How to minimize hydrogen consumption in hydrogenation units
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My facility is a 600,000-ton hydrogen refining unit; the hydrogen consumption remains high. To maintain stable high pressures, the high-pressure control valve is kept in a state of slight venting. Is there any effective way to recover and reuse this hydrogen?
All of our waste hydrogen is directed to the heating furnace for combustion. If the hydrogen consumption increases. 1 is due to the deterioration in the properties of the crude oil; in order to maintain product quality, hydrogen consumption inevitably increases. 2 is due to the low purity of the new hydrogen; if the hydrogen purity is high, the amount of hydrogen required for the reaction decreases accordingly.
OP, doesn’t your new hydrogen compressor have a two-to-one control valve? It can be used to adjust the system pressure, or the inlet and outlet lines of the fresh hydrogen compressor can be adjusted to regulate the system pressure, thereby eliminating the need to control the pressure through the high-pressure hydrogen discharge system.
It is highly recommended to add a membrane separation unit, so that the permeated hydrogen can be returned to the liquid separation tank at the inlet of the first or other stages of the hydrogen processing system!! The non-permeated hydrogen can be sent to the waste gas treatment facility!
Minimal venting is essential to maintain stable system pressure. The hydrogen from this portion, along with the gas separated at lower pressures, enters the gas buffer tank as fuel for the heating furnace, thus being fully utilized. With the system pressure stable, the amount of gas that needs to be vented is very small, so there is no need for recycling it. If the hydrogen consumption is high, it’s due to the reasons mentioned on the 2nd floor; there’s nothing else to do but choose a better catalyst.
Our plant is also a hydrogenation refining unit with a capacity of 600,000 tons. The methods we use to save hydrogen are as follows: 1. Control the reaction temperature appropriately while ensuring product quality; 2. Increase the concentration of fresh hydrogen; 3. Make use of the two-return-one-control mechanism of the fresh hydrogen system to regulate the pressure in the reaction system; 4. Improve the properties of the raw materials; 5. Minimize the discharge of expensive hydrogen while maintaining the appropriate hydrogen partial pressure in the reaction system; 6. Reduce mechanical leaks; 7. Adjust process parameters in a timely manner; 8. Control the hydrogen-to-oil ratio appropriately
My personal approach to saving hydrogen is as follows: 1. Use a circulating hydrogen desulfurization system, and avoid the practice of releasing waste hydrogen. Achieve “zero” emissions. 2. When the product quality is satisfactory, strive to reduce the reactor inlet temperature and hydrogen partial pressure.