Sustainability assessment of blue hydrogen production through biomass gasification: A comparative analysis of thermal, solar, and wind energy sources

This study evaluated three blue hydrogen production processes - solar-grid powered, wind-powered, and thermal power grid (TPG) - considering the context of Hong Kong, SAR, China. A process sustainability analysis was performed based on energy, economic, and environmental (3E) factors. The energy efficiency analysis indicates that the TPG system is the most energy-efficient with 64% efficiency, followed by the wind power system at 63% and the hybrid solar-grid powered system at 60%. The economic analysis results indicate that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCH) is 2.165 $/kg for the TPG system, 2.132 $/kg for the hybrid solar-grid powered system, and 2.060 $/kg for the wind power system. The environmental assessment suggests that wind powered are eco-friendly with a unit point total (mu Pt) of 1.11, compared to the solar-grid 1.50 mu Pt and TPG system's 1.70 mu Pt. Therefore, 3E analysis proposes wind powered process is more sustainable for blue H2 production.