Hydrogen production unit and PSA unit
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Gentlemen, I have a question that confuses me. The hydrogen production unit itself includes a PSA section; I originally thought that the hydrogen derived from styrene could be fed directly into the PSA section of the hydrogen production unit after being cooled and pressurized. However, after doing some research recently, I found that in some plants, the hydrogen production unit and the PSA unit are separate entities, with their utility consumption also tracked separately. This makes me quite puzzled. Can styrene hydrogen concentration really make use of the PSA section of hydrogen production plants? Why are these two systems separate in some plants? Thank you!
Hydrogen production is different from concentration; since the composition of the feed gas varies, as do the flow rate and pressure, it is better to consider them separately based on the actual conditions.
Are there any other considerations? Please share your opinions
The adsorbent used in hydrogen production PSA units is mainly molecular sieves designed to adsorb CO, CO2, CH4, and a small amount of moisture. Due to the differences in the composition of various gases, their molecular size, structure, polarity, and other properties vary, which in turn results in different adsorption capacities and abilities of the adsorbent. Therefore, to concentrate styrene via hydrogenation, a suitable adsorbent must be selected.
I am currently working on hydrogen production. As far as I know, the PSA section is designed by specialized companies for the hydrogen production process; therefore, it cannot be used for other purposes without appropriate modifications
Since large-scale plants include not only refining units but also equipment for ethylene cracking or aromatic reforming, such units consume pure hydrogen, yet they produce back a portion of hydrogen that contains about 90% hydrocarbons; this hydrogen has different properties from that produced by hydrogen generation, so separation is relatively more complex. To be more specific, I can’t be sure about PSA since I’ve never operated it in practice.