Tads = 298 K, Pads = 20 bar), methane conversion, hydrogen purity, and recovery reached 98.15%, 99.87%, and 79.6%. H2 adsorption reached 2.934 mol kg−1, while CO2 capacity decreased from 0.80 to 0.17 mol kg−1. A four-bed cyclic system enables continuous hydrogen production.

KW - Adsorption-desorption

KW - Blue hydrogen

KW - Carbon capture

KW - Optimization

KW - Steam methane reforming (SMR)

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105040805274

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720

DO - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.155720

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105040805274

SN - 0360-3199

VL - 247

JO - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

JF - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

M1 - 155720

ER -

Novel integration of steam-methane reforming with fixed-bed adsorption for efficient blue hydrogen production

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this