Tag: Hydrogen

Low carbon production is attracting considerable attention to using syngas derivatives as fuels, but there are considerable logistical and commercial barriers to overcome.

SunGas Renewables Inc. has formed a new subsidiary, Beaver Lake Renewable Energy, LLC (BLRE), to construct a new green methanol production facility in central Louisiana. The project will have a capacity of 400,000 t/a of green methanol, using gasified biomass, specifically wood fibre from local, sustainably-managed forests as feedstock. The methanol will have a negative carbon intensity through sequestration of the nearly 1.0 million t/a of carbon dioxide produced by the project, which will be executed by Denbury Carbon Solutions. The methanol will then be used as a clean marine fuel by A.P. Moller–Maersk, which is building a fleet of methanol-powered container vessels.

CF Fertilisers UK Limited, a subsidiary of CF Industries, says that it plans to permanently close the ammonia plant at its Billingham fertilizer complex in order to secure the long-term sustainability of its business in the UK. The Company intends to continue to produce ammonium nitrate (AN) fertiliser and nitric acid at the Billingham site using imported ammonia, as it has for the last 10 months following its decision to temporarily idle the plant in August 2022.

The CO2 emissions in a hydrocarbon fed hydrogen plant occur largely during the energy intensive syngas production step. Hydrogen production is therefore a major factor in the CO2 emission balance of an ammonia plant. BASF’s OASE® technologies for CO2 capture are capable of achieving cost-effective 99.99% carbon capture at scale. In this article Elena Petriaeva and Bernhard Geis of BASF investigate different grey and blue hydrogen production technologies.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is increasingly seen as a vital tool in the aviation sector’s transition to net zero. These drop-in fuels, which can be derived from bio and renewable-derived syngas, are used to dilute the fossil-derived components of fuel and are fully compatible with existing fuel infrastructure. This positions SAF as a convenient and rapid route towards decarbonisation. However, questions remain around its ultimate viability at scale and whether it really can be the ‘silver bullet’ aviation leaders are looking for. We spoke to Paul Ticehurst from Johnson Matthey (JM) to shed some light on SAF and the future role of syngas in aviation.

The US Inflation Reduction Act has been a major step in terms of incentivising green syngas production, and has encouraged other governments to look at their own regulatory regimes.

Large-scale ammonia cracking for conversion of ammonia to hydrogen is a proven technology with decades of industrial experience. Topsoe shares its experience within ammonia cracking and presents an improved and highly energy-efficient (96%) ammonia cracking technology, H2Retake™ , developed based on Topsoe’s proven technology and industrial experience.

With the aid of a rigorous kinetic model for TGU hydrogenation reactors, incorporating catalyst deactivation mechanisms, designers and operators can forecast the life expectancy of reactor catalyst beds.

The possible failure of refractory in a Claus unit is a concern to both licensors and operators of Claus units. Bob Poteet of WIKA discusses a novel and easy way to monitor the shell temperature of the Claus thermal reactor using proven technology and highlights the benefits a purge-less thermocouple system for high temperature measurement.

The International Methanol Technology Operators Forum (IMTOF) met at the Leonardo Royal St Paul’s hotel in London from June 11th-14th.