Abstract
Various pathways have been adopted for hydrogen production over the years, with technologies like steam methane reforming, often referred to as the 'brown' or 'blue' hydrogen, being the most prevalent. Different colors correspond to different production pathways, each having its life cycle greenhouse gas emissions. Using process simulation results as the major life cycle inventory data, life cycle impact assessment results for brown and blue hydrogen pathways have been presented. The results of the life cycle analysis study were utilized to determine the set of optimum operating conditions, with the global warming potential (GWP) corresponding to the blue hydrogen pathway at the optimal operating conditions being 33 % less than the optimal brown hydrogen counterpart. The operating cost for the brown hydrogen pathway at the optimal operating conditions can be reduced up to 69 % for the studied range of process operating conditions.
