H2 supply routes scored
Docker-Generated Hydrogen Balance
Hydrogen Integration Lab
A 3D decision surface for checking whether hydrotreating hydrogen can be supplied from HTL water, wastewater biogas, green electrolysis, or fallback merchant hydrogen.
kg H2 per tonne dry sludge for deep diesel HDN
top-route coverage of deep H2 demand
kg biocrude modeled per tonne dry sludge
Highest research leverage. Treat the aqueous phase as both a liability and a hydrogen source before buying external H2.
HTL aqueous electrocatalytic oxidation
A 2025 PNNL sewage-sludge HTL balance reports HTL aqueous COD could produce all hydrotreating H2 needs with surplus while treating the water stream.
Electrode life, real HTL-aqueous fouling, nitrogen/chloride byproducts, current efficiency, H2 purity, and full plant energy balance.HTL wastewater aqueous phase reforming
Aqueous phase reforming can convert organics in HTL wastewater into renewable H2 and lower downstream treatment burden.
Catalyst poisoning by nitrogen/sulfur/salts, tar/coke, liquid hourly space velocity, gas cleanup, and pilot uptime.The Docker selection model pairs HTL aqueous electrocatalytic oxidation + WWTP biogas steam reforming as the current highest-scoring two-route integration branch under an aqueous-phase gate and energy-penalty constraint.
Current hydrogen decision
Close hydrogen from the water side before buying the answer
The generated balance ranks HTL aqueous electrocatalytic oxidation first because it ties two hard problems together: treating the HTL aqueous phase and supplying hydrotreating hydrogen. Biogas steam reforming is the near-infrastructure backup, while merchant SMR hydrogen should stay a benchmark for tests rather than the commercial carbon basis.
Mild stabilization
3 kg H210 g H2/kg biocrude for 300 kg modeled biocrude.
Deep renewable diesel HDN
11.07 kg H236.9 g H2/kg biocrude for 300 kg modeled biocrude.
SAF long-shot severity
13.8 kg H246 g H2/kg biocrude for 300 kg modeled biocrude.
Aqueous phase treatment + H2
83.4HTL aqueous electrocatalytic oxidation
A 2025 PNNL sewage-sludge HTL balance reports HTL aqueous COD could produce all hydrotreating H2 needs with surplus while treating the water stream.
- Coverage
- 126% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 13.95 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Electrode life, real HTL-aqueous fouling, nitrogen/chloride byproducts, current efficiency, H2 purity, and full plant energy balance.
Biogas-to-H2
75.7WWTP biogas steam reforming
Anaerobic digestion already makes methane-rich biogas at many plants; 2026 optimization work shows wastewater-site H2 production can be economically attractive.
- Coverage
- 263.3% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 29.15 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Biogas cleanup, methane slip, CO2 handling, steam demand, reformer scale, uptime, and whether diverting biogas hurts plant power needs.
Electric H2 + WWT oxygen credit
72.3Green electrolysis with oxygen reuse
Electrolysis can decarbonize H2 if renewable power is real, and 2026 wastewater research highlights oxygen co-product reuse in aeration.
- Coverage
- 100% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 11.07 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Renewable power availability, electrolyzer capacity factor, oxygen transfer value, water quality, interconnection, and H2 storage safety.
Aqueous phase reforming
70.4HTL wastewater aqueous phase reforming
Aqueous phase reforming can convert organics in HTL wastewater into renewable H2 and lower downstream treatment burden.
- Coverage
- 82% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 9.08 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Catalyst poisoning by nitrogen/sulfur/salts, tar/coke, liquid hourly space velocity, gas cleanup, and pilot uptime.
Purchased hydrogen
50.7Merchant SMR hydrogen benchmark
Merchant H2 is the practical fallback for bench work, but it can erase carbon-intensity benefits if used as the commercial basis.
- Coverage
- 100% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 11.07 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Delivered price, scope 2/3 emissions, storage, safety case, and sensitivity of fuel carbon intensity to fossil H2.
Hydrothermal in-situ H2 donor
40.5Zero-valent metal in-situ hydrogen
Fe and Zn can generate reducing equivalents during hydrothermal upgrading, but the route adds reagent and residual-management questions.
- Coverage
- 28% of deep diesel H2 demand
- Available H2
- 3.1 kg/t dry sludge
- Must prove
- Metal dose, residual Zn/Fe, salt burden, product quality, lifecycle impact, reagent recovery, and scale economics.
Generated pair selection
Highest-scoring two-route branch
HTL aqueous electrocatalytic oxidation
Electrode life, real HTL-aqueous fouling, nitrogen/chloride byproducts, current efficiency, H2 purity, and full plant energy balance.
WWTP biogas steam reforming
Biogas cleanup, methane slip, CO2 handling, steam demand, reformer scale, uptime, and whether diverting biogas hurts plant power needs.
hydrogen-pnnl-eco-2025
Electrocatalytic oxidation of HTL aqueous phase for treatment and H2 production
PNNL reports a preliminary sewage-sludge HTL balance where aqueous-phase COD could cover hydrotreating H2 demand with surplus.
Open sourcehydrogen-apr-pilot-2025
Renewable hydrogen from HTL wastewater via aqueous phase reforming
Lab-to-pilot APR route for turning organic-laden HTL wastewater into hydrogen.
Open sourcehydrogen-biogas-reforming-2026
Biogas steam reforming for hydrogen at wastewater treatment plants
2026 thermodynamic optimization and TEA for wastewater-plant biogas reforming to H2.
Open sourcehydrogen-o2-valorization-2026
Valorising co-produced oxygen from green hydrogen systems in wastewater treatment
2026 wastewater/hydrogen integration paper highlighting oxygen co-product reuse.
Open sourcehydrogen-rsc-wet-waste-2026
Wet-waste HTL TEA/LCA with different upgrading strategies
Product-slate and hydrotreating severity context for hydrogen demand and carbon intensity.
Open sourcehydrogen-zvm-2025
Zero-valent metals as hydrogen generators for sewage-sludge biocrude upgrading
Exploratory Fe/Zn in-situ hydrogen donor route under hydrothermal conditions.
Open sourcehydrogen-aqueous-recirculation-review-2026
Aqueous phase recirculation in hydrothermal liquefaction review
2026 review framing HTL aqueous phase as carbon, cost, and treatment lever.
Open sourcehydrogen-aqueous-treatment-2025
Effects of HTL aqueous phase on activated sludge
Treatment compatibility context for returning or treating HTL aqueous phase.
Open sourcehydrogen-biomethane-2026
Enhanced biomethane production from municipal wastewater organics
2026 wastewater organic recovery and biomethane context for onsite gas resources.
Open sourcehydrogen-drop-in-report-2024
IEA Bioenergy Task 39 drop-in biofuels and co-processing update
Drop-in fuel and co-processing context for hydrogen and refinery integration.
Open source