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 Hydrogen is used to process crude oil into refined fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, and for removing contaminants, such as sulphur, from these fuels. Total hydrogen consumption in oil refineries is estimated at 12.4 billion standard cubic feet per day, which equates to an average hydrogen consumption of 100-200 standard cubic feet per barrel of oil processed. Hydrogen consumption in the oil refining industry grew at a compound annual growth rate of 4% from 2000 to 2003, and growth in consumption is expected to increase to between 5% and 10% through to 2010 [Oil & Gas Journal, CryoGas International]. The principal drivers of this growth in refinery hydrogen demand are:
- Low sulphur in diesel fuel regulations - hydrogen is used in refineries to remove sulphur from fuels such as diesel.
- Increased consumption of low quality 'heavy' crude oil, which requires more hydrogen to refine.
- Increased oil consumption in developing economies such as China and India.
Approximately 75% of hydrogen currently consumed worldwide by oil refineries is supplied by large hydrogen plants that generate hydrogen from natural gas or other hydrocarbon fuels, with the balance being recovered from hydrogen-containing streams generated in the refinery process. PSA technology is used in both hydrogen generation plants and for hydrogen recovery.
QuestAir Technology
The overall increase in hydrogen demand is expected to drive demand for PSA systems for use in large capacity hydrogen plants, and for recovering hydrogen in oil refineries. QuestAir, in collaboration with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, has developed a large capacity PSA product platform for use in range of refinery applications, including hydrogen recovery from refinery off-gas streams. The QuestAir™ H-6200 product offers significant advantages over conventional PSA systems due to its relatively lower capital and installation costs, smaller equipment footprint and improved performance.
QuestAir™ H-6200 |
