Total Site Hydrogen Integration with fresh hydrogen of multiple quality and waste hydrogen recovery in refineries

This paper proposes a novel method combining Pinch Methodology and waste hydrogen recovery, aiming to minimise fresh hydrogen consumption and waste hydrogen discharge. The method of multiple-level resource Pinch Analysis is extended to the level of Total Site Hydrogen Integration by considering fresh hydrogen sources with various quality. Waste hydrogen after Total Site Integration is further regenerated. The technical feasibility and economy of the various purification approaches are considered, demonstrated with a case study of a refinery hydrogen network in a petrochemical industrial park. The results showed that fresh hydrogen usage and waste hydrogen discharge could be reduced by 21.3% and 67.6%. The hydrogen recovery ratio is 95.2%. It has significant economic benefits and a short payback period for Total Site Hydrogen Integration with waste hydrogen purification. The proposed method facilitates the reuse of waste hydrogen before the purification process that incurs an additional environmental footprint. In line with the CircularEconomy principles, hydrogen resource is retained in the system as long as possible before discharge.(c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper proposes a novel method that combines Pinch Methodology and waste hydrogen recovery to minimize fresh hydrogen consumption and waste hydrogen discharge. The method extends the multiple-level resource Pinch Analysis to Total Site Hydrogen Integration, considering fresh hydrogen sources with different qualities. A case study of a refinery hydrogen network in a petrochemical industrial park demonstrates the technical feasibility and economic benefits of various purification approaches. The results show a reduction of 21.3% in fresh hydrogen usage, 67.6% in waste hydrogen discharge, and a hydrogen recovery ratio of 95.2% in the Total Site Hydrogen Integration with waste hydrogen purification.