The feed-in trial run of Inner Mongolia Qinghua’s 35,000 Nm³/h methanol-to-hydrogen project was successful

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Recently, the 35,000 Nm³/h methanol-to-hydrogen project operated by Wusitai Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. of Inner Mongolia Qinghua Group succeeded in its commissioning trial run, producing high-quality hydrogen with a purity of 99.99%. The successful commissioning of the methanol-to-hydrogen project signifies that Inner Mongolia Qinghua Group Wusitai Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd. is now able to operate all facilities in the park at full capacity, thereby further enhancing the flexibility of its product portfolio and its resilience to risks. This device utilizes the advanced methanol-to-hydrogen technology and PSA pressure swing adsorption technology provided by Hangzhou Pufico Air Separation Equipment Co., Ltd., as well as high-performance copper catalysts and PSA adsorbents developed by the Southwest Chemical Research Institute, along with reliable and stable programmable control valves. The device uses methanol and deionized water as raw materials; the heat provided by a heat transfer oil furnace is utilized to vaporize methanol and water, which are then cracked and reacted under the action of a catalyst to produce shift gas ； The shifted gas then passes through a PSA system, where the selective adsorption properties of adsorbents are utilized to adsorb impurities in the shifted gas (mainly CO and CO2), thereby separating hydrogen with a purity exceeding 99.9%. Based on the calibration results obtained after the device was operating stably, it consumes less energy and methanol compared to similar domestic devices, demonstrating significant energy-saving and economic benefits. Construction of the methanol-to-hydrogen project began in March 2023. By the end of June 2023, all the equipment and structural foundations for the project had been completed, and all hydraulic tests were finished by November 20, 2023, meeting the design requirements. On March 24, 2024, with the issuance of the feeding command, the commissioning trial run of the 35,000 Nm³/h methanol-to-hydrogen plant was a success from the first attempt, producing hydrogen of qualified purity at 99.99%. At full capacity, this unit can produce 35,000 Nm³/h of hydrogen, which is sufficient to meet the hydrogen demand of the company’s 160,000 tons/year and 500,000 tons/year coal tar hydrogenation units when they are both operating at full capacity, thereby ensuring a stable supply of hydrogen. Qinghua Wustai Energy & Chemical has a facility for producing methanol from coke oven gas with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons, a unit for hydrogen extraction from exhaust gases with a capacity of 13,000 cubic meters, a plant for producing synthetic ammonia with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons, and a facility for converting methanol into methylamine with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons.