Fast and reliable hydrogen purity stream composition
Improve efficiency and productivity
Most captive hydrogen is produced in refineries via Steam Methane Reforming of natural gas inside the refinery battery limits (ISBL). Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) units play a major role in the final H2 purification process. Monitoring both the feed and final product full composition is essential for high efficiency operation.
Potential economic losses without proper monitoring to replace PSA vessel adsorbent due to poisoning
Raman spectroscopy for the optimization of hydrogen usage in refineries
How we can help
Steam-methane reforming of natural gas is currently the least expensive way to produce hydrogen, and it accounts for nearly all commercially produced hydrogen in the United States. (Hydrogen explained – Production of hydrogen, October 2020). Our analyzers can provide optimization of the reformers, shift converters, CO2 removal, and hydrogen purification steps to improve productivity and increase availability.
- Require no columns, valves, or carrier gases, improving analyzer availability and reducing OPEX
- Measures up to 4 streams simultaneously, for faster, more efficient process control
- By returning sample to the process, customers can realize improved productivity and avoid flaring
- Enhance worker safety as no toxic gases are transported from the sample tap to the analyzer
- Measure streams up to 150 meters from the analyzer, at the speed of light, eliminate lag times
Applications
Optimize sour gas shift process
Whether reforming natural gas or gasifying solid feeds like coal or petcoke, refining the syngas generated to optimize hydrogen production revolves around optimization of the sour gas shift process units. Based on a facilities front end pressure, relatively fast flow rates occur throughout the shift reactors in the system. As such, compositional changes can occur quickly, so fast analysis update times are essential.
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Raw syngas – primary reformer outlet
Raw syngas – secondary reformer outlet
High temperature shift converter outlet
Low temperature shift converter outlet
Our expertise in the field
With modern, reliable process Raman spectrometers, you can optimize the entire sour gas shift process in your hydrogen production plant in minutes.
- Measure full composition of key process points in the reactors for optimization simultaneously
- Enhance safety by avoiding liquid carryover and transport of any toxic gases to the analyzer
Complete PSA hydrogen purification loop analysis
Optimum productivity of a hydrogen plant relies optimizing the hydrogen purification process. This process typically involves a Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) process unit. Optimizing hydrogen purification requires measuring the PSA sample feed, tail gas, and hydrogen product streams. Typical cycle time through a PSA is less than 10 minutes, so fast analysis is required to prevent contaminant breakthrough.
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Fuel gas to reformer furnaces
CO2 absorber outlet – feed to PSA
CO2 absorber recovery stream
Our expertise in the field
Our rack-mounted Kaiser Raman analyzers for custody transfer can be easily installed on bunker ships, located in the control room or instrument room, and connected to the ship control computer, providing reliable and robust measurements of LNG either transferred from the bunker ship to the receiving ship, or for LNG loaded onto the bunker ship from an on-shore facility.
- Ease of installation with a fiberoptic cable run from the analyzer to the optical probe inserted in the transfer pipe
- High availability and no consumables results in low OPEX
Process flow diagram of a typical hydrogen production plant using steam methane reforming of natural gas
A typical modern hydrogen-producing plant using natural gas as primary feedstock converts the natural gas in a steam methane reformer to syngas, which is a mixture primarily of H2 and CO. The CO is then converted into additional H2 and CO2 in Water-Shift reactors. When recovery and sequestration of CO2 are required, further processing purifies the syngas by removing CO2 via a CO2 absorber. There are several streams that are typically analyzed in real-time during hydrogen manufacturing, and the analysis results form the basis for controlling and optimizing the main process units. Numbers on the diagram represent measurement points that are typically analyzed in real-time for control and optimization of the main process units.
Other Industries
Food & Beverage: Trust in quality
Food & Beverage: Trust in quality
Your partner to meet global hygiene regulations, ensure consistent product quality and plant availability while conserving resources and lowering costs.
Life Sciences: Focus on quality and optimization
Life Sciences: Focus on quality and optimization
Trust a reliable partner who helps you achieve operational excellence
Chemical: Be competitive and increase safety
Chemical: Be competitive and increase safety
Leverage our expertise and industry-specific solutions to boost your plant safety and performance