Decarbonisation Technology August Issue

Decarbonisati n
August 2021
Technology
Powering the Transition to Sustainable Fuels & Energy
Click here to learn

about strategies for
decarbonizing your
combustion processes.
1
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Contents August 2021
5 Towards 2030
Rene G Gonzalez
11 Catalysts and adsorbents in the energy transition

Meritxell Vila MERYT Catalysts & Innovation
17 First principles of energy transition – Part 1

Jean-Gael Le Floc’h, Mel Larson, Darren York and Robert Ohmes Becht
21 Clean hydrogen energy from repurposed gasification plant

Bhargav Sharma and Mark Schott Honeywell UOP
Dan Williams Wabash Valley Resources
25 CCUS challenges and opportunities in Chile

Jose Barriga Cabezón ENAP
29 Carbon capture policy development and the pathway forward

Damilola Abe University of Houston
33 Strategies for decarbonising combustion processes

Tim Tallon Ametek Process Instruments
37 Optimal energy and emissions management during energy transition

Juan Ruiz and Carlos Ruiz KBC Advanced Technologies, Inc.
41 Zero-emission steam generation with electricity

James Lewis Chromalox
45 Optimising green hydrogen production using system simulation

Patrice Montaland Siemens Digital Industries
49 Reducing CO2 emissions through process electrification

Stephen B. Harrison sbh4 Consulting
53 CO2 capture and natural gas savings in SMR process

Marcelo Tagliabue Air Liquide Argentina S.A.
57 A novel approach to CO2 removal from natural gas

Mahin Rameshni and Stephen Santo Rameshni & Associates Technology & Engineering
Priyanka Tiwari, Sachin Joshi, Kaaeid Lokhandwala and Daaniya Rahman
Membrane Technology & Research
65 Evolution of marine fuels – move toward a sustainable future

Oliver Schuller and Bambi Majumdar Sphera
69 Sustainable aviation fuel comes of age

Arne Padt Neste
73 Fuel oil to liquefied natural gas

Ankur Saini, Akhil Gobind and Rupam Mukherjee Engineers India Limited
77 Improve energy efficiency while reducing CO2 emissions sustainably

Avnish Kumar LivnSense Technologies PVT Limited
81 Decarbonisation through innovation
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com 1
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Foreword
E
Managing Editor MAP, the publisher of PTQ / Digital Refining,
Rachel Storry welcomes you to the first issue of Decarbonisation
editor@decarbonisationtechnology.com Technology, a digital magazine that focuses on the
tel +44 (0)7786 136440 strategies, legislation and technologies powering the
transition to sustainable fuels and energy.
Business Development Director Over the coming months, our global multi-platform
Paul Mason media brand will expand to include a website, online
info@decarbonisationtechnology.com
Q&A and a weekly newsletter. This will be followed by
tel +44 844 5888 771
a series of conferences worldwide. We aim to become a
Managing Director popular forum for conversation between renewable and
Richard Watts conventional energy producers, government advisers
richard.watts@emap.com and policymakers, and other decision-makers interested
in the energy transition to a sustainable future.
Graphics Each issue we will explore the global deployment of
Peter Harper decarbonisation technologies, whether mature, at early
adoption, under demonstration or still a prototype. In our
Circulation
first issue, we discover how a former gasification plant
Fran Havard
is set to become one of the largest carbon capture and
clean hydrogen production facilities in the US to date.
We also turn our attention to Chile, and the challenges
EMAP, 10th Floor
and opportunities CCUS presents there.
Southern House In the call for improved energy efficiency, reduced
Wellesley Grove, emissions and increased competitive advantage, we
Croydon CR0 1XG highlight numerous innovative solutions – from strategies
for decarbonising combustion to a novel approach for
Cover Story CO2 removal from natural gas.
In addition, we identify the crucial role catalysts and
adsorbents will play in the energy transition, and reveal
www.ametekpi.com how to optimise green hydrogen production using
system simulation.
Decarbonisati n We hope you will find this issue interesting and
August 2021
Technology
Powering the Transition to Sustainable Fuels & Energy
informative. Register HERE to receive your regular
copy, and to contribute to future issues, please
send any editorial suggestions to
editor@decarbonisationtechnology.com.
Rachel Storry
Click here to learn
about strategies for
decarbonizing your
combustion processes.
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Towards 2030
The oil and gas industry strives to balance fossil fuel market challenges during
the transition to sustainable fuels and energy
Rene G Gonzalez
Consultant
T
he 2015 Paris Agreement calls for keeping challenging to invest in the complexity necessary
global average temperature increases to ensure sustainable operations. The low returns
less than 2°C (3.6˚F) above pre-industrial are driving up the cost of capital for drillers,
levels. Against this backdrop, oil and gas industry refiners, and so on, further complicating the
programmes to curtail greenhouse gas (GHG) transition to decarbonisation.
emissions are taking on more urgency. More
capital is needed, but environmental, social and Predictions
corporate governance (ESG) focused investors The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2030
are cautious about the industry’s ability to meet there could be over $1.2 trillion invested annually
impending 2030 targets (let alone net-zero in global renewables, more than five times the
emissions by 2050). investment in fossil fuels. Some companies are
In this decade, moderate investments exiting their oil and gas role altogether to focus
can deliver the capabilities needed to meet on clean areas of the energy system. Other
near-term improvements, such as upgrading oil and gas companies continue building their
refinery diesel hydrotreaters with reactor and hydrocarbon value chain while making renewables
catalyst technology for converting biomass just a fraction of their portfolio.
into biofuels. Meanwhile, strategic reviews Most population growth is occurring in non-
conducted by oil and gas companies emphasise OECD countries; their energy consumption will
the urgency to begin the multibillion-dollar predicate ramping up oil production above 100
transition into LNG, hydrogen, solar-PV, wind, million bpd. Demand is also increasing from
and more. expanding petrochemical production. Just as
Double-digit pre-pandemic returns from concerning, some regions are meeting electrical
hydrocarbon extraction and processing demand by building new coal-fired power plants,
projects have sunken into the low single which is why a global consensus is needed to
digits. Meanwhile, capital constraints make it move away from fossil fuels.
Scope Emission type Definition Examples
Scope 1 Direct emissions GHG emissions from operations owned Onsite energy use of facilities, buildings &
or controlled by the reporting enterprise offices (e.g., heating, cooling)
Scope 2 Indirect emissions Indirect GHG emissions from generation Purchased electricity, steam, heating &
of electricity, steam, and thermal load cooling (e.g, at hydrocarbon processing
requirements at the reporting company facilities)
Scope 3 Indirect emissions All indirect upstream, midstream and Upstream, midstream and downstream
downstream emissions (not included supply and distribution, and transportation
in Scope 2) of the reporting company (rail, pipeline, barge, etc).
Waste generated in operations
Table 1 Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions measure a company’s GHG emissions. Scope 1 and 2 are classified
as mandatory to report, whereas Scope 3 is voluntary and the most complex to monitor on the road to
decarbonisation Source: Anthesis
Financing spirit of cooperation, members of the Oil and
Just as science and engineering know-how Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) are involved in the
provide options for reducing GHG emissions, new development of low-carbon solutions. Often
sources of financing, such as private equity, are these companies build $30 to $50 per tonne of
equally important. Novel financial strategies create carbon into the cost of new projects.
value by driving transformation more efficiently Global oil and gas companies like Repsol, Total,
across geographies and industry sectors. Money BP and Shell are part of OGCI and committed
is flowing into ESG funds, with climate impact to sustainable ‘net-zero’ operations by 2050.
metrics (for example, global carbon pricing by This commitment requires exponential growth in
2030) as a high priority. environmental innovation. They could benefit from
Companies demonstrating stewardship on a the input of innovators from other ESG-driven
range of ‘Paris-compliant’ strategies will have industries towards the elimination of emission
clearer access to financing. For example, achieving sources (such as flaring) and selling hydrogen at
100% net-zero emissions by 2050 may not seem scale by 2030.
achievable to many without access to a deep pool In the transition from a fossil fuel-based market
of capital needed for decarbonisation. Much of to renewables, innovative technology suppliers
the technology needed to achieve 2030 emissions are dually serving the ‘integration’ of the fossil
targets is already integrated into industry fuel and renewable energy industry. For many
processes at varying degrees (see Table 1). operators and the markets they compete in,
To name just a few, decarbonisation technologies fossil fuels’ high energy-to-volume ratio cannot
include carbon capture and storage (CCS) be overlooked, especially as much of the world
for enhanced oil recovery (i.e., CO2 injection), struggles to find ways to recover from an
hydrogen (H2) generation from methane and unprecedented pandemic.
third-generation biofuels. The real challenge is The cost of renewable fuels and energy (such as
acquiring financing for these nascent technologies. wind and solar-PV) is becoming competitive with
United Nations data collected between 2013-2019 fossil fuels. However, end-users prefer energy
show that companies with consistently high ESG sources that are continuous, not intermittent.
performance enjoyed 4.7 times higher operating Significant capital investment is going into electric
margins and lower volatility than low ESG vehicles, green hydrogen (currently just 0.1%
performers over the same period. of global H2 production), and so on, but markets
Commitments favour fossil fuels in the near term. When will this
Based on 2050 net-zero emissions targets, balance shift towards renewables?
the need for carbon mitigation may be much The rate at which renewables will replace fossil
more complex than estimated, often involving fuels to achieve decarbonisation goals varies
technology yet to be commercialised. In the among regions. For example, the goal in some
countries like Saudi Arabia is
not to replace fossil fuels, but
to create a balanced approach
that will reduce the amount
of oil burned domestically,
safeguarding this important
resource for generations
to come.
Safeguarding important
resources requires increased
complexity, such as investing in
the ability to recover hydrogen
from refinery fuel gas. In
other cases, complexity can
Figure 1 Bringing extraordinary capabilities and people together on be avoided. For example, the
the road to decarbonisation Photo courtesy of Refining Community World Economic Forum noted
6 www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
Figure 2 Aerial view of a modular LNG liquefaction facility serving the Caribbean region’s maritime
shipping industry in its transition to decarbonisation and IMO 2020 regulations that eliminate or
severely reduce the use of heavy fuel oil Photo courtesy of Eagle LNG Partners LLC
that individual and community power generation and transport sectors are emerging. Otherwise,
would contribute to more than 50% of the energy businesses could do poorly.
mix in developed countries by 2030, up from less
than 5% in 2016. Transition rate
Recent studies demonstrate that a 100%
Scale-up renewable energy system, regardless of the
Green hydrogen’s ability to plug the intermittency transition rate, will be lower in cost than a
of solar and wind while burning like natural gas continual reliance on fossil fuels. However,
and serving as feedstock in industrial chemical transforming the fossil fuel-based energy system
processes has captured the interest of businesses, to one that is decarbonised calls for the oil and gas
government and investors. Half of Fortune 500 industry to play an outsized role. While net-zero
companies, many of which produce significant emissions may not seem achievable, a large per
CO2 emissions, have now made net-zero or cent reduction by 2030 is in the works.
carbon-reduction commitments. Other industrial sectors ranging from steel and
These commitments require scale-up of H2 concrete could remain dependent on oil and gas
purification technology, expected to increase well into the 21st century. Oil and gas companies
ten-fold by 2050 as companies accelerate can lead the transition to carbon management
investments in renewable power and technologies systems. By example, upstream oil and gas
capable of meeting clean fuel standards. Driving producers are first movers in the application of
development of lower-carbon products include digital automation to integrate microgrids and
hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to produce distributed energy resources (DERs) towards
renewable diesel (chemically identical to improving in-the-field energy efficiency (see
petroleum-based diesel). Figure 1).
Meanwhile, GHG emissions disclosures will These bespoke strategies can be duplicated
be required for many industry sectors, further by other industries to alleviate dependency on
increasing pressure to align investments along centralised power grids based on coal-fired
sustainable strategies. With the days of the generation. Comparable in-the-field sustainable
internal combustion engine in doubt (GM will only energy solutions are taking place in the
sell zero-emission vehicles by 2035), transition agricultural and maritime shipping industries,
scenarios to full sustainability in power, heat where reliance on diesel and heavy fuel oil can be
Vent gas
Pretreatment unit CO2 capture unit
Cooling
Cooler water
Wash
Pump Condenser
Make-up Cooler
Cooler
Direct
contact Pump
cooler Absorber
Blow down Stripper
Steam
Pump Lean/rich
heat
exchanger
Reboiler
Flue gas Blower
after flue gas
desulphurisation Rich solvent Lean solvent
pump pump
Figure 3 Depending on the upstream process, the level of CO2 concentration differs and this in turn
defines the family of carbon capture technology that is deployed. Most of the ongoing carbon capture
projects are post-combustion that can be retrofitted into an existing facility Courtesy of Emerson
replaced by LNG, renewable natural gas (RNG), cooperation in the establishment of a global
synthetic methane, and so on (see Figure 2). carbon price, for the right to emit a tonne of CO2
Similarly, downstream process facilities, into the atmosphere, will provide a powerful
including refineries, are reducing their carbon incentive to carbon management (see Figure 3).
footprint by replacing fossil fuel-fired furnaces Accelerating these incentives are the declining
with electric furnaces powered by renewable costs of alternative energy such as solar energy.
energy sources. Other industries are replacing Solar energy costs have declined in some parts
gas-fired heaters in their factories with renewable of the world to the extent that it is as cheap
fuels or electric heaters to offset emissions. as ‘regular grid’ electricity. We can see that
Transnational cooperation can help accelerate this just as important as the ‘new’ technologies like
transition to sustainable energy. battery storage and HVO-based biofuels are
for decarbonisation, so too is capital favoured
Transnational cooperation towards companies prioritising ESG.
The Deep Decarbonisation Pathways Project New energy policies, broader ESG measures
(DDPP), a global research initiative seeking and environmental cooperation among the
realistic pathways for countries in the transition energy and fuels producers and their end-user
to a low-carbon economy involves research value chain must be part of the decarbonisation
teams from over 16 countries, including some plan. The ultimate solution may be to bring
of the heaviest carbon emitters. However, extraordinary people together to formulate an
there are significant outliers affecting progress agile business transformation while diverse
to decarbonisation, including cybersecurity industries in different regions are in various
disruptions and market uncertainty. stages of decarbonisation.
We are seeing international companies whose
brand is well represented in the oil and gas
industry, such as Occidental, transition altogether Rene G Gonzalez
to ‘carbon management’ companies. Transnational gonzalez.global@gmail.com
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Catalysts and adsorbents in the
energy transition
Catalysts and adsorbents play a crucial role in the energy transition, from the
development of biofuels and the circular economy to green hydrogen production
Dr Meritxell Vila
MERYT Catalysts & Innovation
E
nergy transition means the shift from reasonable time. In this sense, catalysts are the
current energy production systems, which main energy savers of the industry. Therefore,
are based mainly on non-renewable their role in the energy transition is crucial, as we
energy sources (oil, natural gas and coal), to will see in this article.
energy systems based on renewable energy Together with the energy transition, there is a
sources. Catalysts and adsorbents, used in change in fuel demand compared with chemical
around 90% of current industrial production derivatives. Environmental protection legislation
processes, are therefore key players in the energy and the increase in consumption of chemicals from
transition. They will be responsible for new developing countries could set the stage for a
processes, or must be improved or modified for future world with lower demand for transportation
current processes. fuels and higher demand for petrochemical
Catalysts by themselves are essential in the feedstocks.1 This demand is also favoured due
energy management of chemical reactions. to the higher margin of petrochemical products.
Thanks to them, we can perform reactions As a consequence, refineries are switching to
under lower temperature and pressure and in a biofuels and crude oil to chemicals (COTC).
Full biofuels conversion New COTC complex

Biofuels coprocessing COTC retrofit in existing refinery
Figure 1 Current and announced refinery conversions to biofuels and crude oil to chemical refineries
Figure 1 shows detailed current and announced steam cracker requires a packing bed and a
refinery conversions to biofuels and COTC. With catalyst bed. This catalyst bed may be disposed
these transformations, new technologies to of at the bottom of the vaporiser to enhance
produce green hydrogen will be critical to cracking, and will help to remove metals such as
achieving the energy transition. Ni, Fe, V and trap non-vapourisable material such
as asphaltenes. Materials such as alumina, silica-
Catalysts and adsorbents in crude oil to alumina, molecular sieves and natural clays may
chemicals refineries be used. Industrial references for this technology
The main objective of a COTC refinery is to come from ExxonMobil (Singapore refinery)
convert oil to chemicals, from a traditional and Shell.
refinery conversion of 8-12% to more than 50%,
even to 70-80%.2 To achieve this ambitious ➋ Integrated hydroprocessing/deasphalting
modification, researchers, catalysts companies and steam cracking Saudi Aramco has patented
and licensors have been working hard for many an integrated hydrotreating, steam pyrolysis and
years to develop different proposals. The best coker process for the direct processing of crude oil
solution would be a unique multifunctional to produce olefinic and aromatic petrochemicals.
catalyst that could transform the oil into In this scheme, the role of the hydrodemetalisation
chemicals, crack, dehydrogenate, remove sulphur catalyst before the hydroprocessing catalyst is
and all the desired reactions. Researchers at King vital to protect it.5
Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST), in partnership with Aramco, have ➌ Processing of middle distillates and
recently designed a new catalyst based on residues using new hydrocracking ebullated
zeolites, clay and silicon carbide to convert bed technology This scheme has been adopted
Arabian Light crude into light olefins, with by Hengli Petrochemical Ltd to produce diesel
yields per pass of over 30 wt% and minimum and naphtha range stream, which can later be
production of dry gas, in a single reactor system. processed to produce aromatic compounds.6
In parallel to developing this unique
multifunctional catalyst, the industry is tackling In these new COTC schemes, the most affected
the COTC strategy in three different ways, as processes produce naphtha, which is the source
already pointed out in 2017 by Dr Avelino Corma:4 of olefins and aromatics, feeds to chemicals.
These processes are fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
➊ Direct processing of crude oil in steam and hydrocracking.
cracking This process requires preconditioning In hydrocracking, new developments present
of the crude oil before being fed into the steam ebullated catalytic beds, as in Axens H-Oil
cracker to avoid too much coke formation. The process.7 In this process, fresh catalyst is
continuously added to
the reactor, and the spent
catalyst is withdrawn
to control the level of
catalyst activity. This
technology provides
The key role of
higher conversion and
Catalysts and Adsorbents no limit on catalyst life
in Energy Transition compared to traditional
fixed beds.
Other hydrocracking
Dr. Meritxell Vila
technologies with moving
catalytic beds are LC-
Catalysis and Chemical Science fining, from CLG, VCC
from KBR, EST from Eni,
Catalysis Webinar, 24-25 March 2021
Uniflex from UOP and
Index Process
Company name Axens CLG KBR Eni UOP TIPS RAS
Process description H-oil LC-fining VCC EST Uniflex ORH
Feedstock Gas oil Gas oil Heavy oils Heavy oils Heavy oils Heavy oils and
fractions, fractions, and residua, and residua, and residua, residua, asphaltic oil,
vacuum vacuum asphaltic oil asphaltic oil asphaltic oil blends of petroleum
residue, oil residue, oil feedstocks,
residue, residue, bioproducts, wastes
asphaltic oil asphaltic oil of polymers
and plastics
Density at 20°C, kg/m3 992-1023 983-1039 950-1200 990-1312 980-1030 900-1200

Sulphur content, wt% max 3.4-3.8 5.0 5.0 5.3 5.3 5.0
Catalyst consumption,
wt% of feed 0.0l-0.06 0.01-0.06 1.0 0.5-1.0 0.8-1.5 0.05-0.1
Pressure, MPa 16.0-20.0 9.7-24.0 15.0-20.0 12.0-17.0 10.0-15.0 7.0-10.0
Temperature, °C 440-460 385-450 430-450 420-445 440-460 440-460
Yield, wt%
Gas 3.2-8.0 7.0-9.0 13.2 16.7-20.5 7.0-10.0 7.4-9.3
Naphtha (IBP-200°C) 14.0-15.5 14.0-16.0 12.0 6.5-7.5 14.0-20.0 10.0-12.0
Diesel (200-350°C) 15 0-27.0 34.0-36.0 47.0 38.0-50.0 40.0-45.0 40.0-50.0
Heavy gas oil (350-520°C) 310-35.0 36.0-39.0 26.0 30.0-45.0 20.0 20.0-30.0
Fraction >520°C 17.0-45.0 15.0-45.0 <5.0 2.5-3.8 4.0-10.0 5.0
Residue conversion with 63-83 max. 85 >95 >95 90-96 >95

recycling, wt%
Total distillate yield, wt% 45-78 45-78 84 86 78 86

Development stage Industrialised Industrialised IndustriaIised A pilot plant Ready for Ready for
was built implementation implementation
Table 1 Technologies for processing of heavy petroleum and residual feedstock by moving catalytic bed
ORH from TIPS RAS. In the last four technologies, captured and profited to produce hydrocarbons.
the conversion reached of the residue with In this respect, numerous catalysts are being
recycling is higher by 95% (see Table 1).8 developed to carry out the reactions of conversion
Regarding FCC trends, the selection of catalyst of CO2 to hydrocarbons, via methanol or directly.10
and optimal operation conditions are crucial to For the first route, via methanol, several catalysts
increasing the yield of propylene and naphtha. are needed: a metal oxide to convert the CO2 to
Characteristics that need to be improved in this methanol, a zeolite to convert the methanol to
type of catalyst are metal poisoning tolerance, hydrocarbon, a noble metal with non-noble metal
hydrothermal stability, fluidisation properties, catalyst to convert the CO to methane, and an iron
attrition resistance and accessibility. Increasing base catalyst to convert the CO to hydrocarbon
the addition of ZSM-5 helps to obtain more (Figure 2).
propylene, but only to a certain extent. For the direct conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbon,
For example, Honeywell UOP’s RxPro process many catalysts based on the reverse water gas
has a catalyst optimised to maximise the propylene shift (RWGS) reaction and the Fisher-Tropsch
yield to more than 20 wt% of feed and an aromatic synthesis reaction (FTS) are currently under
rich naphtha stream for BTX recovery. Light cycle research and development. These catalysts
oil can also be further upgraded to BTX aromatics include zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZIFs),
using the company’s LCO-X process.9 covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and metal
In future refineries, the CO2 emitted will be organic frameworks (MOFs), among others.11
biorefineries. Based on
the feature of the platform
CO2
Zeolites that links feedstocks and
CH3OH
final products, we can find
several different biorefinery
H2
Metal configurations: syngas,
oxide pyrolysis oil, sugars, oil,
* biogas, organic solutions,
HCOO
CO2 + H2 Hydrocarbon
lignin, hydrogen, and power
*
COOH and heat.12
CH4
In this refinery configuration,
CO pretreatment of the feeds to
Noble and non-noble metals Iron based catalysts protect catalysts is crucial,
and in this sense the role of
Figure 2 Conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbons, different catalytic routes adsorbents is very important.
Feeds that can be processed
are vegetable oils and UCO
(used cooking oil, animal
fats, tall oil, and so on). In
O2 oils, we find phosphorus,
metals, chlorine and other
contaminants. Different
adsorbents are used in
H2 different units in biorefineries,
depending on the stream
H2O O2 + H + and the contaminant to be
removed: resins, activated
carbon, clays, silica gel
and zeolites.13
H+ H2 These refineries must also
process pyrolysis oil feeds
from plastic recycling. This oil
contains various elements that
Platinum were added to manufacture
the plastic and must be
Seawater now removed to protect
the catalyst downstream.
The challenge is to design
catalysts that are resistant to
Figure 3 Floating prototype equipped with the single-atom platinum all these contaminants.
catalysts for solar light-triggered hydrogen production directly
from seawater Production of green
hydrogen
Production of biofuels and circular economy Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of
Another critical role for catalysts and adsorbents water, meaning the breakdown of water molecules
is producing biofuels, as many refineries are into the two individual elements, hydrogen and
converting to biorefineries to adapt to new oxygen, and only electricity from renewable
regulations and process not only biomass but also energies is used. Since electrocatalysts are needed,
prepare to process recycled materials. research in this field is enormous, especially as
IEA Bioenergy Task 42 has developed a analysts estimate that clean hydrogen could meet
classification scheme to describe different 24% of the world energy demand by 2050.14
Much research and development are being Other promising research is being undertaken
carried out on new catalysts for the production of by researchers from The Helmholtz-Zentrum
green hydrogen. Swinburne University’s Centre in Berlin (Germany), who have developed a
for Translational Atomaterials (Australia) and catalyst based on amorphous molybdenum
Shaanxi Normal University (China) are developing sulphide, which works at room temperature.
a new catalyst based on platinum (but scalable Other catalysts under investigation are carbon-
and produced by a low-cost calcination method) supported MoS2 and ammonium thiomolybdate
that can produce green hydrogen from seawater. ((NH4)2Mo3S13).18
The prototype, called ‘Ocean-H2-Rig’, is a floating These are some examples of research works
platform equipped with the single-atom platinum currently under development, but for sure there
catalyst (Figure 3).15 are and will be many more.
Another exciting development is from the As can be seen, future years will be fantastic
University of Delaware (UD), US, to produce for the development of new catalysts and
hydrogen from water at ambient temperature and adsorbents, the new configuration of refineries
with a Cu-Ti catalyst at a rate twice as high as the and chemical plants, the production of biofuels,
conventional platinum catalyst.16 and the obtention of green hydrogen. Now,
With the same objective – to produce hydrogen more than ever, catalysts and adsorbents will be
– researchers from the Nayang Technological crucial in helping industry and society to achieve
University (Singapore) have developed a the energy transition in the best possible way.
catalyst based on spinel oxides made of cheap
transition metals. These new oxides, comprising VIEW REFERENCES
manganese and aluminum, were predicted to
show superior catalytic activity, accelerating the Dr Meritxell Vila
electrolysis reaction.17
mvila@meryt-chemical.com
WEBINAR
Demand for hydrogen is expected
to increase up to ten-fold by 2050
when multiple industry reports
predict 8-24% of the world’s final
energy demand will be supplied
by hydrogen. Hydrogen has a
unique ability to address ‘hard-to-
decarbonize’ sectors and long-term
power storage. To achieve this, it
must be produced with significantly
lower carbon intensity than is
practiced today.
Learn how customized and integrated carbon capture and hydrogen purification
technology can offer:
• The most cost-effective and proven routes to low carbon intensity hydrogen available
today for both new and existing assets
• CO2 recovery rates of 99%+
• Tailored results to meet required H2 and CO2 purity requirements
• Single unit separation and liquefaction
• Solvent-free options with a smaller footprint
watlow.indd 1 12/03/2021 12:59
First principles of energy
transition – Part 1
This two-part series will first focus on hydrogen, batteries, metals and electrical
infrastructure to see the actual impacts of energy transition and decarbonisation
Jean-Gaël Le Floc’h, Mel Larson, Darren York and Robert Ohmes

Becht
E
nergy transition – what does it from a first principles perspective.
really mean? Doing so will help provide focus
In the current lexicon of and clarity on the challenges the
society, terms and concepts energy industry (i.e. utilities,
such as decarbonisation, transportation fuel providers,
greenhouse gas emissions and petrochemical companies)
reductions, carbon faces and will allow both
neutrality, and energy the consumer and producer
transition are becoming to rationalise the choices
commonplace, not only within and technical challenges that
the energy industry but also must be addressed to meet
with the common consumer. these targets. This two-part
Events like the COVID-19 series will first focus on various
pandemic, shifts in virtual work examples in hydrogen, batteries,
and travel, and changes in regulatory metals, and electrical infrastructure to
requirements and economic incentives help illuminate the actual impacts of
have dramatically accelerated shifts in energy transition and decarbonisation.
the energy industry to produce cleaner The second part will provide additional
and lower carbon intensity fuels and examples within hydrogen and energy
products. However, does the average optimisation and outline several
consumer understand the extent of fossil- considerations and options for the energy
derived energy sources and products and industry to apply to address this transition.
the implications of these shifts and mandates
away from fossil fuels on their daily lives and The sheer magnitude of the change
access to affordable fuels, products, and energy? The current goal of the Paris Accord is to limit the
How will refiners and petrochemical organisations rise in global temperatures to 2°C by 2050. While
The Shear Magnitude of the Change
respond to theseThechanges in a dynamic
current goal of the Paris Accord is tothe goal
limit theseems
rise inreasonable
global enough, competing
marketplace that demands both
temperatures to 2°C profitability
by 2050. and
While theforces put serious
goal seems pressure
reasonable on achieving the goal.
enough,
environmental there
stewardship? Can the energy
are competing forces that put serious pressure on achieving the goal. driven by total
Firstly, global energy use is strongly
industry and front-line consumers
First, global energy use achieve carbondriven
is strongly population and GDP and
by total population (Gross
GDP Domestic Product)
neutrality by the target
(Gross dates, and
Domestic what changes
Product) growth. Global growth. The global
population population
is projected is projected to grow
to grow
are required tofrom
meetabout
those7.8
targets? from9.7
billion people in 2020 to over about 7.8by
billion billion
2050, people
whichin 2020 to over 9.7
represents
To answer these a ~25%
questions, growth
we must over
first lookthat period,
billionand
by the
2050.bulkThis
of that growth will
represents a ~25% growth
at some of the fundamentals influencing these over that period, and the bulk of that growth will
market changes and mandates. Our intent is not to occur in emerging markets, while at the same
pick ‘winners and losers’ or question the reality of time postmodern regions will be flat or declining
climate change but to examine various examples in population. Over that same time, total annual
with less”. In addition, the percentage of that energy pool that is petroleum
and coal based must decrease by over 25%, as a minimum.
+ 1.9 +40% -35% -27%

Energy
Billion Demand
Intensity Oil + Coal
Hence,
energy demand theisenergy
expectedwe need
to grow to ~drive
from 635 our sources.
economies, Does itheat
make and
sensecool our land to
to deforest
homesBTU
quadrillion andtobusinesses, cookBTU
over 900 quadrillion ourbymeals,plantandseeds
transport our
for fuel? people
While using and
used cooking
2050, whichmust
goods represents
now more thancome
largely a 40% from
increase oils (UCO)
renewable as a source
sources for renewable
– wind, nuclear, fuels fits
over that period. However, to meet the GHG well with the recycling mantra, the application
solar, renewable hydrogen, and renewable electricity. Significant,
reduction targets, the total energy per GDP (i.e. of virgin oils for renewable production will
technically sound, and market
energy intensity) must decrease by around 35% driven diversification
strain the tension of our energy
between food sources
vs fuel. One
on and providers,
a global along
basis. In simple withtobehavior
terms, continue tochange byless-discussed
of the consumersaspects and streamlined
of ‘green’ is the
governmental
drive GDP growth formandates
an ever-growingandpopulation,
incentives,wateris needed to meet
consumption this challenge.
necessary for both mineral
weNo need“silver
the energy to doexists
bullet” so, butto
now have to do
achieve harvesting
this goal and biosource
– it requires an “allproduction.
of the Water is a
‘more with less’. In addition, the percentage of that scarce resource and, in many regions of the world,
above” strategy.
energy pool that is petroleum and coal-based must arid conditions require severe water conservation.
decrease by overUnintended
Mitigating 25%, as a minimum.
Consequences Hence, the conversation on water use, re-use, and
Hence, the energy we need to drive our stewardship must be on a similar level as the shift
Moving to “green” renewable
economies, heat and cool our homes and based energy sources
in energy has to consider the
sources.
whole system,
businesses, including
cook our meals, the cycle of “harvesting”, production, processing,
and transport
ourand
people and goods must now
use. For instance, what is come mainly
to be done Metals
withandthebattery
increasedbalances
waste from
from renewable sources – wind, nuclear, solar, While EV adoption rates remain low in the US and
wind turbines, lithium batteries, and PV solar
renewable hydrogen, and renewable electricity.
panels, as most of these
Japan, with Japan’s marginal power production
elements
Significant, are notsound,
technically currently recyclable and
and market- havefrom
coming a 10 to 20 year
coal-powered useful
plants withlife?
high
What
driven is the consequence
diversification to the environment
of our energy sources CO2-eqfrom harvesting
emissions, rawinmaterials
the EV share new car sales
andand then landfarming
providers, waste,
along with behaviour given that recycling
change has shown an technologies
increasing trend are presently
in many other
by consumers
more carbon and streamlined
intensivegovernmental
than first generation developed countries in Europe as well as China.
production?
mandates and incentives, is needed to meet this This trend will continue to spread (x25 EV car sales
challenge. No ‘silver bullet’ exists to achieve this in 2040 compared to 2020), and it is anticipated
goal – it requires an ‘all of the above’ strategy. that the total battery demand annual growth rate
will be around 38% (CAGR), or an x25 factor in
Mitigating unintended consequences 10 years. Within the battery sector, over 40% of
Moving to ‘green’ renewable-based energy sources batteries will be dedicated to stationary energy
has to consider the whole system, including the storage, while 60% will be used for passenger
cycle of ‘harvesting’, production, processing, and commercial vehicles, as well as ships. Most
and use. For instance, what is to be done with battery raw material tonnage demand will follow
the increased waste from wind turbines, lithium the battery trend, around a 40% increase per year,
batteries, and PV solar panels, as most of these from about 0.5 million tonnes in 2020 (cobalt +
elements are not currently recyclable and have a silicone + lithium + nickel + manganese + graphite)
10- to 20-year useful life? What is the consequence to 12 million tonnes in 2030. Taking lithium as an
to the environment from harvesting raw materials example, its extraction requires large amounts
and then landfarming waste, given that recycling of water, and results in up to 15 tonnes of CO2
technologies are presently more carbon intensive emission per ton of lithium for hard rock mining.
than first-generation production? One of the foremost anticipated future
Using biosources for fuel such as soybean oil, constraints and risks is the high concentration in
palm oil, rapeseed (canola), ethanol (sugar cane terms of players, not only in the mining industry
or sugar beets), or other bio-sourced components but also in the processing/refining industry. The
pits land use for food to feed the world’s growing main metals under consideration are lithium,
population against a more lucrative value of fuel nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite (batteries),
heavier than aluminum, and about
three to four times more expensive
on a weight basis. Copper is typically
used for subsea and underground
lines, while aluminum is preferred
for overhead lines due to its lighter
weight. From a cost perspective,
and the situation is very similar for rare earth aluminum is being considered for underground
One of the main anticipated future constraints and risks is the high
elements (wind turbines and electric vehicle
concentration in terms of players, not only in the mining industry, but lines alsoasinwell as regulation permits.
themotors), as well asindustry.
processing/refining for copper, silicon,
The main silver
metals under(solar
consideration Another
are mitigation measure to reduce the
PV), and
Lithium, aluminum
Nickel, (electricity
Cobalt, Manganese networks).
and Supply and impact
Graphite (batteries), the of increased electrification would be a
situation is very similar for rare earth elements (wind turbines and electric
chain assurance will be required to mitigate risks scale-up in the use of high voltage direct current
vehicle motors), as well as for Copper, Silicon, Silver (solar PV), and
of disruption
Aluminum for networks).
(electricity various reasons suchassurance
Supply chain as political (HVDC)
will be required in to complement the traditional alternating
instability
order to mitigateor risks
trade of restrictions.
disruption for various reasons such as political current (HVAC) systems currently in place.
Battery
instability recycling
or trade will help mitigate the risk of
restrictions. HVDC only requires two cables vs three with
supply
Battery disruption,
recycling will helpbut it is anticipated
mitigate that the
the risk of supply disruption, butHVAC,
it is which would reduce the need for mining
anticipated
recyclingthat of the
spentrecycling of spentbatteries
lithium-ion Lithium-ionwill
batteries
only will only and account
metals. Therefore, HVDC cables are usually
for about 8% of the demand. Current recycling technologies are energy
account for about 8% of the demand. Current cheaper than HVAC and have minimal losses.
intensive, partly due to the fact that batteries are not designed with future
recycling technologies are energy intensive,
end-of-life recycling in mind. Advances in battery recycling are critical However,
to the costs and losses of DC converters
partly
ensure because
that we are notbatteries are not
simply trading designed
extraction with
of oil for extractionare of significantly higher than AC transformers, and
metals. Other mitigation measures should
future end-of-life recycling in mind. Advances in include a diversification thethe
of break-even distance between the two systems
supply partners, with an increased collaboration of all the supply chain
battery recycling are critical to ensure that we still need to be reduced to promote HVDC further.
stakeholders, supported by a higher transparency, and a consistent set of
are and
social not environmental
simply trading the extraction of oil for he
standards.
extraction of metals. Other mitigation measures What is next?
Expansion in Electrical Infrastructure
should include a diversification of the supply In part one, we have reviewed how metals,
Electricity networks are a key element of reliable power systems, and will
partners, with an increased collaboration of all the
play a decisive role in the growth of renewable power adoption. Most power
batteries, and electrical infrastructure must
supply chain stakeholders, supported by higher
line’s length (90%) is made up of the distribution systems, servingchange to deliversubstantially in the coming years to meet
transparency,
power and aThe
to the end users. consistent setsystems,
transmission of socialconnecting
and thetheheavyshift to an electrical power-based economy
power production centers
environmental standards. (power plants, solar and wind power production
and reduce fossil fuel usage to meet the targets of
facilities) to the load centers, make up the remaining 10%.
the Paris Accord. This shift in energy sources must
Expansion in electrical infrastructure also occur during a period of continued population
Electricity networks are a key element of reliable and economic growth and will require new levels
power systems and will play a decisive role in the of energy efficiency. In part two, we will examine
growth of renewable power adoption. Most power hydrogen as a potential solution, define what
line’s length (90%) is made up of the distribution Scope 1, 2, and 3 emission reductions really
systems, serving to deliver power to the end mean, and provide context for energy providers to
users. The transmission systems connecting the consider as they work through this transition.
heavy power production centres (power plants,
solar and wind power production facilities) to the
VIEW REFERENCES
load centres make up the remaining 10%.
The electrification wave coming from the energy Jean-Gaël Le Floc’h
transition will require building new lines and jglefloch@becht.com
refurbishing existing ones for increased resilience
to more extreme weather events. The anticipated Mel Larson
increase in terms of power lines due to energy mlarson@becht.com
transition is estimated to increase by a factor of
five between 2020 and 2050. Darren York
The traditional metals used in power cables are dyork@becht.com
copper and aluminum. Copper’s electrical and
thermal conductivity are both about 60% higher Robert Ohmes
rohmes@becht.com
than aluminum’s. However, copper is three times
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Clean hydrogen energy from
repurposed gasification plant
A former gasification plant is set to become one of the largest carbon capture
and clean hydrogen production facilities in the US to date
Bhargav Sharma and Mark Schott Honeywell UOP

Dan Williams Wabash Valley Resources
A
tmospheric CO2 levels continue to climb. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming,
NOAA has reported the May 2021 monthly many experts have recommended the increased
average to be 416 ppm.1 This is the highest use of clean hydrogen (H2) across many industries.
level in the last 800,000 years. The previous Low-carbon H2 is considered to be a significant
high was approximately 350 years ago and only route to decarbonise many industries, including
reached 300 ppm. These elevated CO2 levels have power, steel and cement. H2 can also be a
already led to temperature increases and large significant route to decarbonise difficult industries
weather fluctuations. The NASA global land-ocean such as the transportation industry, especially for
temperature index has increased by approximate long-haul heavy-duty trucks. The IEA3 reported
1°C since 1880.1 Sea levels are rising, up about that in 2019 only 0.36 Mt/yr of low-carbon H2 was
200 mm2 in the last 120 years. However, that rate in production, with another ~1.5 Mt/yr announced.
of increase has accelerated in the last 25 years to The IEA SDS plan calls for ~8 Mt/yr of low-carbon
about 3.4 mm/year.2 H2 to be available by 2030.
Wabash CO2 recovery plant Source: Honeywell UOP
Today about 98% of 70 million tonnes of H2 are milled with recycled water to produce a slurry
comes from carbon-intensive sources. Carbon- solids concentration that varies depending on
neutral energy is receiving unprecedented the feedstock selected. In the gasifier, the slurry
attention. While green H2 is the ultimate goal of is injected with a high-purity oxygen stream
the H2 economy, blue H2 is viewed as the first step generated by the air separation unit. Raw syngas
to this goal. Proven technologies combined with exiting the gasification process consists mostly of
anticipated greater demand for H2 and government carbon monoxide, H2, CO2, water and hydrogen
incentives like 45Q in the US are making blue H2 sulphide (H2S). The slag produced in the gasifier
projects economically attractive and bankable. is quenched, crushed and removed from the
unit through a continuous slag removal system.
Wabash Valley Resources project The syngas from the gasifier is cooled in a high-
The idle Wabash River gasification facility will temperature heat recovery unit (HTHRU) that
be redeveloped by Wabash Valley Resources to produces high-pressure saturated steam, which
produce electricity to be transferred to the network will be utilised in the steam turbine to produce
grid and provide opportunities for H2 offtakes to power. The syngas from the outlet of the HTHRU
transportation or be used as chemical feedstock. It is sent to a particulate removal system, where the
is anticipated to use waste products like petroleum remaining particulates consisting mostly of carbon
coke and locally available biomass to generate will be recycled to the gasifier. The syngas will
up to 285 MW of electricity with net-zero CO2 be directed through the existing sulphur removal
emissions by 2024. The project will capture, liquefy process, where the H2S will be removed. The
and sequester the produced CO2 near the plant sour gas containing H2S from the sulphur removal
site in suitable underground formations of the process will be sent to the existing sulphur recovery
Illinois Basin. Retrofitting the existing gasification unit (SRU). The SRU converts the H2S to elemental
facility reduces the technical risk and capital sulphur, a valuable byproduct of the facility.
costs associated with the project. The Wabash The syngas will be routed to the new water
gasification plant has successfully produced syngas gas shift (WGS) process to shift the syngas to
for over 20 years, utilising petcoke as the feedstock, maximise H2 production. Syngas will then be routed
and the configuration selected maintains the through a new CO2 recovery system to be designed
existing plant as is with minimal modifications. and licensed by Honeywell UOP. A dehydration
Several processes are combined in the integrated unit is included to produce an anhydrous gas
facility to produce H2 and power. Byproducts suitable to be sent to the new CO2 fractionation
produced at the facility include CO2, sulphur and unit. The CO2 fractionation unit will then separate
vitrified slag. The solid feedstock and biomass the CO2 from the H2, producing a high-purity liquid
CO2 stream. The liquid CO2
stream will be pumped to the
12% Biomass 88% Solid waste battery limits for permanent
CO2 underground sequestration.
The H2 gas stream will then
be sent to a PolyBed pressure
CO2
atmospheric swing absorption unit (PSA)
draw down for purification. The product H2
stream from the PSA will be
Hydrogen
sent to a H2 turbine to produce
electricity. The CO2 from the
CO2 UOP technology PSA unit will then be recycled
Capture &
liquefy CO2 to the CO2 fractionation unit to
Storage- Capture ensure minimal emissions of
Deep
Transport greenhouse gases (GHG).
geologic
Since Wabash Valley
formations
Resources is investigating
Figure 1 Overall flow scheme blending in biomass feedstocks,
it has the potential to achieve
negative carbon intensity H2 Recycle UOP CO2 recovery system
product while sequestering compressor
1.65 million t/y of CO2. The H2
Polybed
project is expected to be
PSA unit
one of the largest carbon
sequestration initiatives in the
US to date. Figure 1 shows the Ortloff CO2
Feed gas MOLSIV
overall flow scheme. Water gas fractionation
dehydration
shift process
unit
CO2 capture system CO2
Wabash evaluated a number
Refrigeration
of technologies for the CO2
capture process, including
conventional physical and Figure 2 Honeywell CO2 capture system
chemical solvents, as well as
generic and licensed solvent-based processes, • Faster modular execution
before choosing the configuration offered by • Parallel on-site and module fabrication execution
Honeywell UOP. The dehydration, CO2 capture • High-quality shop-fabricated equipment
and H2 purification units are integrated into one
overall system to minimise capital and operating Conclusion
expenses. The process equipment can be Wabash Valley Resources’ bold revisioning of an
constructed as modular prefabricated units, which idle asset into a new carbon-neutral power and
shortens project schedules, lowers construction H2 production facility will help provide jobs in the
costs, and improves quality and HSE performance. local economy, supply clean, cost-effective power
Higher levels of shop fabrication minimise and produce clean hydrogen for transportation
constructability risks and allow site activities to run offtake in the Midwest. At a time when we clearly
in parallel with module fabrication. The modular need a new direction in power and transportation,
approach provides Wabash with the capability when we need to make a real impact on our climate
to maximise its overall project integration from initiatives and when local economies are struggling
restarting an existing facility while integrating new for job growth, this project will help create that new
state-of-the-art carbon capture technology. future. It sets a new direction and the right focus
for future growth in these key markets.
Advantages
MOLSIV, Orloff, and Polybed PSA are trademarks
Some of the key advantages of the Honeywell
of Honeywell UOP.
UOP CO2 capture system compared to conventional
solvent systems for this plant are shown below: References
• Lower Capex 1 https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-
• Lower Opex dioxide/
• No steam integration needed with existing plant, 2 https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/
thereby maximising electricity generation 3 www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
• Dry system (no solvent storage, handling, and
so on)
Bhargav Sharma
• Main consumables are adsorbents, and typical
Honeywell UOP
replacement life is >10 years, thereby requiring less
planned downtime
• Commercially proven technologies Mark Schott
Honeywell UOP
• Efficiency: single supplier for technology and
equipment allows for less handoff
• Bankability: well recognised in the market for Dan Williams
Wabash Valley Resources
both technology licensing and modular equipment
Capturing green opportunities
The capture, sequestration and utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) is a key strategy that
businesses can adopt to reduce their emissions. By implementing the right technologies,
they can meet ambitious climate change mitigation strategies while benefiting from new
revenue streams. Sulzer Chemtech offers a cost-effective solution for efficient systems
that can maximize the amount of CO2 captured with minimal energy consumption.
Sulzer Chemtech MellapakCC™
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CCUS challenges and
opportunities in Chile
For Chile, carbon capture use and storage presents a potential opportunity to go
beyond carbon neutrality and provide a source of ‘negative emissions’
Jose Barriga Cabezón

ENAP
C
hile has considerable solar, geothermal, technologies indicated in the planned strategy
wind, mini-hydro, ocean and biomass/ by the Ministries of Environment and Energy to
biogas resources, yet they currently achieve these goals (see Figure 2).
(2019) make up just 9% of the total energy This is possibly due to a preference for the
production. A national effort is underway to raise natural advantages of CO2 capture in Chile’s
the Renewable Portfolio Standard of energy from extensive forest area, plus a lack of knowledge
renewable energy sources from the expected 20% of the technological elements, advantages and
by 2025 to 40% by 2030. costs associated with the utilisation of CCUS.
Renewable energy is at the heart of Chile’s Possible prejudices could also relate to the
transition to net zero, but with flexible power technology’s reliability, safety and control, and
stations still required to ensure the stability of the the length of time the captured carbon is stored
power grid, the decarbonisation of our gas-fired in the subsoil.
power plants and fossil fuel industrial facilities also It is a similar story in many other Latin American
has a significant role to play in reducing emissions. countries, where the use of CCUS is relatively
The transition to a net-zero sustainable energy unknown, except for Brazil. The Santos Basin CO2-
regime in any country is not just an engineering EOR plant, located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro,
question but an economic, social and cultural has captured and injected some 10 million tonnes
issue. So Chile, like several
other countries participating
in the Paris Agreement, 200
200 metric tons of CO2 equivalent
has set decarbonisation
targets within its nationally Emissions in net-zero scenario Carbon capture in net-zero scenario
determined contribution
(NDC) proposal for 2050
100
in line with a strategy
that favours the replacement
of fossil fuels with
renewable fuels but relying
heavily on forest carbon 0
capture to achieve carbon
neutrality (see Figure 1).
Consequently, among
the proposed alternatives -100
for emissions reduction, 2016 ‘18 ‘20 ‘22 ‘24 ‘26 ‘28 ‘30 ‘32 ‘34 ‘36 ‘38 ‘40 ‘42 ‘44 ‘46 ‘48 2050
carbon capture use and
storage (CCUS) has not been Figure 1 Delicate balance: Chile’s carbon neutrality target relies heavily
considered as one of the on forests Source: Chile Energy Ministry
130 Sustainable industry (25%)
120 Reference scenery
Hydrogen (21%)
Electromovility (17%)
80
e
MMtCO2
Buildings efficiency (17%)

65
Coal power down (13%)
40
Energy efficiency (7%)
Forest increase
0 Forest capture
2015 2020 2030 2040 2050
Figure 2 Measure contributions towards carbon neutrality Source: Ministry of Energy1
of CO2 into the Lula, Sapinhoá and Lapa oil fields Emissions
since 2013. By 2025, its cumulative goal is to Chile is responsible for 0.25% of global emissions
process a total of 40 million tonnes. from burning fossil fuels for energy purposes, with
The other exception is Mexico, where the an average per capita of 4.45 MtCO2eq. (2019)
Ministry of Energy developed a Technology slightly below the world average. The energy
Roadmap on CCUS, updated in 2018. This sector is the main greenhouse gas (GHG) national
proposed a national strategy and inventory, and emitter, 77% of the total GHG emissions in 2018,
the creation of a centre for technological researchwith a total accounted for 87.1 MtCO2eq., which
and development, with an exploratory stage that represents an increase since 2013 of 17%. The
included a CO2 capture demonstration project. leading cause for this growth is the country’s
However, the government abandoned these plans energy consumption, including the consumption
due to an apparent lack of funds. of natural gas for power generation and liquid
fuels for land transportation, mainly
diesel and gasoline. Within the Fuel
Combustion Activities classification,
24% the Electricity Generation subclass is
14% Industry
Transport the most important with 32%, followed
7% by 21% of Land Transportation, 14%
of Manufacturing Industries and
21% Construction, and 7% of Residential
% Energy
78 activities (see Figure 3).
4% 7% Buildings Total GHG emissions were
2016 dominated by CO2, which accounted
for 78%, followed by CH4 with 13%
5% Waste
and N2O with 6%. Fluorinated gases
collectively account for 3% of the
6% Industrial
country’s total GHG emissions as
processes
25% of 2018.
11% Agriculture Antofagasta, Valparaíso-
32% Metropolitan and Biobío Regions
Electricity represent the main emission
concentration zones, where 73% of
the energy sector’s total emissions are
Figure 3 GHG emissions by sector Source: Ministry of Energy2 generated (see Figure 4).
Challenges CHILE 2018
REGIONAL
Chile will DISTRIBUTION
heavily rely on negative
emissionsEMISSION
by forestsINVENTORY
to reach its
net-zero target, expecting carbon
sinks to contribute as much as Antofagasta Region
50% to the emissions reduction 17.801 kt CO2 eq.
required to reach the 2050 20%
neutrality goal.
This can pose a significant risk,
given the high chances of carbon
loss through deforestation, natural
disturbance, forest wildfires and
eventual competition for land. Valparaíso- Metropolitan
There is no ‘assured target’. Trees
Region
that store away CO2 for 20 or 30
years before being burned in a
34.328 kt CO2 eq.
wildfire provide a fundamentally 39%
different service to a tonne of the
gas buried deep underground
for thousands of years. Climate
change is a problem of cumulative
amounts of GHGs in the
atmosphere, and many experts Bio Bio Región
argue that the longer a tonne of 11.906 kt CO2 eq.
CO₂ can be stored away, the more 14%
valuable it should be. So reliance
on forest CO2 capture would not
be incompatible with the use Figure 4 GHG emissions by region
of CCUS. Source: Ministry of Environment
CCUS is considered a mature
technology and infrastructure already existent generation sources. While many critics of the
(+40 years on), and has been the subject of much policy argue that US$5/tCO2e is not enough
discussion and considerable research, but little to significantly alter behaviour and foster a
in the way of real-world impact. This reveals transition to sustainable energy sources, the
an important point: the deployment of CCUS phased implementation of carbon tax schemes
technologies is almost exclusively motivated by is recommended to allay fears of decreasing
the need to significantly reduce GHG emissions, competitiveness. They are also an incentive for
so their large-scale adoption depends on explicit several low-cost applications of CCUS, such as
efforts to control such emissions. However, as the in oil refining and gas processing, which are near
early achievement of net-zero ambitions ramps up, cost-effective to deploy today, even with relatively
that could change dramatically. modest prices on CO2 emissions.
The current economics of CCUS is such that the Another significant barrier to the effective
cost of emitting CO2 from coal- or gas-fired power deployment of CCUS is the current lack of
plants or industrial facilities is still less than the recognised standards and guidelines to support
cost of implementing CCUS almost anywhere in its implementation. It is also important to
the world today. However, excluding CCUS from acknowledge that in addition to a sufficiently
the suite of technologies used to meet emissions stringent climate policy, the deployment of CCUS
reduction targets will increase these costs. as part of society’s response to climate change will
Chile became the first country in South America need a more clearly defined regulatory framework.
to implement and collect a carbon tax, levying Research has demonstrated that presenting
US$5/tCO2e for large industrial and power a comprehensive awareness and education
Figure 5 Antofagasta-Bio Bio Regions potential hubs
campaign will enable people to form their own and Bio Bio Regions. These could allow the
more informed opinions about CCUS. Although storage of CO2, with an estimated cost of 60-150
this does not always lead to acceptance, it does US$/t for the potential capture of 40% of the
assist in creating a more positive attitude towards electricity generating and industrial energy sector
the technology. current emissions (see Figure 5).
CCUS hubs Summary

One key element that will be critical to the CCUS technology does not prevent the generation
development of commercial CCUS at the scale of GHGs, but it promises to prevent them from
required to meet climate objectives is the being emitted into the atmosphere and, therefore,
establishment of capture and storage hubs, as reduce their impact on the climate for long periods.
In the case of Chile, the development of
geological storage for captured CO2, coupled
In Chile, the emission with natural forest sinks, can provide additional
concentration zones present a time until the emission reduction and prevention
measures considered to be priorities are
favourable condition for developing fully effective and give assurance of net-zero
integrated CCUS hubs achievement or if a quicker reduction than the
forest capture rate is needed.
These reasons mean that CCUS technology
combined clusters of industrial sources of CO2 is not in itself a sustainable option. However, it
near storage locations, de-risking development by does represent a transitional solution to climate
enabling efficiencies of scale and shared cost. change mitigation, a ‘bridge’ technology until
In Chile, the emission concentration zones renewable energy sources are developed in
present a favourable condition for developing sufficient quantities and are accessible by the
integrated CCUS hubs by matching CO2 majority of the population. For Chile, CCUS also
sources with sinks based on emissions volumes, presents a potential opportunity to go beyond
storage capacity and available infrastructure of carbon neutrality and provide a source of
electricity-generating industrial processes and ‘negative emissions’ in the face of the urgency to
fuels processing. reduce them.
Using data from old oil exploration efforts
developed in Chile in the 1970s to 1980s were
preliminarily identified locations for detailed VIEW REFERENCES
assessment as potential CCUS hubs, concluding Jose Barriga Cabezón
with a high probability that there are adequate josebarrigacabezon@gmail.com
geological reservoirs at least in the Antofagasta
Carbon capture policy development
and the pathway forward
How can policymakers help commercialise the carbon capture market to
significantly kick off the global deployment of the technology?
Damilola Abe
University of Houston
T
he global warming
challenge is a big
concern to each of us,
Oil Natural gas Coal Other Bioenergy Nuclear Hydro
including the very sceptics. renewables
5,000
Its effects are experienced
directly or indirectly by
Million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE)
everyone, some of which 4,000

include harsh weather
and a rise in sea level and
temperature. Unplanned 3,000
floods and extreme weather
conditions potentially
lead to a loss of lives or 2,000
infrastructures and disasters.
Such disasters may lead to
severe economic loss and 1,000
the destruction of private
and public infrastructures.
0
They could also lead to
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
20 9
20 0
40
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
1
3
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
people being displaced

from their homes and the
destabilisation of regional Figure 1 Alternative renewable energy sources by 2040 Source: IEA
governments, especially
in struggling economies, and an increase in (CCUS) becomes the best option for mitigating
government spending to restore severely climate change.
damaged infrastructures. On an individual level, carbon capture storage
According to the International Energy Agency projects are proven and effective. The Sleipner
(see Figure 1), alternative renewable energy and Snøhvit carbon capture project in offshore
sources would only meet 8% of human energy Norway is a testament to the viability of the
demands by 2040. This small percentage means success of its technology and advantages.
that coal and fossil fuels are the most reliable However, several factors still hinder its global
source for the foreseeable future. Current deployment, including regulatory, legal, economic
renewable sources cannot meet the rising global and financial challenges. Amongst its challenges
demand for energy. Since the world still relies on to deployment on a commercial level, economic
fossil fuels for energy consumption, greenhouse and financial setbacks are the most crucial.
gas emissions will continue to increase. At this Up until now, policymakers have struggled to
point, carbon capture utilisation and storage develop the business-sustaining groundwork
government to invest in
CO2 capture and storage annual capacity (Mtpa) 160 carbon utilisation and
Early development create partnerships with
140 industries that utilise
Advanced development
In construction carbon for their processes.
120
Operational When more industries use
100 carbon, the demand and
supply effect will help
80 structure globally
acceptable carbon pricing.
60
Geo-industrial zones
40
As of now, there are only
20
21 currently operating
CCUS facilities in the
0 world, according to the
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
International Energy
Agency. This number is
Figure 2 Pipelines of commercial CCS facilities from 2010 to 2020: CCS far from what is needed
capacity Source: Global CCS Institute to reduce CO2 to achieve
net-zero. According to the
to commercialise the carbon capture industry. Global CCS Institute, the total capacity of carbon
Several schemes have been tested, but none capture facilities globally is around 40 Mtpa,
have yielded the much-needed commercialisation and it must increase more than a hundredfold
of the carbon capture market to significantly kick to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Making
off the global deployment of the technology and carbon capture commercially viable is the game
impact emissions reduction. changer to spur hundreds of carbon capture
projects worldwide.
Carbon pricing Governments can invest in carbon capture
One of the setbacks of the current policy is technology projects by creating a geo-industrial
the regulatory framework to determine carbon zone and strategically locating the site of the
pricing. Carbon taxes do not necessarily carbon capture facility to build infrastructure
guarantee a reduction in emissions, as emitters directly from the emission source to the
can factor extra expenses into the cost of their site. This geo-industrial zone will consist of
products, which the end consumer would neighbouring regions with significant industrial
ultimately pay. On the other hand, the cap or emission activities.
and trade scheme is susceptible to market Areas along the coastline would get emissions
fluctuations, making it difficult for investors to sequestered in offshore saline aquifers or
build a business model. depleted oil wells, while industries inland would
Creating stability of the carbon price would be be connected to an onshore carbon capture
best when it is not dependent on the negative storage site. For example, in the US, Houston
societal cost per tonne but rather as a commodity would serve as a better geo-industrial zone
for utilisation. Carbon utilisation will be a better to store carbon emissions into the Gulf of
driver to determine carbon pricing; therefore, Mexico due to its proximity and accessibility
governments should create incentives and to an emissions source. On the other hand,
policies to develop the industry and eliminate Montana would be a desirable geo-industrial
many uncertainties faced by carbon pricing. site for onshore carbon capture storage due
The industry would generate the constant to its subsurface storage capacity. Each
demand necessary to keep carbon pricing carbon-emitting company should be mandated
afloat globally without excess regulations by to connect to the main carrier for storage
individual nations. Another solution is for the and utilisation.
Segmenting the
industry
The industry market
can be divided into
three main categories
for policy approach: the
Source, the Transport,
and the Storage and
utilisation. Segmenting
the market helps set
the right tone to make
favourable policies
for each stakeholder
in the industry.
Also, it relieves the
stakeholders of bearing
the entire financial
burden of building the
CCUS process and
infrastructures. Figure 3 Global storage resource assessment (GtCO2)
Source: Global CCS Institute
The Source
The Source is the emitting production companies, land and underground with CO2 pipelines, which
and already emitting companies such as coal-fired are considered dangerous to human lives.
power plants were mostly built without CCUS
plans. Therefore, they would need to retrofit the The Storage and utilisation (see Figure 3)
installation on existing facilities. Retrofitting CCUS The storage and utilisation market is considered
infrastructure may be a substantial economic a separate sector. It receives CO2 for either
feat that would require years to complete. The utilisation or storage. The facility is designed to
idea is to reduce the financial load and enormous separate CO2 for utilisation and store the excess
technical responsibility as much as possible. The directly to geologic repositories. This framework
responsibility of the Source can be streamlined will serve as a supply chain for the CO2 utilisation
to carbon capture only and to connect to the market and ensure the proper storage and
main carrier, leaving them to focus on producing monitoring of the storage site location. The site
mostly pure CO2 and capturing nearly 100% of monitoring, verification and post-closure will be
their emissions. The transport market takes it up handled by the storage site managers.
from there. Segmenting the industry this way allows for
rapid innovation and execution of CCUS projects.
The Transport Each stakeholder can focus on developing and
The transport sector is the main carrier funding a smaller part of the entire chain and not
responsible for delivering CO2 to the storage be overwhelmed with regulations. Moreover, this
site. Building transboundary and interboundary allows policymakers to work with smaller groups
pipelines to deliver CO2 to storage or injection to tackle issues they face and to develop a precise
sites requires a set of infrastructure and technical and adequate policy for the Source, Transport or
processes (see Figure 2). Instead of having direct Storage and utilisation micro industries. Through
pipelines for each emitting Source to a storage this segmentation, the confidence of private
site, a well-structured pipeline system can be investors can be boosted, while reducing market
in place to deliver CO2 to the storage site within uncertainties to a calculated risk level.
the network.
For the Sources, this eliminates the cost of Damilola Abe
abuxberkeley@gmail.com
building pipelines and avoids the overcrowding on
Optimizing combustion for
a greener tomorrow.
AMETEK process analyzers and sensor technologies have been the industry standard
for more than 50 years. Today, our industry faces more environmentally responsible
emissions mandates and greater demand for the use of clean energy. That’s why
decarbonizing through optimized combustion and enhanced predictive analytics
is essential for reducing plant emissions and ensuring equipment uptime.
Our Thermox® WDG-V combustion analyzer is field-serviceable and monitors

and controls combustion with unparalleled precision. As facilities strive to
operate more efficiently and accept more variable fuels at their burners,
AMETEK provides solutions for tighter emission control.
Learn more about optimized combustion by watching our

decarbonization webinar.
ametekpi.com
© 2021, all rights reserved by AMETEK, Inc.

Strategies for decarbonising
combustion processes
Operators can leverage the combustion reaction to decarbonise fired equipment,
optimise energy efficiency, enhance process reliability, and reduce emissions
Tim Tallon
AMETEK Process Instruments
A
midst the global movement towards
renewable energy sources, combustion CO2
remains an important heating source
across many industries, including power and 2H2O
steam generation, oil and gas. While many of CH4 + 2O2 + N2 N2
these combustion processes continue to operate ppm CO
on fossil fuels, we can derive ‘greener’ forms of ppm H2
combustion by considering the available ‘levers’ ppm NOx
inherent to the combustion reaction. With an
intuitive working knowledge of these levers, we Figure 1 The combustion chemical reaction,
can more clearly reveal opportunities to meet highlighting the key levers for decarbonisation
short-term sustainability targets and long-term
strategic roadmaps. role in the heat generated and consumed during
First, consider the primary elements of the combustion process. For example, increasing
combustion: fuel, oxygen and heat. At sufficient fuel consumption directly increases CO2 emissions.
air levels, the fuel combusts with the oxygen In the same way, decreasing the fuel directly
largely to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water reduces the amount of CO2 generated.
(H2O) with trace part-per-million (ppm) amounts From this lens, there are four critical levers that
of combustibles (which includes carbon monoxide each offer a pathway to decarbonise combustion
[CO] and hydrogen [H2]) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) (see Figure 1):
both as a result of imperfect mixing and localised
flame hot spots. The standard combustion ➊ Fuel
reaction (using natural gas) can be summarised in ➋ Oxygen
Equation 1 or generalised (using a generic CxHy ➌ Available heat
hydrocarbon) in Equation 2, as shown below: ➍ Carbon dioxide
CH4 + 2*O2 + N2 → CO2 + 2*H2O + N2 + ppm CO + The following sections highlight the importance
ppm H2 + ppm NOx eq. (1) of each lever and how specific adjustments to these
levers work together to reduce CO2 emissions.
CxHy + (x+y/2)*O2 + N2 → x*CO2 + y*H2O + N2 +
ppm CO + ppm H2 + ppm NOx eq. (2) Energy efficiency
The first approach to decarbonising fired
While it may seem simple for strategic equipment is to make these assets more efficient.
discussions, the combustion chemical reaction Through increased energy efficiency, the system
provides an insightful framework for identifying the produces equal or better performance while also
various levers available to decarbonise combustion. consuming less fuel. There are two common
Notably, each reactant component plays a direct approaches to decarbonise fired equipment via
Optimised combustion is
achieved by reducing the
oxygen setpoint (which
reduces fuel demand at the
Combustibles burner) while also building
losses
O2 & EFFICIENCY Excess in an adequate safety
COMBINED air
combustibles O2 only margin to operate above the
operating LOSSES losses
OPTIMUM combustibles breakthrough
CONTROL set point
POINT point. Figure 2 overlays
the excess oxygen vs
300 ppm combustibles measurements
and illustrates this optimal
200 ppm
oxygen control setpoint.
100 ppm
As an example, consider
0% 1% 2% 3% 4% the scenario of a boiler
Excess O2 operating at 10 MM Btu/
hr with natural gas, 75%
Figure 2 Measurement of excess oxygen and combustibles enables firing rate and a flue gas
optimised combustion and lower fuel consumption and stack emissions temperature of 600°F.
Prior to optimising, the
energy efficiency: optimised combustion and flue gas analyser measures 3% excess oxygen
waste heat recovery. and 100 ppm combustibles. After optimising
the combustion process, the boiler may now
Optimised combustion operate at 1% excess oxygen and slightly higher
Optimised combustion refers to the optimal ratio combustibles levels. In this case, the boiler now
of air and fuel to minimise fuel consumption consumes 1.5% less fuel, directly resulting in a
without creating an unsafe condition. Optimised 1.5% reduction of CO2 emissions.
combustion primarily adjusts the ‘oxygen’ lever of
the combustion reaction. Waste heat recovery
In a standard fired heater, an oxygen An alternative approach to energy efficiency is
measurement is made in the flue gas to ensure waste heat recovery, which focuses on the lever
sufficient combustion air is available at the burner. of ‘available heat’ from the combustion reaction.
Typically, the heater often operates within 2-3% Waste heat refers to any unused heat
excess oxygen, and this also provides a safety generated from a combustion process. There is
margin in case the fuel gas composition changes a great deal of waste heat in flue gas, and much
during operation. A combustibles measurement of it can be recovered prior to venting to the
can also be made to monitor for incomplete forms atmosphere, reducing the demand for ‘new’ heat
of combustion, such as CO and H2. to be generated.
To achieve optimised combustion, a combustion Waste heat can be recovered in multiple ways:
flue gas analyser is required to measure both • Waste heat recovery boilers can generate
excess oxygen and combustibles concentrations. steam and reduce the need for separate steam
The oxygen measurement provides an initial generation
setpoint for operation, and the combustibles • Combustion air preheaters can preheat
measurement provides a mechanism to adjust combustion air and reduce fuel at burner
oxygen to optimal levels. If excess oxygen levels • Waste gas heat exchangers can preheat waste
are too high, the heater burns extra fuel to heat gas streams prior to incineration and reduce fuel
the greater quantity of air in the system. If the
excess oxygen levels are too low, incomplete As another example, consider a heater operating
combustion can occur and can even cause an at 10 MM Btu/hr and venting the flue gas at 600°F
unsafe spike in high combustibles levels (often to the atmosphere. By adding a combustion air
referred to as ‘combustibles breakthrough’). preheater, the flue gas may now vent at 400°F,
and the burner requires 5.8% less fuel. This fuel a boiler that fires 10 MM Btu/hr using bituminous
reduction also directly relates to a 5.8% reduction coal. This boiler emits 2,057 lb CO2 per hour. To
in CO2 emissions. decarbonise, the boiler could be converted to fire
natural gas, reducing emissions to 1,206 lb CO2
Fuel changes per hour – which is a 41.4% reduction in CO2
An alternative path to decarbonise fired emissions just by changing fuels.
equipment is to consider changes in fuel,
which directly relate to the ‘fuel’ lever of the Emission capture
combustion reaction. While it may be more taxing Focusing on the CO2 lever of the combustion
to implement, there are many types of low-carbon reaction, carbon capture directly removes CO2
fuel sources to consider. from the process and the air.
The most obvious fuel change is to use The advantage of carbon capture is that it allows
hydrogen, which has received a lot of attention end users to operate without any major changes
recently as a fuel source that generates zero CO2 to their core business. In these cases, the end
emissions, unlike fossil fuels. Currently, there are users would capture CO2 emissions at the outlet of
many sources of hydrogen in discussion: their process. The CO2 would then be compressed
and transported by ship or pipeline to a point of
• Brown hydrogen refers to hydrogen generated use or storage. Compressed CO2 can be used as
from coal gasification. a feedstock for various industries or permanently
• Grey hydrogen refers to hydrogen fuel stored in either onshore or offshore underground
generated from natural gas without the capture, geological formations or caverns.
use and storage of carbon byproducts. Currently,
steam methane reforming (SMR) is the most Reliability enhancement
common approach to generate grey hydrogen. Finally, end users can also decarbonise by
• Blue hydrogen refers to hydrogen fuel leveraging the reliability of their equipment for
production from natural gas (grey hydrogen) with optimal heat transfer, utilising the available heat
specific additional steps to ensure the capture, use lever of the combustion reaction. In this case, end
and storage of GHGs. The most common example users can reduce unneeded fuel usage by keeping
is through SMR with the use of carbon capture, equipment clean and online via proactive and
use and storage. predictive maintenance.
• Green hydrogen refers to the production of The reality is that fouling of equipment can
hydrogen exclusively through renewable energy. directly impact the heat transfer between the
An example could be hydrogen generated from burner flame and the process. Examples include:
electrolysis at a solar power
facility.
Coke-based coal
While hydrogen offers Anthracite coal
a fuel source with zero Petroleum coke
CO2 emissions, much is Lignite coal
still needed for a global Subbituminous coal
transition to hydrogen Waste oil
fuel. In the interim, Bituminous coal
transitions to lower carbon Tyre-derived fuel
fuel sources provide an Other petro & misc.
opportunity to reduce CO2 Flared natural gas
Municipal solid waste
emissions. Figure 3 shows
Geothermal (avg. all gen.)
a comparison between
0 50 100 150 200 250
various fuels and their
direct pounds (lbs) of CO2
emitted per MM Btu. Figure 3 Comparison of CO2 emissions emitted vs various fuel sources
As an example, consider Source: EIA.gov
analyser to monitor the excess oxygen and
combustibles levels to detect any early onset of
incomplete combustion – which may have resulted
from burner tip fouling, for example. Nevertheless,
predictive, proactive maintenance can provide
another method to ensure proper heat transfer
within fired equipment and enhance process
reliability, reducing unneeded fuel consumption and
plant emissions.
Conclusion
Overall, the combustion reaction offers a simple yet
Figure 4 Burners before and after cleaning impactful framework to identify the key levers to
Source: Cambridge University Press “Industrial Flames” decarbonise fired equipment: fuel, oxygen, available
heat, and CO2. Energy efficiency can be achieved
• Burner tips can become fouled over time, and through optimised combustion (reducing the
this can cause flame impingement, increased flue gas oxygen setpoint) or waste heat recovery
pollution emissions due to incomplete combustion (increasing heat availability) to reduce unneeded fuel
and improper heat transfer. Figure 4 shows the consumption and resulting emissions. Changing to
improvement of the burner flame after cleaning. cleaner, low-carbon fuel sources can greatly reduce
• Heater tubes and boiler tubes can accumulate long-term CO2 emissions. As an alternative, end
particulate over time, which insulates the tubes users could consider carbon capture, use and storage
and reduces the heat transfer between the flue to maintain their current production processes while
gas and process, ultimately increasing the fuel also directly reducing their CO2 emissions.
firing rate to overcompensate. Finally, operators can maximise the available heat
• Nonroutine flaring due to poor equipment transfer of their fired equipment through predictive
reliability can cause considerable increases in analytics and proactive maintenance, ensuring
plant emissions in addition to losses in production. equipment cleanliness, reliability and uptime while
reducing any unneeded emissions caused by fouling
Through predictive analytics and proactive of the burner or process. Through the key levers, end
maintenance, operators can ensure their equipment users can better plan for near-term decarbonisation
is clean and operating reliably for optimal heat targets and long-term sustainability roadmaps.
transfer, enabling them to maintain process
uptime and reduce unneeded plant emissions. Tim Tallon
One mechanism includes the use of a combustion Tim.Tallon@ametek.com
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Optimal energy and emissions
management during energy transition
When companies manage energy provision and consumption in real-time, it is
possible to significantly reduce total energy use and optimise operations
Juan Ruiz and Carlos Ruiz

KBC Advanced Technologies, Inc.
T
he energy landscape is evolving. Energy they put in significant effort to better manage their
costs are fluctuating widely, and global energy systems.
concern to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) For large-scale process plants, energy normally
emissions grows stronger. Traditional energy accounts for 50% of operating expenses.
sources, such as coal, have declined in importance, Consequently, an energy use reduction of 10%
while supplies from natural gas and renewables can often improve margins by 5%. As companies
are consistently growing. Additionally, the seek to boost profits and reduce emissions, energy
COVID-19 pandemic impacted consumption optimisation is naturally one of the first places to look.
patterns, resulting in drastic price changes for oil When companies manage energy provision
and petroleum-derived products. and consumption in real-time, it is possible to
While expectations are that overall consumption significantly reduce total energy use with just a
will recover in 2021, traditional fuels may never few actions. Area by area, a site can quickly make
return to their previous price levels. At the same operational changes to improve efficiency and
time, competing renewable options expand while reduce consumption and emissions. On the other
their costs decrease. Adding to the complexity of hand, large-scale improvement projects, such as
this environment, hourly or sub-hourly changes of installing a new cogeneration system, need careful
power market prices are becoming very common examination for cost/benefit potential.
worldwide. Manufacturers are aware of energy’s Process plants, manufacturing sites, and
role in overall costs and emissions. As a result, communities need to consider what is the best way
From… To… Consumer

Predominantly centralised Decentralized Producer
Prosumer
Hydrocarbon sourced Lower CO2 emission generation,
generation transportation, storage and use
C o m m e r c ia l
b u ild in g
S o la r P V
p o w e r p la n t
Ho use
Fa c to r y
Sto r a g e
H o u s e w it h
W in d
Sto r a g e d o m e s t ic C H P
Ho use po we r
p la n t
Fa c to r y
H2
Ho use
Sto r a g e
Co m m e r c ia l
b u ild in g
L o c a l C H P P la n t C o m m e r c ia l b u ild in g
Figure 1 Optimal energy management for the current energy systems operation and after the energy transition 1
to produce, store, distribute and mix the available Hydrogen production and storage is an example
energy options in the context of the energy of a power storage facility. Hydrogen is a great fit
transition. Whether they use traditional, renewable for this purpose since it has been part of traditional
or both sources, there is a need to find an effective energy systems for many decades. Historically,
way to adapt to this new context by integrating the least expensive way for a plant to generate
these sources or fundamentally changing the hydrogen was by the steam methane reforming
existing energy system infrastructure. The final (SMR) process. However, SMR produces carbon
objective is to simultaneously reduce cost and dioxide as a by-product, which plants normally
GHGs emissions in the current context, during the vent into the atmosphere. A way to eliminate these
transition and continue doing it when a distributed, carbon dioxide emissions is by following a greener
renewables-based energy system operates long alternative. This approach is the use of power
after, as presented in Figure 1. to electrolyse water into oxygen and hydrogen
(green hydrogen). Deciding if this is economically
Energy systems integration during advantageous depends on the power source and
energy transition storage options. Considerations to manage green
The level of integration that would be achieved hydrogen production include its use in existing
during the energy transition will introduce an networks, via injection to natural gas, storage in
increasing complexity in the management of these caverns or compressed in cylinders.
mixed energy systems. Decisions at the operational To make this complex set of decisions feasible,
level, such as when to use the fossil fuel-based we believe that any energy management system
co-generators, will depend on expected power (EMS) support tool should include and provide the
and fuel prices and the predictions (i.e., forecasts) functionalities described below and presented in
of renewable energy availability. This, in turn, Figure 2:
depends on weather conditions, such as ambient • Provide integrated, holistic models that consider
temperature, wind speed, or solar intensity. Due to equipment or subsystems usually encountered in
uncertainty on the factors that affect renewable conventional energy systems and what relates to
energy generation, it is necessary to include power renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic
storage facilities and explicitly consider availability (PV), wind, biomass, hydrogen, and so on
and constraints. • Support forecasting, which estimates future
Figure 2 Energy management system functionalities for optimal and autonomous operation
2
Figure 3 Hybrid Power Plant EMS, web-based graphical user interface for real-time optimal operation
and monitoring
operational site conditions and environment, like conventional production backup and other time-
weather, power/fuels market conditions, process dependent constraints, make optimal energy
energy demand, and so on. scheduling a key and pivotal need for tools that
• Allow the analysis and monitoring of current aim at managing these energy systems.
and past energy efficiency and performance of The multi-period optimisation (MPO) technology
the site and renewable sources. accounts for restrictions that affect multiple time
• Support the optimal energy scheduling, periods, usually in the future. It is indispensable
taking into consideration availability, forecasted for making decisions involving energy inventories,
consumption, variability in electricity prices time-sensitive operating constraints (such as
and inventories, as well as multi-period related minimum downtime or uptime for pieces of
decisions. equipment like boilers and gas turbines and
• Automate the integration of the optimal their sequencing, and so on), or the start/stop
schedule and real-time recommendations to schedule of complex equipment (for example, gas
relieve schedulers and operators from complex turbines with their related heat recovery steam
and time-consuming decision-making activities. generation and steam turbo generator). It is useful
• Target autonomous operation in the short and for different types of renewable energy systems.
medium term, allowing a smooth information flow A few examples showing some of the potential
between the different decision levels, going from uses are:
planning to the regulatory control layer.
➊ Concentrated solar power: to manage the energy
Multi-period optimisation storage and the start/stop of the system (pumping of
Real-time optimisation and scheduling, working the heating fluid, steam turbines) as a function of the
together and properly aligned, is paramount to solar intensity and other specific constraints.
properly manage energy systems at the minimum ➋ Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy: managing
cost, while continuously reducing GHG emissions. the energy storage as a function of the predicted
The inherent variability of the renewable energy solar intensity and other specific restrictions and
sources and electricity market prices, along constraints. Decision variables could involve start/
with the need to coordinate energy storage, stop of ancillary or backup conventional systems,
MPO Optimal batteries operation and
inventory schedule
Forecasted wind and PV power production
Figure 4 Hybrid power plant EMS, wind and PV power production forecast, and MPO-based
batteries charge/discharge and inventory optimal schedule
like boilers, gas turbines or turbine/motor drivers with an MPO-based application that helps drive the
for pumps and compressors. optimal real-time operation.
➌ Wind power: to manage the inventory of
batteries and/or hydrogen when it is produced to Conclusions
store energy, injected in a natural gas pipeline or Energy transition activities introduce several
further processed in a production plant. To be done challenges when trying to manage energy use in
as a function of the prediction of the wind speed process plants effectively.
and other restrictions. MPO could eventually be When planning, monitoring or managing
used to define the start/stop of the wind turbines. in real-time, either for a single site or a set of
➍ Biomass: MPO can be used to manage the interconnected facilities, detailed knowledge of
biomass inventory used for the generation of steam the sources and uses of energy is necessary. The
or electricity as a function of the forecasted supply coordination of information, forecasts, scheduling
as well as constraints on the power and/or biomass activities, regulations, reporting and control
storage capacity and alternative fuel costs. activities are necessary for consistent and optimal
decision-making. This requires the appropriate set
As a practical case of how the MPO is used in of software support tools.
this context, we present an example of a hybrid An ideal EMS should be based on a real-time,
power plant, where both PV and wind power digital twin model of the energy system to
production, as well as battery banks, are present. constantly operate at the lowest economic cost and
In this case, MPO can help optimally manage the minimum GHGs emissions. This will allow users to
batteries storage based on the solar and wind monitor the past while optimising current operations,
intensity forecasts, as well as the grid prices and with the advantage of looking into the future.
demand. Figure 3 shows a screenshot of the EMS
real-time optimiser and monitor web graphical Carlos Ruiz
user interface, while Figure 4 presents the results carlos.ruiz@kbc.global
of the optimal batteries charge, discharge and
inventory schedule, based on the forecasted Juan Ruiz
Juan.Ruiz@kbc.global
variables. The optimal schedule was produced
Zero-emission steam
generation with electricity
Advances in electric technology have the capability to provide zero-emission
clean steam or process heat for a truly sustainable solution
James Lewis
Chromalox
T
he fossil fuel age is well under way as our generation. Due to steam’s excellent heat transfer
world has become heavily reliant on the properties and relative ease of use and abundant
finite supply of fossil fuel-based energy supply, it is used across multiple industries
for everything from power generation and from residential and commercial building heat
transportation to industrial process heating and to medical sterilisation and industrial heating
steam generation. As energy demand continues applications. Fuel fired steam generation has been
to increase, fossil fuels can no longer be looked the prevailing method for many years because
to for long-term reliability, and the effect of electric technology has been generally dismissed
fossil fuel-based systems on the environment due to its higher energy cost. However, with new
is becoming more apparent. For these reasons, developments in electric heating technology as
the focus has been shifting to renewable energy well as government legislation aimed at regulating
generation at an increasing rate, and alternative and decreasing emissions, the landscape is
fuel technologies revolving around hydrogen, changing in favour of electric.
ammonia, biogas and renewable fuels are also Electric resistance heating elements have been
making a breakthrough. With alternative energy used in the industry for over 100 years without
sources becoming more prevalent for regional significant change, as the overarching design
energy generation as well as support from is simple but effective. While electric heating
local and federal government legislation aimed elements are versatile in how they are designed
at decarbonisation, utilisation of clean energy and customised, the core technology has been
down to the local process level is also gaining intact for decades for low voltage applications
traction to curb emissions, particularly in steam to 690VAC. That all recently changed when
Figure 1 Chromalox DirectConnect: low voltage vs medium voltage
Chromalox developed and patented the first true a 480V system, the associated amp draw is
medium voltage element rated to a voltage of reduced almost nine times. This significantly
7200VAC. Referred to as DirectConnect (see reduces the amount of wiring, conduit, fusing and
Figure 1), these medium voltage electric heating contactors required to support the system. Fewer
elements provide a significant advantage over components also mean less time to install, fewer
conventional electric designs and bridge the gap parts to maintain and support, and less risk of
from electric technology to fuel fired technology failure.
for steam generation and process heating. Beyond reducing the physical components
required with medium voltage systems, a further
Benefits of electric heating technology advantage is gained through improved operational
To appreciate the value of electric resistance efficiencies. Electric systems, regardless of
steam generation over fuel fired steam generation, voltage level, are 100% efficient at converting
it is important to understand the benefits of applied energy into heat. In other words, all
medium voltage electric technology compared energy that reaches the heater is converted into
to conventional low voltage solutions. Firstly, heat and driven into the process. Electric systems
no intermediate transformer is required to drop do, however, have some losses upstream from the
down a site’s voltage into the lower voltage realm heater by means of I2R losses through the power
traditionally required by electric heaters. Even wiring and heat dissipation through the power
if low voltage were available, these systems control components. Even in low voltage systems,
would generally draw significant power, such these attributed losses are relatively small and
that upgrades to the power infrastructure may only account for approximately a 4% reduction
still be needed. Beyond this aspect, the value in efficiencies. With medium voltage systems,
of a medium voltage system is largely derived the reduction in amp draw means less wiring
from the substantial decrease in the system’s and fewer power-control components, which in
amperage due to the higher voltage level. Using turn means fewer losses, resulting in nearly 99%
the reference of a 4160V system compared to operational efficiency.
Taking all of this into account, we Cost of ownership 480V 4160V Savings
can see that a medium voltage electric
resistance system can significantly Installation, $ 753,650 528,655 224,995
simplify site management and Operating, $ 873,940 240,800 633,140
infrastructure, installation, operation Maintenance, $ 61,200 10,200 51,000
and maintenance over traditional low 10 yr life cycle replacements, $ 163,655 69,500 94,155
voltage systems. Framing up a similar 20 year costs, $ 1,852,445 849,155 1,003,290
look when comparing medium voltage Annualised costs, $ 92,622 42,458 50,165
to traditional fuel fired systems, we
can see the total cost of ownership Table 1 Cost of ownership
evaluation reveals a much different
picture compared to the myopic cost of energy conversion. The true boiler operational efficiency
discussion that we typically see. Particularly is more complex to derive. While the burners may
with a changing landscape with local and be capable of combustion efficiencies into the 90%
federal legislation aimed at decarbonisation, range, this number is based on factors like excess
the chips continue to stack in favour of electric air percentage and fuel specification. This is also
resistance heating. specifically aimed at how well the boiler converts
fuel to heat, but does not indicate whether that
Cost of ownership heat is driven into the process. This is where the
So how does a medium voltage electric system true efficiency of a fuel fired boiler presents a much
compare to a traditional fuel fired system when a different story. Once the fuel has been burned, a
full cost of ownership evaluation is performed? percentage of that heat is immediately vented off
In addition to medium voltage systems having through the flue stack.
nearly 99% total system efficiency, the inherent The heat that does pass through the boiler’s
design of the electric heating element means the exchange system also faces challenges of its own,
derived heat is surrounded by the medium to be specifically how well that heat is transferred from
heated, forcing that heat directly into the process. the tubes into the process. As these boilers operate
On the other hand, fuel fired systems advertise over time, soot from combustion will begin to coat
certain efficiencies but are only factoring in fuel onto components, reducing effective heat transfer.
Figure 2 3D Model of Chromalox DirectConnect MVSGI Series electric steam generator
shutdowns, on the other
hand, come with a much
higher price. These
types of event have
multiple aspects that
contribute to the total
cost, including detection
costs, containment costs,
recovery costs, incidental
expenses, productivity
loss, business
interruption and, perhaps
most importantly, loss
of revenue. While
all systems have the
potential for unplanned
The higher advertised efficiency of the boiler to shutdown, the more complex they are, the
convert fuel to heat is short-sighted, considering greater potential exists. This, again, is a
the amount of heat generated from fuel that is significant advantage of DirectConnect, as
introduced where it is truly needed, the process electric systems are inherently straightforward
medium, is much lower. and require little to no auxiliary equipment to
Fuel fired steam systems are inherently more function at peak efficiency. Components most
complex as well, requiring additional fuel line susceptible to failure, namely contactors or
infrastructure, economisers, oxygen metering, fuses, are generally commodity parts that can be
and flue stack treatment in addition to the basic replaced quickly and easily.
components needed for steam production such
as a blowdown vessel and water and steam lines. Carbon neutral solution
This requires more upfront capital expenditure Financial considerations aside, the greatest
in order to support these installations. Add in asset that electric steam generation systems
permitting costs, administrative fees and newly have is producing zero emissions locally. These
adopted carbon taxes or cap and trade credit electric systems can also be powered by
costs, and the upfront and annual fees associated electricity generated from renewable energy
with fuel fired systems begin to pile up. sources, energy storage systems, or excess
grid energy. As renewable energy sources and
Maintenance energy storage means become more prevalent
The cost evaluation of the system goes beyond and capable, the use of electric heating systems
just capital costs, though, as these parts must at the process level means a truly carbon-
also be maintained. This is perhaps the most neutral solution from generation to application.
significant factor to consider when looking at fuel The use of medium voltage electric heating
fired systems. More complex systems are more solutions offers many advantages over fuel
prone to failed components, which may compound fired systems when factors beyond just the
to other parts of the system or cause boiler cost of energy are considered, such as the
shutdown altogether. Planned and unplanned total cost of ownership. As our world struggles
shutdowns are an often overlooked aspect of the to release the clench that fossil fuels have,
total cost of ownership, but can be substantial advances in emerging electric technology have
when you factor in the rippling effect of an now presented the capability to provide zero-
offline boiler. emission clean steam or process heat for a truly
Planned shutdowns at least allow coordination, sustainable solution.
but the complexity of these systems requires
more frequent maintenance and tuning to keep James Lewis
the boilers at their peak efficiencies. Unplanned james.lewis@chromalox.com
Optimising green hydrogen
production using system simulation
Using system simulation can help significantly to address the challenges of
green hydrogen production and distribution
Patrice Montaland
Siemens Digital Industries
I
n the very near future, hydrogen will play a key the complete process of green hydrogen from
role in decarbonising the transportation, energy production to distribution. As demonstrated in
and industry sectors. Hence, many countries this article, system simulation makes it possible to
have already established policies to support build the digital twin and predict the performances
development of a hydrogen infrastructure, of a system combining wind turbines, solar panels
and more and more industry stakeholders are and a wave converter with an electrolyser and a
investing in hydrogen projects. hydrogen compression system. Using simulation
Despite this, hydrogen will only really emerge if makes it possible to quickly evaluate different
it can be produced and distributed efficiently and system architectures, components sizing and
safely at a competitive cost. control strategies to produce hydrogen and green
energy with the best global efficiency, system
Addressing the challenge using system reliability and return on investment (ROI).
simulation
In order to help address these challenges, physics- Green hydrogen production system model
based simulation can play a critical role to capture In order to generate carbon-neutral energy,
Electrolyser
Hydrogen
+/- Anode
+ high
P H2 H2
+/-
+
Cathode pressure
Solar storage
Wind Wave
turbines panels converter
k
U
k
T
Fuel cell
system
unit f (x)
– +
–ks
–ks E
P
Energy
+/-
consumption
Figure 1 Green hydrogen production model
450
400 Wind energy (kWh)
350 Solar energy (kWh) 100.027
kWh x103
300 Wave energy (kWh) 91.4867

34.9433
250 82.6235 33.2397
200 65.9216
73.9121
31.2308
41.4836 49.7464 57.9323 28.4734
150 33.0946
253.351
100 215.31
141.355 166.169
118.536 121.987 122.933 123.449 129.562
50 51.8531
88.6755 105.946
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
90
80
70
kWh x103
60 8.25051 8.86319
50
8.36305 8.54012
40
8.71145
30 51.8531 8.8893 49.1409
20 36.8225 7.5917 7.99048 38.0405
8.38902 7.9893 24.8141
10 17.2704 12.5905
8.26283 8.18588 11.7928
6.11309
0
100
13.29 17.65 14.77 17.69
30.38 24.01
80 32.1 34.83
45.13
53.95 7.6
10.6 64.54 66.11
60 14.67 13.76
%
83.56 20.33 81.88

40 77.7 78.78
23.86 68.39
59.02 53.23 51.41
20 28.08 29.72 34.53
22.19
7.39
0
Figure 2 Monthly analysis of the cumulated energy production, the monthly energy production and the
monthly repatriation of energy sources
several sources can be used, such as wind control them to select the right design on the
turbines, solar panels, wave converters. These first attempt.
energy sources can be combined to improve Off-the-shelf and validated models of the
performance and reliability. However, the energy system simulation software tools are based on
produced fluctuates due to uncontrollable lumped parameters. So simulations can precede
conditions and does not correspond continuously the detailed design of the components and be
to the power demand. Energy storage is, performed very early in the system design stages.
therefore, mandatory. Using water electrolysis, Moreover, that makes simulation run very fast,
this energy can be stored as hydrogen. Since enabling you to evaluate many configurations and
hydrogen has a low density in ambient conditions, scenarios, including ones with long time-range
it is compressed before storage in high-pressure simulations. Further into the project, when the
tanks. When the power demand exceeds the subsystems are better defined, models can still be
power produced by the solar panels, the wind refined, integrating more physics and capturing
turbine and the wave converter, a fuel cell more dynamics. That makes it possible to improve
generates the surplus electric power. simulation accuracy, allowing you to focus more
This kind of system involves a multitude of on the component’s design.
complex physics. That is a typical case where The application case of this article is based on
a system model (see Figure 1) can help better the following assumptions regarding the definition
understand physical phenomenon and interactions of the system:
between various subsystems and components.
Hence, evaluating virtual design options makes • Wind turbines: Wind turbines have a 50 m
it possible to better size components, integrate radius. Their pitch is controlled, depending on the
them in the best architecture and better wind orientation. The wind orientation is variable.
Its speed is also variable, considering the seasons maximum pressure is 750 bars. A control strategy
(up to 8 m/s). The wind turbines can produce up to activates some valves and selects the tank to be
350 kW of electrical power. filled in or emptied.
• Solar panels: The system is based on 62,500
cells of 16 cm2 each. It can deliver 20 kW of A case study with system simulation
electrical power. The solar azimuth and altitude The simulation of the system, reproducing a one-
are dependent on localisation and time. They are year scenario, requires less than 15 minutes using
supposed to be localised in Lyon (France). The a conventional laptop. After running a simulation,
impact of clouds is also variable. Add power output. advanced pre- and post-processing tools help to
• Wave converter: The wave converter uses better visualise and analyse the simulation results.
a float actuated by the waves to actuate a Optimisation studies can also be performed.
piston. The piston diameter is 235 mm. Then Running the simulation makes, for instance, it
a hydraulic system combined with a generator possible to analyse the fluctuation of the energy
is producing electric power. The waves have a produced by the solar panels, the wind turbines
variable amplitude (up to 3 m) and frequency and the wave converter all year long. On a
(up to 0.07 Hz). What can be noticed here is monthly analysis (Figure 2), we can visualise that
that a first wave converter detailed model has the system is able to produce much more power
been initially developed to evaluate the design during winter than during summer. Moreover, it
and performances of this component. Then, to can be noticed that, in the system, wind energy
perform annual simulations, the model was used is the most predominant source, with 71% of the
to train and generate a neural network model, produced energy (22% for the wave converter, 7%
reproducing the same simulation results but for the wind turbines).
significantly reduced simulation time. In these conditions, hydrogen production
• Electrolyser: The electrolyser is made of fluctuates a lot during the year (Figure 3). This
100 cells (300 cm2 each). With a maximal reveals that, especially during summertime, it
electric power of 330 kW, it can produce 6 kg/h would be necessary to use electric power from
of hydrogen. the grid when the hydrogen content in the storage
• Hydrogen storage: The hydrogen can be stored system reaches a low threshold.
in three different tanks of 0.785 m3 each. The Hydrogen compression to 750 bars also
3.5 450 45
400 40 7-days running mean value (kg/day)
3.0
350 35
2.5
kg x103
300 30
kg /day
2.0 250 25
kg
1.5 200 20
150 15
1.0
100 10
0.5 50 5
0.0 0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
H2 production (kg) H2 consumption (kg) Stored H2 (kg) H2 production (kg/day) H2 consumption (kg/day)
800 25
700 1-month running mean value (kg/day)
20
600
kg /day
500
BarA
15
400
300 10
200
5
100
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Pressure in tank no.1 (barA) Pressure in tank no.2 (barA) H2 production (kg/day) H2 consumption (kg/day)
Stored H2 (kg)
Figure 3 Hydrogen storage analysis
equivalent CO2 rejection of
CO2 rating
power sources
100
• Reduce the quantity of
power exported to the grid
80
• Reduce the quantity of
Energy power imported from the
System
cost
60 import grid or reduce the size of the
hydrogen storage system
40
Simulation results (Figure
20 4) show that one of the best
compromises can be made
when we increase the size of
0
the hydrogen storage and solar
panels, and integrate smaller
wind turbines.
Conclusion
Using system simulation can
H2
storage Energy help significantly to address the
export challenges of green hydrogen
production. An extensive multi-
physics simulation platform is
necessary to model complete
Direct consumption systems in a single sketch to
better size the components
Reference architecture involved, evaluate possible
Upsizing the solar panels and downsizing wind turbines
architectures, consider a matrix
Upsizing the wave generator and downsizing wind turbines
Upsizing the H2 storage capacity of operating conditions, and
Upsizing H2 storage, upsizing the solar panels and downsizing wind turbines improve control strategies.
Visual post-processing of
results provides a better
Figure 4 Rating different design choices understanding of the system’s
global behaviour and helps
requires a significant power consumption. Thanks better integrate subsystems, improving the overall
to simulation results, we can evaluate that performances and ROI. The right design solution
compressing the gas consumes 6% of the electric can be selected on the first attempt, reducing the
power generated by the solar panels, the wind risk of errors and accelerating projects.
turbine and the wave converter. Using the model, it Green hydrogen production is one such
has also been evaluated that another architecture application for system simulation. System
using two smaller compressors instead of a single simulation can, however, be applied to other
one could help to save 1% of this global power applications for energy transition: hydrogen
production. Depending on the flow of H2 to be distribution using pipelines, high-pressure or
compressed, one or two compressors can be cryogenic storage, refuelling stations for FCEVs,
actuated, improving system efficiency. fuel cell system integration, combustion engine
Then, it can be interesting to use simulation to hydrogen injection, aircraft propulsion systems
evaluate different design choices and rate them and others.
using criteria. Ratings can aim to:
• Reduce the system cost Patrice Montaland

patrice.montaland@siemens.com
• Reduce CO2 emissions considering the
Reducing CO2 emissions
through process electrification
Hydrogen production from catalytic microwave methane reforming could
jump-start the hydrogen economy
Stephen B. Harrison
sbh4 Consulting
M
ore than 95% of the hydrogen produced is the result. Hydrogen production on electrolysers
worldwide today is derived from is growing at around 50% per year; from a low
thermolysis of fossil fuels. Reforming base, this kind of growth is not surprising.
of natural gas is by far the largest source To meet the need for additional hydrogen
of hydrogen, accounting for around 80% of required to support the decarbonisation of
hydrogen production. In this category, steam industry, transportation and the energy sector,
methane reformers (SMRs) lead the way, and auto hydrogen production from fossil fuels, such as
thermal reformers (ATRs) play a supporting role. natural gas, is also likely to see growth in future
Gasification of coal and petcoke is the second decades. When combined with carbon capture
largest hydrogen production pathway. POX, or and utilisation or storage (CCUS), low-carbon
partial oxidation of natural gas, a process that hydrogen, or ‘blue’ hydrogen, is the result.
is like gasification, is also a significant thermal In a paradigm shift away from conventional
process to produce hydrogen. reforming processes and post-combustion CCUS,
Electrolysers are being built at an increasing Nu:ionic, a start-up based in Atlantic Canada,
pace and on an ever-larger scale. When fed with has a new take on hydrogen production. Their
renewable electricity from sources such as wind, process uses catalytic microwave reforming of
hydropower or PV solar panels, ‘green’ hydrogen methane to generate hydrogen. Only one-quarter
SMR ATR POX

Air
Oxygen Oxygen
Fuel
Feedstock
& steam Feedstock Feedstock
& steam
Flue gas
Syngas Syngas Syngas
Notes:
1. In the SMR the air/fuel combustion reaction takes place in a separate part of the process to the reforming reaction.
2. SMR may alternatively be side-fired or upwards fired 3. Shaded area denotes catalyst bed.
Figure 1 SMR, ATR and POX processes for syngas production
of the electrical power that an electrolyser would In regions where natural gas is abundant, and
consume is required. Methane consumption is CCUS is possible, this natural-gas intensive
reduced by about 30% compared to conventional process for hydrogen production can be viable.
reforming techniques. The result is low-cost, low- The South Eastern United States or the West
carbon hydrogen. coast of Norway are two example locations that
would fit these conditions. The emergence of
Gas-fired steam methane reforming, with CO2 abundant, low-cost renewable power from super-
emissions from the combustion heating scale, ideally located onshore and offshore wind
An SMR is fed with methane from natural gas or farms and GW scale solar parks allows for the use
biomethane and steam. The reaction proceeds of electricity in new ways to reduce our reliance
inside an array of vertical tubes filled with a nickel- on fossil energy sources.
based catalyst to produce syngas, which is around
70% hydrogen and 30% carbon monoxide. To Microwave catalytic reforming – CO2 emissions
drive the reaction kinetics, heat energy must be reduction through electrification
applied at a high temperature. This is achieved by Microwave energy is produced from electricity
burning natural gas in the air to heat the outside and is used in our homes to heat food. Radio
of the reactor tubes. Approximately 75% of the communications masts also transmit information
natural gas flows through the reactor, and the using microwave frequencies. Industrial
balance of 25% is fired in the burners. microwaves are used for drying pharmaceutical
Subsequent catalytic reactors are used to combine powders, cereal grains and timber. Microwaves
more steam with the carbon monoxide in the are now also being used to provide the energy to
syngas to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen. drive steam methane reformers.
The components of this stream are then separated Jan Boshoff is the CEO of Nu:ionic Technologies,
on a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit to a company based in New Brunswick in Eastern
generate pure hydrogen and ‘tail gas’. The tail Canada. Boshoff says that “using microwaves from
gas contains carbon dioxide, unreacted methane renewable power instead of burning natural gas or
and residual quantities of carbon monoxide, in biomethane to create the energy required for the
addition to some hydrogen. These energy gases are reforming reaction can reduce gas consumption
combined with fresh methane to fire the burners. by 25-30%. It also reduces the fossil fuel footprint
The burner flue gas is rich in carbon dioxide and can by a similar amount. By eliminating the fired
be processed using an amine wash or other suitable heater, which is the most polluting part of steam
carbon capture system. methane reforming, through electrification we are
AEC AEM PEM Air SOE H2

O2 + – H2 O2 + – H2 O2 + – H2 plus O2 + – (plus CO)
OH - OH - H+ O2 -
30% KOH(aq)
30% KOH(aq)
Diaphragm
Membrane
Membrane
Electrolyte
1% KOH(aq)
Cathode
Cathode
Cathode
Cathode
Anode
Anode
Anode
Anode
H2O H2O H2O Air H2O as water

as water as water as water (plus CO2)
Notes:
1.In the AEC, AEM and PEM, lye or water flow from the electrolyser cell with the oxygen and/or hydrogen gases. Those liquids are mixed and
recirculated to the electrolyser.
2. Air is used to purge the SOE anode to avoid oxygen accumulation which may present a hazard at the high operating temperature.
3. Bipolar plates made of stainless steel (titanium for PEM) are used to stack adjacent cells in each electrolyser type.
Figure 2 Electrolysers: AEC, AEM, PEM and SOE for hydrogen (and syngas) production
Steam and methane Steam and methane Steam and methane
Catalyst bed
Catalyst
coated tubes
surrounded
by electrically
Microwave
heated coils
Notes:
Microwave
plasma would be
Notes: an alternative to
1. Combustion- dielectric microwave
heated SMR is heating and
an alternative would allow lower
to electrical Syngas, ~70% H2 Syngas, ~70% H2 exit gas Syngas, ~70% H2
heating. temperature.
Figure 3 Electrical catalytic steam methane Figure 4 Dielectric microwave catalytic steam
Reforming (eSMR) methane reforming (μSMR)
reinventing gas conversion for a cleaner future.” grid. A compressor boosts the gas up to between
Nu:ionic has developed and validated steam 12 and 18 bar in a compact reforming reactor,
methane reforming based on microwave energy where the catalyst is directly heated to the
input, a form of electrical reforming. Microwave reforming temperature by microwave energy.
energy is applied directly into the reforming reactor In a conventional steam reformer, a fired heater
and penetrates deep into all the catalyst pores. is required. In that fired heater, combustion
This overcomes one of the issues with traditional superheats the stack gases to 150-300°C above
reforming where heat and temperature distribution the required process temperature. By directly
through the catalyst bed is uneven and results in heating the catalyst with the microwave, energy
reaction slow spots, meaning that lots of catalyst is efficiently applied in the exact amount required
and a very large reactor are required. by the reaction. This results in an improvement
Beyond the reduction in methane consumption, in overall system efficiency and eliminates the
the process benefits from a significantly more excess heat that is wasted in the reformer stack.
compact reforming reactor size, simpler materials After the reformer, a typical chain of shift reactors
of construction and an almost instantaneous enriches the hydrogen concentration to around
ramp rate. This means the process is ideal to be 85%. After those, Nu:ionic has introduced a further
combined with variable renewable power such innovation: an amine-wash carbon capture system,
as wind or solar. A traditional SMR takes hours which removes the carbon dioxide gas prior to
to ramp up due to the heating requirement, and hydrogen purification in a traditional PSA system.
once it is on the flexibility to turn up and down is The PSA tail gas is used to generate the steam that
very limited. is required to feed the reformer. The carbon capture
“The innovations that we have packed into our system effectively removes all the carbon dioxide
process go beyond the microwave,” says Boshoff. produced by the process, enabling low-carbon
“The catalyst must allow the microwave energy to hydrogen production and minimising the size and
freely flow through it. We do use a nickel-based cost of the PSA equipment.
catalyst because that is a readily available metal,
but the trick lies in our choice of catalyst support Jump-starting the hydrogen economy
and the way we have mounted the catalyst on It is hard to imagine what could derail the
that support.” development of the emerging hydrogen economy.
The process can be fed with low-pressure Positive sentiment and momentum related to the
natural gas or biomethane from the distribution use of hydrogen as a renewable energy vector are
tonnes per day of hydrogen. We
have had interest from several
investors to support our growth
trajectory and we are always
open to enter into partnership and
financing discussions.”
Dry reforming, where most of the
steam that is fed to the reformer
is replaced with carbon dioxide
(CO2), is also on the radar. “We had
some encouraging results with
CO2 injection,” confirms Boshoff.
“Microwave catalytic chemistry
allows unique solutions to the
conventional challenges associated
Biogas plant with biomethane upgrade with dry reforming.”
Boshoff adds that there is further
at an all-time high. Admittedly, some applications, room for optimisation on the reactor design and
such as passenger cars, may be a mix of hydrogen operation, including sulphur-tolerant reforming
fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles, and non-equilibrium operation: “But as we are
but many industrial applications will inevitably taking this one step at a time we can bring the
pull for more hydrogen to displace fossil fuels. cost and efficiency benefits associated with
Aviation and heavy transportation, for example the electrification of fired heating to market
shipping, long-distance trucks and trains, are still sooner. However, we have a robust innovation
in a dynamic zone with many possible solutions pipeline and will implement further developments
under consideration. to the technology for future generations of
The conviction to use hydrogen will stimulate the equipment.”
major infrastructure investments, such as The track record of the team at Nu:ionic
hydrogen distribution pipelines. Liquid hydrogen is remarkable. Boshoff himself was a senior
storage and distribution networks may also executive at Sasol, with responsibility for gas
emerge. However, the infrastructure is not yet in conversion to synthetic fuels processes. His co-
place. Boshoff adds that “the great thing about founder and CTO, Jim Tranquilla, has more than
the Nu:ionic hydrogen generator is that it is a small 40 years of expertise under his belt. He was the
to mid-scale plug-and-play solution for on-site CTO at Atlantic Hydrogen, where microwave
hydrogen supply.” pyrolysis was proven to be a potential means for
“All you need is water, methane, and power. turquoise hydrogen production, splitting methane
These utilities are ubiquitous today and mean to hydrogen and solid carbon.
that we can put hydrogen in the places where it “In addition to our openness for financial
is needed, even before the hydrogen transmission sponsors, we are developing strategic
and distribution infrastructure is ready. We are partnerships in biogas utilisation, hydrogen for
jump starting the hydrogen economy.” mobility as well as renewable energy storage
markets,” adds Boshoff. “For example, we could
A team on the move imagine high levels of synergy with a play that
Boshoff is keen to see his company’s technology could support us with access to the European
develop further: “We will be building a 1 tonne per market. We believe that the decarbonisation
day hydrogen reformer this year. That will have focus, biomethane availability, CCUS readiness,
a 500 kW microwave unit and will be based on and the gas/power cost mix in some regions there
our proven pilot plant in New Brunswick. Beyond will be highly compatible with our process.”
that, we intend to leverage our experience in
the development of world-scale gas-to-liquids Stephen B. Harrison
processes to scale up to plants capable of 100+ sbh@sbh4.de
CO2 capture and natural
gas savings in SMR process
Study of the efficiency optimisation of an H2 production plant through natural
gas reforming and its contribution to preserving the environment
Marcelo Tagliabue
Air Liquide Argentina S.A.
S
ixty-six per cent of the world’s hydrogen availability of H2 has become a critical point in
production, estimated at 70 million tonnes, modern refineries.
is used as an input in refining oil, the This article looks at the efficiency optimisation
production of ammonia, methanol and, in recent of an H2 production plant through natural gas
years, in the development of engines that run reforming and its contribution to preserving
on hydrogen (H2). the environment.
At the start of 2021, 70% of the world’s One of our business units consists of an SMR,
economy has made ambitious commitments on mainly to satisfy the H2 needs of a refinery.
carbon neutrality, and H2 will play a fundamental Additionally, part of the CO2 generated is
role in reducing emissions. captured, purified and sold to the local market
Currently, the best-known and most developed with food grade.
production methods are: In a modern, natural gas-fired steam reforming
H2 plant, up to approximately 60% of the
• Electrolysis of water: currently limited to 4% of total CO2 produced is contained in the syngas
H2 production, it is achieved by dissociating the produced (and then in the tail gas pressure
water molecule into its components (hydrogen swing absorption, PSA). The remaining 40% is
and oxygen) using electricity. It is known as the product of the combustion of the additional
green H2.
• Steam reformed from
mol % Flue gas to atm.
natural gas (SMR): Q = Heat removed
N2 60.88
it accounts for 96% O2 1.20
DE-S = Desulphurisation
2 mol %
of current production PSA = Pressure swing
CO2 19.83 H2 75.64
absorption
worldwide. It is a H2O 17.37
HTS = High temperature N2 0.35
thermochemical process that shift unit CO2 15.43
Q CO 5.04
requires high temperatures STM
Methane 3.26
and a subsequent purification
of the final stream, obtaining SMR
the so-called grey H2. NG DE-S Q HTS Q 1
If you capture the CO2
mol %
produced in this process, you
H2 27.16
are in the presence of Make-up fuel
N2 1.01
H2 PSA
so-called blue H2. CO2 46.17
CO 15.07
Methane 9.75
To achieve the highest PSA purge gas
possible conversion of
crude oil into gasoline, gas
oil or middle distillates, the Figure 1 Typical H2 plant
SMR unit and food grade CO2 tanks
fuel gas required by the steam reformer. In our

case, to recover CO2, we use point 1 shown in If the H2 content is as high as 80%,
Figure 1. care must be taken to mix this
Experimental, theory and/or calculations
stream with, for example, natural
The plant used to develop this study is a side-fire gas so that the heat required by the
type SMR fed with natural gas. It consists of a SMR is not less than that supplied
reactor downstream of the main reformer – to by the tail gas from the PSA
eliminate CO from the syngas as much as possible
(water-gas shift reaction, HTS) – a plant for
capturing CO2 using an absorption process with
activated amines, and a liquefaction plant for CO2 market, reducing emissions to the atmosphere by
(for later sale). Previous literature mentioned that the same amount.
in addition to maintaining the production of H2, it This technique is very favourable for the
was possible to substantially reduce the amount industry since the stream rich in CO2 is a
of CO2, CO and CH4 vented to the atmosphere gaseous effluent sent directly to the atmosphere.
from the non-condensable gases of the CO2 However, the practical use of this technique
liquefaction unit, using them as feed to the has some drawbacks, which must be known in
reformer and thus decreasing the consumption of advance so as not to make costly mistakes due
natural gas. to problems of amine solution degradation or
Secondly, to increase the profits of the business internal corrosion, mainly in pumps and heat
unit and to continue reducing CO2 emissions, an exchangers. Therefore, it is crucial to choose
unused asset – a CO2 production plant that burned the right amine for each process, with the
natural gas to produce it – was used to capture correct concentration, pressure and operating
CO2 from the SMR flue gases vented to the temperature. You also have to be careful about
atmosphere (see Figure 1, point 2). Thus, about how the SMR operates in terms of excess O2 in
25 t/d of CO2 is recovered and sold in the local the combustion gases. If it is above 2-3%, amine
degradation processes are aggravated, as are any Typical ROG source Pressure barg Vol% H2
corrosion problems.
As clean fuel standards become more and Delayed coker off-gas ~10 15-30
more demanding, a refinery’s consumption of Hydrocracking HP off-gas 40-125 60-85
H2 continues to increase. Considering this, our Hydrodealkylation off-gas 25-28 50-75
company installed a new SMR very close to the Catalytic reforming 20-30 68-88
first. In this case, the technology is top fired, which Catalytic cracking off-gas ~20 ~18
Hydrotreater off-gas 20-50 60-80
does not have units to recover CO2.
In this last stage, taking advantage of the design Table 1
of the second SMR, which includes an adiabatic
pre-reformer for greater operational flexibility produced as a function of the ROG/natural gas
(to process different types of feed), the use of ratio can be seen in Figure 2.
a stream of refinery off-gas (ROG)1,2 as feed Figure 3 shows how the fuel supplied to the
to the SMR was investigated. The expectation furnace varies, depending on the ROG/natural
was to reduce fossil fuel, such as natural gas, gas ratio. Here, when the ROG/natural gas
consumption and use the ROG that would ratio increases, there is more H2 in the feed and
otherwise be burned and sent to the atmosphere. fewer hydrocarbons to reform, so the energy
Additionally, the composition of ROG can required diminishes.
fluctuate significantly in a refinery as rates for As mentioned above, an adiabatic catalytic
different units change and, in particular, if a unit pre-reformer was installed upstream of the main
goes offline. Typical conditions for different ROG reformer. The adiabatic pre-reforming process is
streams in a refinery can be seen in Table 1. based on a set of reactions: hydrocarbon steam
When it comes to incorporating ROG as reforming followed by water-gas exchange
feed to the SMR, keep in mind a few things for reactions and methanisation.
smoother operation: Generally, no intermediate products are formed,
and complete conversion is usually achieved.
• High level of heavy hydrocarbons The water-gas exchange and methanisation are
• High H2 content limited by thermodynamic equilibrium. While
• High sulphur levels steam reforming is strongly endothermic, gas-
water shift and methanisation are exothermic.
The H2 content in ROG varies between 5 and Therefore, the total heat of the reaction can be
10%, up to values of 90%.
Therefore, its use in the
production of H2 as a feed 2.8
to an SMR should be a 2.6
2.4
commitment by case.
2.2
If the H2 content is as high 2
as 80%, care must be taken 1.8
to mix this stream with, for 1.6
H2/feed
example, natural gas so that 1.4

1.2
the heat required by the SMR
1
is not less than that supplied 0.8
by the tail gas from the PSA. 0.6
In our case, H2 content 0.4
in the ROG varies from 0.2
70-77%, so to have a safe 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
operation and achieve the H2
ROG/natural gas
flow required by our client, it
was mixed with natural gas
in different proportions. The Figure 2 Relationship between the H2 produced as a function of the
relationship between the H2 ROG/natural gas ratio
is the behaviour of the HT
795
shift reactor. As the ROG/
natural gas ratio increases,
695 the temperature delta of the
595 HT shift becomes smaller and
smaller. This change occurs
495 because the H2 present in the
Fuel Nm3/hr
395 ROG dilutes the syngas from

the main reformer, lowering
295 the CO concentration at the
195 inlet of the reactor. So since
fewer reactants are entering
95 the reactor, the amount of
-5 heat generated is smaller.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
ROG/natural gas Results and discussion
The possible drawbacks
Figure 3 Fuel supplied to the furnace varies, depending on the ROG/ mentioned above were
natural gas ratio solved by using a suitable
amine formulation for the O2
present, using a reclaimer to
80 remove amine degradation
70 products from the system,
60 and using stainless steel in
50 critical equipment. As a result,
40 production could be increased
by around 25 t/d of CO2, and
30
obviously this quantity stops
DT
20
emitting into the atmosphere.
10
With a second SMR, the
0 consumption of natural gas
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
-10 was reduced by around
-20 60,000 Nm3/d.
-30 In total, considering both
ROG/natural gas SMRs, the amount of CO2
that avoided being sent into
Figure 4 Temperature profile of the pre-reforming process as a function of the atmosphere is 150 t/d,
the ROG/natural gas ratio and the total reduction in the
consumption of natural gas is
negative, zero or positive, and the process, unlike 66,500 Nm3/d.
other reforming processes, can be operated
adiabatically. Figure 4 shows the temperature References
profile of the pre-reforming process as a 1 Z Rabiei, Hydrogen management in refineries,
function of the ROG/natural gas ratio. As can be Petroleum & Coal 54 (4) 357-368, 2012.
observed, when only natural gas is processed, 2 S Ratan, S Farnand, J Li, Hydrogen perspectives
the reaction is endothermic since the reforming for 21st century refineries, Hydrocarbon
reaction occurs exclusively. When starting to Processing, 71-75, Sept 2014.
introduce ROG, the profile becomes increasingly
exothermic as both the water-gas shift reaction
and methanisation predominate. Marcelo Tagliabue
Another variable that is interesting to mention marcelo.tagliabue@airliquide.com
A novel approach of CO2 removal
from natural gas
A new process combining membranes followed by liquefaction provides a
significant advantage in CO2 removal from natural gas
Mahin Rameshni and Stephen Santo Rameshni & Associates Technology & Engineering
Priyanka Tiwari, Sachin Joshi, Kaaeid Lokhandwala and Daaniya Rahman
Membrane Technology & Research
I
n recent years, there have been many
developments in LNG, shale gas and others Selective layer
where it is required to remove CO2 from natural
gas. The recovered CO2 is compressed and
reinjected to reduce CO2 emissions. Producing
high-purity dry CO2 is always a challenge with
the conventional process. Dry high-purity Microporous support layer
CO2 is usually required to either reinject or for
other usages.
The conventional method has been to design an
amine unit configuration with a selective solvent
for CO2 removal. The capital and the operating
costs are relatively high because it requires Figure 1 Cross-section of MTR’s multi-layer
considerable solvent circulation and extensive composite membrane
equipment. Also, for offshore processing of
natural gas with high CO2, conventional processes overall recycling of CO2 to feed the membranes.
such as amine are complex, bulky and energy- The advantage of using membranes is to
intensive. maximise hydrocarbon recovery in the first stage
Two-stage membrane system technology is and avoid losing ethane and heavy hydrocarbons
well known to recover natural gas processing to liquefaction. This has the significant benefit
offshore, but it requires recycle compression. The of not forming ethane and CO2 azeotrope, which
size of recycle compression is in excess due to the is difficult to break in standalone liquefaction
residual CO2. systems. The combination of membranes and
A new process combining membranes followed liquefaction system can produce up to 99%+ pure
by liquefaction provides a significant advantage dry CO2.
in CO2 removal from natural gas while recovering This joint article discusses the advantage of this
high-purity dry CO2 as a by-product. Membrane scheme vs the conventional method. In addition,
Technology & Research (MTR) patented such a special compact equipment with higher operating
process with a combination of membrane and CO2 efficiency, used in CO2 liquefaction to reduce plot
liquefaction to separate the CO2 from natural gas. space, is highlighted along with costs.
MTR and Rameshni & Associates Technology &
Engineering (RATE) are working together, where CO2 recovery by membrane separation
MTR designs the membrane systems and RATE Key to the CO2 recovery process is a size-selective
designs the CO2 liquefaction system downstream composite membrane that is more permeable to
of the membranes. The advantage of using the CO2 than the hydrocarbons present in natural gas
liquefaction system downstream is to reduce the (C1 and C2+). MTR can achieve efficient separation
and the reduction in the
Module housing
Permeate flow number of membrane modules
Feed needed to perform the desired
flow separation.
Advantages
Feed A few key benefits of
flow Residue
Feed flow
flow
membrane systems are:
Collection pipe
Spacer • The membrane system
is a passive solution with
Permeate flow after
Membrane no moving/rotating parts.
passing through membrane Spacer
Considerable reduction in
Figure 2 Expanded view of MTR’s spiral wound membrane module maintenance and operating
costs.
by exploiting the differences in permeability • High on-stream factor in excess of 99%.
through the company’s robust, high-flux • Modular design of the spiral wound membrane
polymeric membrane. allows for future design flexibility. Additional
The membrane consists of a very thin, highly gas can be processed with the addition of
selective top layer and a tough, relatively open future modules.
microporous support layer (see Figure 1). The top
layer performs the separation, while the porous Process designs
support layer provides mechanical strength. A Two main membrane process designs – single-
non-woven fabric serves as the backing material stage and multi-stage – are utilised for CO2
for the membrane structure. separation from natural gas. Single-stage plants,
For use in CO2 recovery processes, MTR which are simple, contain no rotating equipment
incorporates membrane into spiral-wound and require minimal maintenance, are preferred
membrane modules. These modules consist of a for tiny gas flows. In such plants, methane loss to
densely packed sandwich of membrane envelopes the permeate reject stream is often >15%. If there
and spacers in a spiral wound configuration is no fuel use for this permeate gas, this stream
around a central collection pipe (see Figure 2). must be flared, representing a significant revenue
Mesh spacer materials create channels through loss. For gas wells that produce <1 MMSCFD,
which the feed gas and permeate vapours travel one-stage membrane units may make sense
with minimum pressure drops. As a feed gas economically with their low capital and operating
stream containing organic vapour passes across costs. As the natural gas stream increases in
the membrane surface, CO2 passes preferentially size, the methane loss from a one-stage system
through the membrane and enters the permeate and the resultant loss in revenue soon make
channel. The permeate vapour spirals inward the choice of a one-stage system unattractive.
through the permeate channel to the central Usually, the permeate gas is recompressed and
collection pipe. passed through a second membrane stage, which
A pressure difference is maintained across the reduces the methane loss to a few per cent. A
membrane between feed and permeate stream two-stage system minimises losses compared
to provide the driving force for permeation. to a single-stage scheme, resulting in improved
The pressure difference can be obtained by recoveries and higher CO2 concentration in the
compressing the feed or using a high-pressure product stream. A two-stage membrane design is
feed stream and maintaining permeate at lower discussed below in detail.
pressure by connecting it to a lower pressure
point. This pressure difference directly affects Two-stage membrane process
the rate at which CO2 permeates the membrane. A two-stage membrane process scheme is
The more significant the pressure difference, the depicted in Figure 3. The feed gas first passes
greater the flux of CO2 through the membrane through a pretreatment section consisting of (a)
filter coalescer, (b) carbon bed,
Stage-1
(c) particulate filter, and (c) HP residue
heater. The heated gas is then Pretreatment Membrane CO2 < 7%
routed to the first membrane Feed gas
stage, which separates the 29% CO2 Permeate Stage-1
Recycle
inlet gas into two streams:
Compressor
Stage-2 Membrane Pretreatment
➊ LP permeate stream: the
membranes preferentially
Permeate product CO2 > 90%
permeate CO2, and the
resulting LP permeate stream,
enriched in CO2, is compressed Figure 3 Two-stage membrane process scheme
and sent to the second
membrane stage for further CO2 recovery. stream is recycled back to the front of the first-
➋ HP residue stream, depleted in CO2 and more stage process.
concentrated in the heavy hydrocarbons, is routed
to the sales pipeline at high pressure. A CO2 removal multi-stage membrane plant is
illustrated in Figure 4 (compressor not shown).
The permeate from the first stage is further
compressed via a recycle compressor and Description of CO2 liquefaction
routed to the second-stage membrane for CO2 liquefaction is a process to separate CO2 from
further processing. After passing through the the mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly methane,
pretreatment section, the second membrane where two streams will be generated: one is the
stage further separates the inlet HP gas into CO2, and the other is residue or natural gas. The
two streams: residue is recycled back to the membrane system
for further separation.
➊ LP permeate, enriched in CO2, is the final The dried gas enters the CO2 liquefaction unit,
product CO2 stream and routed to the CO2 where it is chilled by heat integration with the
liquefaction unit. fractionation column (furnishing reboiler duty
➋ With a reduced CO2 content, the HP residue for the column). The gas is then further chilled
Figure 4 Onsite installation of multi-stage membrane CO2 removal unit
vapour stream. The volume
NG compressor CO2 fraction of CO2 in the gas
Natural gas product leaving the reflux accumulator
is approximately 21%. The
CO2 CO2 used as refrigerant in
Membrane Liquid CO2
liquifaction the overhead condenser is
System system compressed, cooled and
Feed CO2
compressor compressor returned to the fractionation
column, where it is recovered
in liquid form.
Figure 5 Block flow diagram showing CO2 liquefaction and membrane A distillation process for
removing CO2 is designed
and partially condensed in the refrigerant chillers with a feed gas stream under pressure is
using an external refrigerant. Next, the inlet cooled by heat exchange with other streams
stream is condensed and partially sub-cooled of the process and/or external sources of the
through further heat integration with streams refrigeration system. The gas is condensed as it is
leaving the cold section of the plant. Finally, it cooled. The high-pressure liquid is expanded to an
is flash expanded to the fractionation column intermediate pressure, resulting in further cooling
at an optimum pressure designed for effective of the stream due to vaporisation occurring during
CO2 /methane separation while avoiding CO2 expansion of the liquids.
freezing issues. The expanded stream, comprising a mixture of
Vapour leaving the column overhead is further liquid and vapour, is fractionated in a distillation
chilled and partially condensed in the overhead column to separate residual methane, nitrogen
condenser with CO2 refrigerant. The resultant and other volatile gases as overhead vapour from
CO2-rich liquid is pumped back to the fractionation the CO2 and the heavier hydrocarbon components
column following further heat integration within as a bottom liquid product. A portion of the liquid
the process. CO2 can be flash expanded to lower pressure, and
The refrigerant for the overhead condenser is then used to provide low-level refrigeration to the
a portion of the CO2 product from the bottom process streams if desired.
of the fractionation column. This liquid CO2 is There will be two streams leaving the CO2
then flashed to a relatively low pressure where liquefaction system: the compressed liquid CO2
it chills and partially condenses the overhead stream as the product and the residue or natural
gas stream, which will be recycled
back to the membrane system,
as shown on the process block
diagram (see Figure 5). The recycle
natural gas stream was sent to the
membrane system until the loop was
converged closely.
Figure 5 presents the combination
of CO2 liquefaction and a two-
stage membrane system. The CO2
liquefaction unit is designed and
optimised to use energy efficiently
and minimise utility consumption
as any energy from the cooling and
heating stream is used to cool or heat
other streams.
Brazed aluminum heat exchangers
(BAHX), also known as plate-fin
Figure 6 Compact design of CO2 liquefaction heat exchanger heat exchangers and cold boxes,
are at the heart of low-temperature natural gas, resulting in significant power savings and reduced
air separation and petrochemical processes compressor horsepower.
worldwide. BAHX provide optimal thermal Plate-fin heat exchangers are essential for
performance and operating efficiency vs other cryogenic gas processing applications, including
heat exchanger types, and are at the core of air separation, LNG liquefaction, nitrogen
our standard and modular plant solutions and rejection, natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery, CO2
process technologies. liquefaction, propane dehydrogenation, hydrogen
Externally, a cold box is a carbon steel enclosure recovery, and other low-temperature natural gas
with flanged terminations to facilitate a simple on- and petrochemical processes:
site connection to plant process pipework.
The use of plate-fin technology is an alternative ➊ The warm process stream fluid enters the heat
to traditional shell-and-tube kettle reboilers. exchanger through steel inlet nozzle(s) on the
Instead of a tube bundle, the external vessel vessel shell. The inlet nozzles are connected to
houses one or more plate-fin heat exchangers the aluminum inlet pipes of the exchanger by an
and provides around 10 times more heat transfer aluminum to stainless steel transition coupling.
surface area and up to 20 times more ‘UA’ than ➋ Inside the BAHX, the warm stream cools as it
the equivalent tube-and-shell unit. flows against a cold stream.
The superior heat transfer performance can ➌ The cold stream enters the vessel either as a
be utilised to produce a much more compact liquid or two-phase fluid directly from a distillation
unit for new installations or provide more column (or expansion valve in the case of a
performance to existing installations by replacing refrigerant).
the tube bundle with a BAHX retrofitted into the ➍ A liquid level is formed outside the BAHX core
same shell. to create a liquid head that drives the cold stream
Plate-fin heat exchanger construction permits liquid through the core.
close temperature approaches down to 2°F (1°C), ➎ A disengagement space above the core causes
WEBINAR
Petrochemical and refining
operations of the future
will include more plastics
oil, obtained from chemical
recycling, in the feedstock mix
to establish circularity in the
plastics lifecycle or to qualify
for fuels category. An important
step in this value chain is to
purify and upgrade the raw
plastics oil obtained from
depolymerization.
Watch this webinar to learn about:

• The environmental necessity of recycling plastics.
• Sulzer Chemtech’s portfolio in plastics recycling.
• SuRe™ Styrene – Sulzer Chemtech’s GTC licensed technology to upgrade pyrolysis
crude styrene, obtained from waste PS to ultra-high purity (>99.95wt%) styrene
monomer.
• Purification and upgradation of pyrolysis oil obtained from mixed plastics or tires for
downstream applications for e.g., naphtha cracker feedstock, fuels category, etc.
K-102A/B K-103A/B
CO2 compressor Natural gas compressor
E-101 CO2
E-105 product/
CO2 product NG exchanger Residue
exchanger gas
TC
EC-102 LC
EC-102 CO2 CO2 to
V-101 CO2 TC OVHD product others
PA-101
reflux condense chiller
refrigeration
package drum
LC Purge
20
E-104 natural
gas exchanger
E-103 CO2 TC
fractionator P-101A/B TC
reboiler reflux pump C-101 CO2

fractionator
E-101 cold JT-101
EC-101 LC
box exchanger
chiller
K-101A/B
Feed compressor LC
P-102A/B
CO2 pump
Residue
gas
Figure 7 CO2 liquefaction process flow diagram
the liquid and vapour to separate. reduces the chiller to a pressure at which it can be
➏ The cooled warm stream leaves the BAHX condensed in an air cooler.
and vessel. The design temperature of the liquid
➐ The cold stream vapour exits the vessel through refrigerant leaving the condenser is defined.
the outlet nozzles while the liquid falls back to be This temperature, however, will be lower during
recirculated. operation at low ambient air temperatures.
➑ A manway is provided in the vessel shell. Lowering the condensing temperature results in
➒ Mercury tolerant construction – under certain a lower compressor discharge pressure, which
conditions, liquid elemental mercury can have a reduces the compressor’s power requirement. The
detrimental effect on unprotected BAHX. refrigerant mass flow is also reduced, since colder
refrigerant is available for the process.
The complete configuration of the CO2 Figure 7 presents the process flow diagram for
liquefaction is straightforward and consists of CO2 liquefaction.
a CO2 fractionation column with the associates’
heat exchangers. Conclusion
The chilling system consists of an air cooler, a The traditional scheme of CO2 removal is to use
pre-chiller that utilises propane refrigerant at the the amine unit like activated MDEA or similar
chiller, evaporating propane at lower pressure. solvents. In most cases, the most significant
Propane refrigerant vaporised in the pre-chiller disadvantages are very high circulation of the
and a gas turbine-driven centrifugal compressor solvent, which would increase the capital cost
significantly. Other disadvantages are using a two-stage membrane vs CO2 removal using
stripping column that requires a very high reboiler amine solvent is about 40 to 45%, which is
duty with high steam consumption or using fired very significant.
reheaters. For either type of reboiler, significant Based on the above key point, CO2 liquefaction
CO2 will be produced for making steam using with a two-stage membrane is superior to
steam generators or by burning fuel. conventional CO2 removal, as described below:
We should not select a scheme that causes • Eliminate high amine circulation rate
CO2 production when the goal is CO2 capture. It • Significant reduction in consumption steam or
certainly would not meet the purpose of reducing fuel to provide heating media
CO2 emissions. Therefore, the combination of CO2 • Reduce the amount of equipment, especially
liquefaction and two-stage membrane is a novel large equipment
approach for CO2 removal. • Eliminate large absorber and regeneration
For a project where 900 MMSCFD of the columns
feed stream enters the membrane system, • Reduce plot space by providing a compact and
about 200 MMSCFD of the gas was processed modular unit
inCO2 liquefaction. The capital cost saving • At least 40-45% saving in capital cost
from the combination of CO2 liquefaction and • Reduce labour and time during construction
Mahin Rameshni Sachin Joshi

Mahin.rameshni@rate-engr.com sachin.joshi@mtrinc.com
Stephen Santo Kaaeid Lokhandwala

Stephen.santo@rate-engr.com Kaaeid.Lokhandwala@mtrinc.com
Priyanka Tiwari Daaniya Rahman

Priyanka.Tiwari@mtrinc.com Daaniya.Rahman@mtrinc.com
LONG TERM
THERMAL EFFICIENCY &
ENERGY SAVINGS
SUPERIOR LONG-TERM THERMAL

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Evolution of marine fuels – move
toward a sustainable future
LNG can play an important role in reducing GHG emissions of international
shipping by at least 50% by 2050 and contribute to the IMO GHG reduction target
Oliver Schuller and Bambi Majumdar

Sphera
T
he international shipping industry is under performance of LNG. The data issue is especially
immense pressure to reduce emissions. of prime concern since assumptions widely differ
Cargo ships are particularly significant about methane emissions in the LNG supply chain
sources of air pollution. Their fuel oil is made from and methane slip in ship engines.
the bottom of the barrel of the refining process Assumptions differ because there have been
and includes substances such as sulphur and major developments and improvements in
heavy metals. When burned, sulphur produces reducing methane emissions over the past few
toxic gases and fine particles that harm the years. Therefore, the question of using up-to-
environment and living beings. Moreover, the date primary data vs using outdated literature
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released data is critical. Secondly, one must consider
through the combustion of these conventional the complexity of the shipping sector when
marine fuel oils are a major concern. considering the data. The marine engine market, in
Therefore, the International Maritime contrast to the road transport market, for instance,
Organization (IMO) is focused on reducing GHG consists of a multitude of different engine
emissions from international shipping by at least technologies for various shipping applications
50% by the year 2050 (compared with 2008 and power requirements. This results in different
standards) to fight climate change. engines with two/four strokes, single/dual-fuel,
This historic nonbinding agreement will combustion cycles, efficiencies, exhaust gas
spur investments in clean-ship technologies, cleaning systems, along with the bunkering of
including alternative fuels, fuel cells and advanced different fuels, geographically specific supply
sail designs. chains, and so on.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG), as one of the
alternative marine fuels available on the market, New emissions study
seems to be a feasible solution to contribute to the SEA-LNG and SGMF commissioned Sphera to
IMO’s GHG reduction target. The environmental conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of
benefits of LNG as an alternative marine fuel marine fuels called Life Cycle GHG Emission Study
compared with fuel oils are obvious concerning on the Use of LNG as Marine Fuel. The study
local pollutants such as sulphur oxides (SOx), analyses the life cycle GHG emissions (from well-
nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matters (PM) to-wake, WtW) of LNG as marine fuel compared
up to 90-95% in providing the same amount of with fuel oils.
propulsion power. In terms of GHG emissions, The study was first published in 2019 and
LNG would help curb carbon dioxide emissions by updated in April 2021. The second study provides
20-25% less than conventional marine fuel oils. an update of GHG emissions to reflect ongoing
Different data, assumptions and methodologies technology developments in fuel supply and
used by different studies have made it hard to marine propulsion systems. It includes the latest
reach a consensus in the industry, government data for the fuel supply consumption mixes, and
and the general public about the environmental the latest fuel consumption and emissions data for
with a constant engine load
after leaving the harbour.
4-stroke
VLSFO
110 616 725 These applications typically

0.5
MS-Diesel
use two-stroke slow-
4-stroke speed engines.
MGO
117 597 713

0.1
MS-Diesel
In contrast, ferries or cruise
4-stroke ships mainly operate in
+ pilot + pilot
LNG
136 548 685

MS-Otto-DF Supply coastal areas, may change
4-stroke engine load more frequently,
LNG
136 488 624

MS-Otto-SI Combustion
and are typically equipped
0 200 400 600 800 1000 with four-stroke medium-
speed engines. For smaller
ships, such as support
Figure 1 Two-stroke slow-speed engines: WtW - GHG IPCC - AR5 - vessels and tugboats, the
Tier II (g CO2-eq/kWh engine output) engine response with many
engine load changes is
crucial. Therefore, we cannot
consider just one single ship
2-stroke
VLSFO
104 584 688 engine as the operational

0.5
SS-Diesel-DF
parameter that will
2-stroke
MGO
111 566 677 eventually affect the choice

0.1
SS-Diesel-DF
of engine technology.
2-stroke
+ pilot + pilot
Two-stroke slow-speed
LNG
123 410 533

SS-Diesel-DF Supply engines burn more than
2-stroke 70% of the fuel used in
LNG
127 467 594 Combustion

SS-Otto-DF global shipping. Because
0 200 400 600 800 1000 of their high efficiency and
high power, these engines
are mainly used in large
Figure 2 Four-stroke medium-speed engines: WtW - GHG IPCC - AR5 ocean-going cargo ships.
- Tier II (g CO2-eq/kWh engine output) LNG is used in two forms
of engine technologies that
the different ship engines. It focuses on the latest differ in their underlying combustion cycle and gas
marine engine models, engine generations where injection system:
at least one engine has been built and delivered.
The study confirms the first GHG study ➊ The WtW GHG emissions of the two-stroke
conclusion that LNG significantly improves air slow-speed diesel dual-fuel engine (high-
quality, particularly in ports and coastal areas. pressure gas injection) are 533g CO2-eq/kWh
Beyond the benefits of reducing air pollutants, when using LNG. This is 23% less than the
LNG reduces GHG emissions from international same engine operating on very low sulphur fuel
shipping and contributes to the IMO’s GHG oil (VLSFO) (688g CO2-eq/kWh), as shown in
reduction ambition. Figure 1.
➋ The WtW GHG emissions of the two-stroke
Results slow-speed Otto dual-fuel engine (low-pressure
As mentioned, the GHG impact of LNG- gas injection) are 594g CO2-eq/kWh when using
fuelled vessels cannot be summarised by one LNG. This is a reduction of 14% compared with
representative technology and propulsion and the VLSFO operation. For these LNG-fuelled
power provision system. Large container ships or engines, the GHG emissions of the supply chain
bulk carriers, for instance, are used to transport contribute about 21-23% of the entire life cycle
goods from one continent to another, and hence emissions (WtW). For oil-based fuels, the supply
mainly operate in deep-sea regions and mainly chain accounts for 15-16%.
1. Life Cycle Stages 2. Life Cycle Inventory 3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment
SE
&U Global Warming
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EMISSIONS
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Water Consumption
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Life Cycle
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How does life cycle assessment (LCA) work?

®2020 Sphera. All Rights Reserved.
LCA services are needed to provide scientific, ores and crude oil, water, and land use) as well
fact-based evidence of the environmental as emissions into the air, water, and soil (such
benefits of products. To learn more, click here. as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides). The
During a life cycle assessment (life International Organization for Standardization
cycle analysis), you evaluate the potential provides guidelines and requirements for
environmental impacts throughout the entire conducting an LCA according to ISO 14040
life cycle of a product and 14044.
(production, distribution,
use and end-of-life
phases) or service. This 1 2 3 4
also includes the upstream
(such as suppliers) and
downstream (such as Get the Discover Identify Inovate
waste management) bigger picture hotspots low-hanging through
processes associated with fruit information
the production (such as the
production of raw, auxiliary 5 6 7
and operating materials), use
phase and disposal (such as
waste incineration).
Life cycle impact Differentiate to Increase Measure & mitigate
improve your brand efficiency business risk
assessment (LCIA) covers
all relevant inputs from
the environment (such as Seven business benefits of life cycle assessment Source: Sphera
Four-stroke medium-speed engines burn 18% ➊ The WtW GHG emissions of the four-stroke
of the fuel used in global shipping. They typically medium-speed Otto-DF engine are 685g CO2-eq/
have lower engine power and are used in car kWh running on LNG. This is a 6% reduction
and passenger ferries, cruise ships and short sea compared with the operation on VLSFO (725g
shipping. Both engines investigated in the study CO2- eq/kWh), as shown in Figure 2.
are Otto cycle engines and can be differentiated ➋ The WtW GHG emissions of the four-stroke
according to their ability to run on a single (SI) or medium-speed Otto-SI engine, a single fuel, pure
dual fuel (DF): gas engine, are 624g CO2-eq/kWh. This is a 14%
FACTS emissions can be problematic as the marine
engine market consists of different engine
LNG is mostly methane, a potent GHG technologies for different applications. This
results in different engine characteristics, and
that can trap 30 times more heat than the
hence a range of different GHG intensities.
same amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
However, it is possible to make an indicative
over 100 years.
statement that the use of LNG as a marine fuel
has a GHG benefit over the use of marine fuel
LCA is a methodology for evaluating
oils in the range of 4-23%, depending on the
the potential environmental impacts
engine technology.
throughout its entire life cycle, from Taking into account the current global shipping
raw material extraction to end of life. It fleet broken down by engine technology and
quantifies the material, energy inputs corresponding fuel, the total GHG emissions
and outputs of all unit processes that could be reduced by 15% simply by switching
comprise the product system under from oil-based marine fuels to LNG.
study. It helps us better understand the Technical developments and improvements
full climate impacts of using LNG as a in the LNG supply and LNG engines have the
marine fuel. potential to significantly increase the benefits
from the use of LNG as a marine fuel.
Independent of the engine technology,
14% reduction compared with the same engine the study shows that LNG provides a major
running on VLSFO. advantage in improving air quality, which is
particularly relevant in ports and coastal areas.
For these LNG-fuelled engines, the WtW GHG Beyond the benefits associated with reducing
emissions of the supply chain contribute about air pollutants, LNG can play an important role
20-22% of the entire life cycle emissions (WtW). in reducing GHG emissions of international
For oil-based fuels, the supply chain accounts for shipping by at least 50% by 2050 (compared
15-16%. with 2008) and contribute to the IMO GHG
reduction target.
Conclusions Finally, considering the entire life cycle from
The study is based on high-quality, reliable well-to-wake, including primary feedstock
and up-to-date industry-provided life cycle production, fuel processing, transport,
data for oil-based fuels and the use of LNG as bunkering and operational use, is essential for
a marine fuel. It has been conducted per ISO comparing conventional fuels with alternative
14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 standards ones. It avoids a shift of burdens between single
for data quality and the completeness supply chain steps, such as a shift of GHG
and consistency of the model. The Project emissions caused during engine operation, to
Consortium has validated the study data. The the production of the fuel. It is also fundamental
study has been critically reviewed in accordance to establishing a level playing field for fuel
with ISO/TS 14071:2018 by an independent comparisons with the ambition to develop
expert review panel. a low- and zero-carbon shipping industry.
The study demonstrates the benefit from A simple analysis of the tank-to-wake GHG
reduced GHG emissions from the use of LNG as emissions, as currently mandated by IMO,
a marine fuel compared with fuel oils. The lower seems to be lacking the whole picture.
carbon content and higher energy content of
LNG compared with the other marine fuel oils
led to a better overall GHG performance, which Oliver Schuller
more than offsets the higher GHG profile in the Sphera
LNG fuel supply chain.
The study also shows that generic reports Bambi Majumdar
Sphera
of the benefit of LNG concerning GHG
Sustainable aviation fuel
comes of age
Sustainable aviation fuels have been under development for more than a
decade at Neste, and the company believes an uptick in demand is imminent
Arne Padt
Neste
A
viation is an industry built on cooperation investment and hundreds of test flights. More
and responsibility. Its actors have a history recently, critical changes in national regulations
of coming together to agree on standards have given the industry a significant boost.
and procedures that keep passengers and freight
moving safely around the world. Early standards, first movers
In recent years, the industry has taken The SAF industry was born around 2006
some important shared steps to address its with the formation of the Commercial Aviation
environmental impact. At pre-pandemic levels, Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) in the United
aviation produced some 2.5% of all carbon dioxide States. Today, CAAFI is one of the industry’s
(CO2) emissions. Acknowledging this, the aviation main bodies, a public-private partnership that
industry has committed to carbon-neutral growth drives the development of alternative jet fuels
from 2020, and a 50% reduction in net emissions through its member airlines, aircraft and engine
by 2050 (from 2005 levels). manufacturers, policymakers and companies
A key element in achieving these targets is like Neste.
the wider introduction of sustainable aviation The first SAF standard was approved in 2009
fuel (SAF) made from waste and residue raw through the international standards organisation
materials. These sustainable fuels are blended ASTM. Today, there are seven ASTM-certified
with traditional jet fuels for a lower environmental pathways available for SAF production.
footprint per flight. Depending on the pathway, the fuels may be
The SAF industry has been quietly growing made from a variety of raw materials, including
since the late 2000s through infrastructure used cooking oils, animal waste fats, and different
Aviation needs
sustainable solutions
Aviation accounts Total climate Global air travel is
3x 2x
for 2.5% of global impact of aviation expected to
2.5% CO2 emissions is 3x the impact

from CO2
double in the next
15 years
80%
C
© Neste
agricultural and forestry residues. Standardisation particulates. But sustainable
rules require that sustainable jet fuel can be jet fuel contains no sulphur
blended with conventional jet fuel at a ratio of up or aromatics and therefore
to 50%. Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) burns in a cleaner way with
Henrik Erämetsä, Neste Senior Advisor for fewer sulphur oxides and
is a today solution
Renewable Aviation Regulation, has been involved particle emissions. This also
since the industry’s early days. means a reduction in aircraft
“In the beginning, nobody knew how to contrails – the white wake
approach the issue of standardizing sustainable we sometimes see behind
aviation fuel,” says Erämetsä. aircraft as they pass high
“Through ASTM, the industry was able to agree overhead. Estimates indicate
that it needs to be a ‘drop-in fuel’. In other words, that as much as two-thirds
all legacy airliners need to be able to use the fuel
SAF enables ofthe
a flight’s environmental
industry to
reduce theimpact
– it cannot be developed only with future aircraft use of is
fossil fuels
caused by non-CO2
in mind. Neste participated in this standardization emissions, such as the soot
development work from the start.” particles in contrails.
There are environmental benefits to SAF that
go beyond the reduction in carbon emissions. Vision-driven investment
Exhaust fumes from traditional jet fuel also include Neste produced its initial
80 %
non-CO2 emissions such as nitrogen oxidesReduces and SAF in 2011,
greenhouse delivering to
gas
emissions Lufthansa
by up to 80% for the world’s first
Co2
compared to fossil fueltest.
long-term over SAF
the from
lifecycle* Neste was used more than
300,00
1200 times on twin-turbine commercial flig
aircraft between Frankfurt

and Hamburg.
*Calculated with established life cycle assessm
“Lufthansa used regular
jet fuel in one of the engines
It is a drop-in solution that can
and our fuel in the other. Their main finding was
be implemented immediately
that there is no difference other than the energy
content of the fuel. Everything worked the same
as with fossil jet fuel,” says Erämetsä.
Since those early days – through dedicated
Henrik Erämetsä investment and persistence – Neste now has the
More than 40 airlines

70 already fly with SAF Neste MY
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
SAF enables the industry to
reduce the use of fossil fuels
Reduces greenhouse gas

emissions by up to 80%
Co2 Sami Jauhiainen
compared to fossil fuel over the
lifecycle*
In addition to Lufthansa, the company’s
customers now include Alaska Airlines, American
Airlines, ANA, Finnair, KLM, and several other
airlines. Neste SAF is available at multiple major
international airports, such as San Francisco and
Schiphol. The company is also working with Shell,
It is a drop-in solution that can
BP and others to expand its reach further.
be implemented immediately
“It’s been a long journey for Neste,” says Sami
Jauhiainen, Vice President Renewable Aviation.
“Getting the waste and residue raw material
for biofuels requires partnerships and a large
aggregation network. It’s very fragmented, so
we’ve done a lot of work on sourcing the material.
We’ve also been continuously investing in our
More than 40 airlines
pre-treatment processes so that we have the
already fly with SAF
capability to refine lower and lower quality raw
materials into SAF.”
Last year, Neste acquired US-company Mahoney
Environmental – a leading collector and recycler
of used cooking oil. The acquisition follows that of
Dutch animal-fat trader IH Demeter in 2018.
Jauhiainen says a big milestone for the industry
came around 2015 through an EU-funded project
300,000 commercial flights called the Initiative Towards sustAinable Kerosene
have used SAF since 2016 for Aviation (ITAKA). The project brought about
00 the first use of an underground hydrant system
ghts – instead of a truck – to bring SAF to aircraft at
Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport.
“The standards have set a 50% maximum for
ment LCA methodologies, among which EU RED and CORSIA.
© Neste SAF, so it always needs to be mixed with fossil

jet fuel before being brought to the airport,” says
capacity to refine 100,000 t/y of SAF at its Porvoo Jauhiainen. “Fundamentally, though, there are no
site in Finland. With an expansion of its Singapore limitations to using SAF in higher quantities in
refinery already under way and an extra investment modern aircraft, so this is a focus area for many
in its Rotterdam site, the company will have the leading OEMs. Boeing has even set a target
capacity to produce some 1.5 million t/y of SAF by that in 2030 its planes will be able to use only
the end of 2023. sustainable fuel.”
Y www.decarbonisationtechnology.com 71
for the aviation industry
to reduce its emissions
Smaller carbon footprint and lower and to scale up the use
of sustainable aviation
emissions fuels,” he says. “This
• Up to 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction over the lifecycle has created a bit of a
• Reduction of harmful particular matter, SOx chicken and egg scenario
– limited demand means
limited supply. The real
Powerful performance transformation depends
• 1% reduction of fuel use with SAF (at 50% blend) on regulators.”
• High energy content; clean burning But things are changing
fast now. Last year,
Norway became the first
Excellent cold properties country in the world to
• Freeze point as low as -49º C (-56º F) or lower mandate that aircraft
fuel contain SAF. Initial
regulations set the ratio
Infinite storage time at 0.5%, but this is set to
• Oxidation stability remains the same for many years in neat form grow to 30% by 2030.
Sweden is implementing
a similar regulation during
Engine compatibility mid-2021, requiring
• ASTM D7566 certified approximately 1% SAF in
• Normal maintenance costs the jet fuel mix and with a
30% target for 2030.
“Norway and Sweden
No additional investment needed to are leading by example,”
switch today says Jauhiainen. “We
expect France to
• Fully compatible with existing jet engines and fuel delivery infrastructure
implement a blending
obligation next year,
and Finland and the
Benefits of sustainable aviation fuel © Neste Netherlands may follow.
An EU-wide requirement
Neste has also teamed up with Airbus, German may also be announced soon that would come into
research centre DLR and jet-engine manufacturer effect in 2025.”
Rolls-Royce to start the pioneering ‘Emission “There are positive developments elsewhere
and Climate Impact of Alternative Fuels’ (ECLIF3) too. The new US administration is looking to
project, looking into the effect of using 100% SAF. incentivize sustainable aviation use, and we see
proposals on the table in New Zealand as well.
New regulations drive change Over time, the hope is that we would move to a
Although standards for aviation biofuels have global framework to create a market for SAF.”
been in place for more than a decade, the SAF “This journey has taken a while and it has been
industry has progressed at a much slower difficult,” says Jauhiainen. “But commitment in the
pace than the transition to biofuels in road industry has strengthened and we are ready for
transportation. Jauhiainen says this is due to fast growth now.”
Technical feasibility is proven

limited pressure and incentives from policy that
would move the industry in the right direction.
A drop-in solution
“Compared to road to the existing
transportation, there havefuel supplyArne Padt similar to
chain,
arne.padt@neste.com
been fewer binding requirements and incentives
fossil jet fuel
Fuel oil to liquefied natural gas
Most furnaces in Europe and the US have already shifted to fuel gas firing, so
is there any carbon reduction advantage in these furnaces shifting to LNG?
Ankur Saini, Akhil Gobind and Rupam Mukherjee

Engineers India Limited
A
simple Google search of ‘Climate Change’ fired in a refinery furnace on the carbon footprint
yields about 60,00,00,000 results in 0.80 yardstick. The article will traverse the carbon
seconds. Spending even a few minutes on emissions generated from traditional HFO firing
the first page of the search brings forth articles through to LNG, with lighter fuel oil (LFO) and
on varied topics such as hurricanes affecting the refinery fuel gas (RFG) as pit stops in between.
American coastlines, raging wildfires ravaging
large places of Australia, cloud bursts and heavy Furnace fuels and their carbon footprint
downpours disrupting life and business in the In general, furnaces utilise fuel generated within
Asian sub-continent, extended stretches of the refinery complex for their heat demand. Fuels
drought over parts of Argentina, never-before- commonly used are HFO (Type-6 fuel oil), LFO
seen soaring summer temperatures in Europe, and and RFG. While the fuel oils are derived primarily
so on. From these, one thing is certain – ‘climate from the vacuum residue and other cutter stocks,
change’ is a threat, and it is not local. And there is the RFG is generated from the off-gas produced
no scope for ‘Not in my backyard!’. from various refinery units. The composition of
‘Climate change’ and ‘global warming’ are RFG can vary depending upon various operating
two sides of the same coin. Global warming and unit availability scenarios. Along with the
due to greenhouse gas emissions is a major three fuel types, a fast-emerging fourth option is
issue engaging the most prominent leaders LNG, exported into the refinery from the gas grid
and economies. Carbon emissions due to or a specific LNG source. Typical characteristics of
anthropogenic sources of fuel are constantly these four fuels are noted in Table 1. For a better
on the rise. The silver lining is that ambitious and more accurate assessment, the entire range
targets and roadmaps have been laid out on inter- of fuel gas from minimum molecular weight to
governmental levels to curb this menace. In this maximum molecular weight has been considered.
critical transition toward sustainable operation, Typical RFG composition does not remain constant
combustion equipment like furnaces in the oil and and varies with parameters such as the diet of
gas industry have their role to play. Traditionally, crude processed, a single unit or a group of units
in many parts of the world, heavy fuel oil (HFO) is taken out for maintenance, availability of off-gas
fired in oil refinery furnaces, prioritising operating PSA unit, and so on.
cost over the carbon emission aspect. However, The above fuels were studied on a 46.5 GCal/
over time, cleaner fuel sources have evolved hr case study furnace operating in a 180,000
that provide better emission characteristics and BPSD refinery. Excess air for HFO and LFO
may drive refinery operations towards a more were considered as 20% in line with API
sustainable future. Of late, liquefied natural recommendation. Similarly, being inherently
gas (LNG) has gained much importance as an cleaner and easier to burn, excess air for RFG
energy source due to enhanced production and and LNG was considered as 15%. The furnace
availability from various fields. LNG is touted as employs an air preheat system for combustion
the transition fuel leading the way towards a low air preheating. The flue gas exit temperature
carbon future. from the air preheater (APH) was set at
This article examines various common fuels approximately 150°C for all fuels to set the datum
Type-6 fuel oil Light fuel oil Refinery fuel gas LNG
Min Mol. Wt Max Mol. Wt
(MW=14) (MW=22)

Lower heating value, Kcal/kg 9680 10,250 12,100 10,960 11,700
Sulphur content 1.0 wt% sulphur 0.5 wt% sulphur 150 ppmv H2S 150 ppmv H2S NIL H2S
Fuel composition Sp. Gravity- 1.01 Sp. Gravity- 0.83 In Mol%: In Mol% In Mol%:
C/H ratio- 8.20 C/H ratio- 6.5 H2: 20.84; H2: 17.48; H2: -
°API- 8.6 °API - 39 C1: 74.33 C1: 32.01 C1: 93
C2: 2.31 C2: 13.57 C2: 4.61
C3: 0.57 C3: 1.2 C3: 1.08
C4: 0.19 C4: 0.72 C4: 0.4
C5+: 1.09 C5+: 1.5 C5+: 0.15
C2=: 0.07 C2=: 22.2 C2=: -
C3=: - C3=: 6.50 C3=: -
Others: Balance Others: Balance Others: Balance
Table 1 Typical refinery fuel characteristics
Heavy fuel oil Light fuel oil Refinery fuel gas LNG
Min MW Max MW
Absorbed heat duty, Gcal/hr 46.5 46.5 46.5 46.5 46.5

Fuel fired, kg/hr 5260 4950 4200 4625 4340
Flue gas, kg/hr 92,400 91,935 87,625 85,050 88,780
Wt % of CO2 in flue gas 18.29 16.95 12.58 15.09 13.44
CO2 emitted, t/d 406 374 264 309 286
Acid dew point, °C 137 132 113 110 60 (water dew point)
SOx emissions, kg/hr 52.29 21.42 1.74 1.70 -
Table 2 Parametric evaluation of various fuels
level for comparison. However, the flue gas exit from fuel oil to LNG is undoubtedly an effective
temperature from APH for RFG may be a bit lower step towards decarbonisation. LFO generates
in some instances due to the cleaner nature of the substantially fewer carbon emissions than
fuel compared to oil. HFO. More so, a very appreciable cut in carbon
Key performance parameters of the various emissions of the order of 29% can be realised
operating scenarios based on individual fuels if the furnace is shifted from HFO to LNG. Fuel
are noted in Table 2. From here, several significant oil firing is prevalent in many Asian countries, as
and interesting inferences can be drawn. well as in many parts of Africa. Shifting to LNG
Considering carbon emissions from HFO as the is a very effective and low-cost solution in those
base value, the carbon footprint merit of other refineries in pursuit of carbon reductions.
fuels relative to HFO is shown in Figure 1. • As the shift is made from fuel oil firing to LNG,
For better appreciation of the results, two the refinery operating team must be vigilant of
possible scenarios were envisaged, and the key performance parameters. In general,
the inferences of the tabulated parameters it is experienced that key furnace indications
were extended to these two most commonly such as Bridgewall temperature and tube metal
seen scenarios: temperature may increase. This may be due to
shifting the heat load from the convection section
Scenario 1: Switching from fuel oil to LNG to the radiant or a variation in flame characteristics
• Table 2 verifies the assertion that shifting observed in the fuel gas flames. A thermal study
may therefore be a prudent step
before such a shift.
100 Relative Carbon footprint as % of Base
92
Scenario 2: Switching from RFG
76
to LNG – the gas ‘conundrum’ 71
65
• This area is of greater interest
and complexity, as most of the
furnaces in Europe and the US
have already shifted to fuel gas
firing. So, for these furnaces, is
there any advantage in shifting to HFO LFO RFG Min MW RFG Max MW LNG-150
LNG? Apparently, from Table 2,
there is no clear winner, at least Figure 1 Comparative analysis of carbon merit
on the carbon reduction yardstick.
The defining parameter here is the molecular different analysis altogether and beyond the scope
weight of the fuel gas. Furnaces operating on a of this article.
fuel gas with a molecular weight lighter than LNG • Notwithstanding the above trend, there is one
can see an increase in their carbon footprint if interesting aspect. The flue gas exit temperature
shifted to LNG. for the LNG case was set the same as for the RFG
For example, the case study furnace sees an firing case to model the actual scenario of any
increase in its carbon footprint of 7300 t/y if LNG operating furnace where APH and associated
is preferred over the Min MW RFG. However, on auxiliaries are already fixed. However, LNG
the contrary, LNG has the upper hand over the inherently has much less H2S content than RFG,
Max MW weight fuel gas by 6%. On an annual which means that the acid dew point is very low in
basis, shifting to LNG from the Max MW RFG can the case of LNG.
lead to 7600 tonnes of carbon emission savings. In fact, for the study case LNG with ‘nil’ sulphur
Thus, LNG vis-à-vis RFG presents a conundrum content, the dew point is that of water and is as
that has to be decided on a case-by-case low as 60°C. This beckons the opportunity to
basis depending upon the most frequent RFG extract more heat from the flue gas in the APH,
composition. thereby increasing the combustion air temperature
The possibility of extracting the hydrogen and furnace fuel efficiency. The question now is will
component from RFG and adding it to the this lead to a clear winner between RFG and LNG?
hydrogen pool may help unload the hydrogen • This exercise was taken up, and additional cases
generation unit (HGU) and reduce overall CO2. of LNG firing with enhanced heat recovery were
However, extraction and utilisation of hydrogen worked out. For practical appreciation, these
from RFG and associated life-cycle CO2 is a additional cases were basically to model a scenario
LNG case- 150 LNG Case-130 LNG Case-110
Flue gas exit temperature, °C from APH 150 130 110 (*)
Fuel efficiency, % 91.6 92.6 93.2
Fired duty, Gcal/hr (MMBtu/hr) 50.8 (202) 50.2 (199) 49.8 (198)
Carbon emissions, t/d 286 283 280
Air preheater duty, GCal/hr 7.58 7.96 8.33
APH LMTD, °C 100.5 78.5 55.1
(UA) Parameter (#) 75,400 10,1400 151,180
(*) The flue gas temperature for this case was set at 110°C to take care of any incidental pipeline compatible H2S of the order of 4-5
ppm and to avoid any mist formation from the heater stack at cold climate conditions. (#) UA parameter refers to basic heat transfer
equation; Heat Duty = U*A* (LMTD).
Table 3 LNG enhanced heat recovery case
€200,000 annually vs the cost of
250 a new APH and the associated
% of Base-Carbon emissions revamping costs would call for a
200
% of Base-APH area
200 case-specific analysis, the results
150 of which may be affected by
geographical location, geopolitical
134
100 factors, the prevailing carbon
100 100 99 98
price and market conditions.
50
Comparative results on a relative
0 basis are shown in Figure 2.
LNG-150 LNG-130 LNG-110
Conclusion
Figure 2 Relative heat recovery vs APH area analysis LNG has emerged as a clean
source of energy, being a
where the refinery is ready to invest in augmenting dependable and stable source of supply. The
the existing APH to one with a larger surface area role of LNG in curbing carbon emissions is well
for extracting more heat. The refinery may have to established in the power and steel industry, where
replace the existing APH with a new, larger one. coal is still the mainstay. For refinery furnaces,
The results are shown in Table 3. LNG’s role in reducing carbon emissions is a tough
• Table 3 throws open another debate. It shows call. As shown in the case study, shifting from fuel
that additional investment in APH surface area oil to LNG can result in a 29% carbon footprint
can lead to CO2 reduction; however, the magnitude reduction so that LNG can become an obvious
of this additional saving of only 6 t/d is debatable, choice for fuel oil-based furnaces. However, for
especially considering that it would call for a new furnaces already being operated on fuel gas,
APH with almost double the surface area. Notably, shifting to LNG one-to-one might not lead to
the carbon footprint would remain higher than the significant carbon reductions, and the figure can
Min MW RFG. vary depending upon the molecular weight of the
• Rather, it would be prudent to concentrate on fuel gas. At this juncture, the clean nature of LNG
Max MW RFG vs LNG, as covered in Table 2, for can be taken advantage of, and the area of APH
a more practicable scenario and work out some can be augmented. However, the gain in carbon
basic economics. May 2021 has seen carbon reduction vis-à-vis the increase in APH heating
prices in Europe breaching €50/ metric tonne of surface area is not in proportion. Therefore, the
CO2. Thus, saving 23 metric tonnes of CO2 per decision in this regard needs to be evaluated
day through fuel shift from Max MW RFG to LNG depending upon various factors.
equates to 7600 tonnes of CO2 emissions reduced To sum up, LNG holds promise. More assessment
in an operating year (considering 333 operating on a case-by-case basis and favourable conditions
days). Even if the price of carbon emissions or stricter emission caps could lead to better
remained constant at €50/metric tonne of CO2, an results in all scenarios.
annual carbon reduction worth €380,000 can be
The authors would like to thank Ms Shilpa Singh
realised on this route of LNG shift.
(DGM-EIL) for her encouragement and valuable
• Further, if a revamping project is undertaken to guidance in preparing this article.
increase APH capacity, an additional carbon saving
of 6 t/d is feasible, which is equivalent to 2000
Ankur Saini
tonnes annually, amounting to a carbon revenue
ankur.saini@eil.co.in
saving of approximately €100,000. Over and
above this carbon reduction is a reduction in the
Akhil Gobind
annual fired duty of the order of 31,000 MMBtu.
akhil.gobind@eil.co.in
Considering concurrent LNG pricing of about $4/
MMBtu (equivalent to ~3.4€/MMBtu), this would
Rupam Mukherjee
lead to incremental savings of €100,000 more. rupam.mukherjee@eil.co.in
Economic analysis of the combined savings of
Improve energy efficiency while
reducing CO2 emissions sustainably
A solution that captures real-time process data can optimise furnace
operations, energy losses and carbon emissions into the atmosphere
Avnish Kumar
LivNSense Technologies Private Limited
T
he petrochemical industry accounts
for 6% of the energy usage in the US. LivNSense’s Cognitive Furnace4.0-
Roughly half of that comes primarily from CarbonSense solution is primarily built
oil and natural gas, and it is estimated that 60% to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and
of a plant’s energy consumption comes from the Internet of things (IoT) to improve the
furnace operations. This article focuses on the operation of continuous process industries,
optimisation of furnace operations to achieve such as petrochemicals, chemicals and
greenhouse (GHG) emissions reduction. metals. The solution captures real-time
While most furnaces are designed for a thermal process data and generates predictive
efficiency of 70-90%, actual operating efficiencies recommendations, enabling the operator to
are much lower. Plant managers are constantly optimise furnace operations, energy losses
challenged by operating conditions and the need and carbon emissions.
for continuous optimisation due to:
• Deterioration in throughput over the furnace’s carbon emissions globally, LivNSense is driving
lifetime the future of energy efficiency through its
• Increased wastage of consumables and Cognitive Funace4.0 platform. This enables an
raw materials innovative solution, CarbonSense, to improve
• Unpredictable and longer downtimes, leading to energy efficiency while reducing CO2 emissions
lost production and increased costs sustainably and cost-effectively.
• Increased energy losses and carbon emissions
Understanding furnace operations
As a furnace ages, these challenges exacerbate, Combustion sources such as furnaces play a
leading to early replacement. While modern critical role in the process industry and require
furnaces have electronics that gather data, large amounts of fuel (gas, fuel oil). As a result,
there is little or no ability to perform real-time combustion efficiency directly influences the
analytics and predict events in advance or provide performance and operational costs of production
predictive insights into interventions needed for facilities. Also, furnaces do not constantly operate
optimal operation. under the design conditions, which is another
A typical 500 KTA capacity ethylene plant major cause of efficiency issues.
consumes 30 MW hours of electrical energy per However, efficiency is not the only concern.
year. Even a 1% reduction in energy consumption Compliance with emission standards and safety
from furnace operations will reduce millions are significant challenges too. Incomplete
of tonnes of emissions into the atmosphere combustion occurs when insufficient excess
(equivalent savings of £5 billion/year). air is supplied to burn all the fuel completely.
With the World Economic Forum (WEF) As a result, large amounts of CO and H2 are
driving ‘The Net-Zero Challenge’ to reduce formed, making the burner extremely inefficient.
This reduces the flame temperature and may
encourage the operator to increase the flow of
Sensor information and
fuel, worsening the carbonisation. Hence, the
manufacturing
measurement at the arch determines whether Actual blast furnace information Virtual blast furn
complete or incomplete combustion takes place
at the burner level.
Business process understanding Raw materials

Database
The oxygen level inside the furnace is measured
at three different places: the stack, arch and SCR. Disturbance
Data scien
If excess oxygen is present in the arch O2 sensor, (big data ana
an excess amount of oxygen is being used in
Sensors
the furnace.
Typical ranges of oxygen at various locations in Utility
AI
the furnace are:
Mathematical-physica
Video Chemical-thermodynam
Statistical mod
Equipment level % oxygen present
Operations
Arch 2-3
SCR 3-3.5 Estimation of real-
Stack 3-4 Manufacturing conditions
conditions Model prediction co
It is important to measure the oxygen level in
the arch because combustion of the fuel gases
takes place prior to the arch. By measuring the Solution Overview with Process Digital Twins
oxygen level here, we can determine whether
the reaction inside the furnace is complete or
incomplete combustion. operating parameters of petrochemical and
chemical plants.
CarbonSense solution In a typical ethylene production furnace, coke
CarbonSense achieves a reduction in energy formation is a major problem that reduces heat
consumption and GHG emissions and an increase exchange and leads to more fuel being burnt,
in furnace run length by optimising the furnace and thus more emissions being released into
Sl. No. KPI Key levers Improvement Business benefits

1 Percentage reduction • Continuous monitoring of Estimated reduction Compliance with
in emissions excess O2 % for controlling CO, CO2 in GHG effects by 6% regulatory
• Temperature of SH zones requirements
to predict NOx emissions
NOx ~ 5%
SOx ~2.4%
CO2 ~3%
2 Increase in furnace • Continuous monitoring of CPR Around 11 days of ~ 12% increase in number
run length • Predicted CPR and real-time increased run length of cycles of furnace
recommendation to reduce coke formation runs annually
3 Increase in yield • Optimisation of COT by Around 10-12% increase Estimated around

and revenue controlling fuel combustion in yield and OEE 10% increase in
• Stabilising the flow rate of revenue from operations
ethane feed and fuel flow rates
Table 1
Process Digital Twins of Furnace
nace
Cognitive Furnace4.0
Furnace Furnace Optimiser Furnace Efficiency

e
Feed HC
nce H13
alysis) HC
preheat Zone
Economiser
DS preheat
al model Feed DS 1
mic model 1 Convection
del Transfer line section
exchanger PTLE PTLE
Air Coil Coil
Radiant
-time 2 Cracking
Burner cell A section Burner cell B
gas
ontrol CG
Fuel gas
2
the atmosphere. Coke formation also leads to to increase furnace efficiency and productivity, as
reduced furnace run length. Addressing fuel well as reduce NOx and CO2 emissions.
composition changes by leveraging the real-time A Process-AI Platform with out-of-the-box
thermodynamics model and AI/ML techniques features:
enables continuous bias of the air/fuel ratio • Core AI process analytics module: Module for
to stabilise combustion and heat transfer into data pre-processing suitable for major process
the tubes. industries for statistical analysis.
To address these issues, we have leveraged • AI/ML custom module: AI models are built
the Cognitive Furnace4.0 platform for data using industrial-grade data simulated from plant
acquisition from DCS/
historians in real-time, pre-
0.9000
processing and modelling
Actual CPR
based on first principles and 0.8500 Optimised CPR predicted
machine learning algorithms. 0.8000
LivNSense has also levered
its unique IP - disturbance 0.7500
index for estimating 0.7000
manufacturing condition
0.6500
variations in real-time. The
outcome is delivered through 0.6000
live furnace digital twins for
1
10
19
28
37
46
55
64
73
82
91
0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9
10
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
28
continuous improvement and

high accuracy. Our holistic Coil pressure ratio (CPR) trends showing increased furnace run length
platform has also been proven (hours)
454 113 RESULTS
452 CO2 emission CO emission
452.5
reduction 112 112.5
reduction
450
(tonnes)
111 (tonnes) • Minimised emissions
448
– NOx, CO2 and CO
446 110
444
442 109 • Optimised oxygen
440 441 108 108.5
level with optimised
438 energy management
107
436
434 106 • Improved yield/
Actual Optimised Actual Optimised
CO2 CO2 CO CO control for the emission
component from the
furnace
230 126000
NOx emission Overall By controlling the
reduction 124000 125000 emission main factors, we can
225
225 (tonnes) index lower emission rates
122000 reduction
220 by 5%
120000
215
118000
118100
210 212
116000
205 114000
Actual Optimised Actual Optimised
NOx NOx
operations, models are strengthened by first first principles and cannot maintain the same
principles and advanced analytical approaches accuracy as the plant or furnace ages over time,
trained for the specific process industry. given that the configurations are all fixed. Also,
• Digital twins: Cognitive Furnace4.0 attributes such as noise and ambient conditions
platform (iSense4i) uses a digital twin, a virtual can start affecting real-time operations, which
representation that matches the attributes and furnace manufacturers do not really estimate.
operational metrics of a ‘physical’ production line Other solutions are based purely on machine
through the captured production-line data. learning, which does not leverage first principles
• SMARTEDGE AI-based Edge firmware for to the required level.
connectivity, device and security management, We have married the best knowledge from
deep learning and AI vision at the Edge for real- both worlds to develop a solution to improve the
time OT-IT integration. Ability to support millions bottom line of petrochemical plant operations
of events in real-time on custom and third-party and reduce emissions into the atmosphere.
HW platforms. It leverages both MBC/thermodynamics-
• The solution is platform agnostic and can be based models and AI/ML models for real-time
deployed on-site, hybrid cloud and public cloud process condition estimation. In addition,
environments. The solution is further enhanced by our core IPs – soft sensors, AI/ML led real-
integration with SAS and Microsoft Azure. time process disturbances– help improve
accuracy continuously.
Innovation
Most current products/solutions in the market
are based on MBC (thermodynamic Model Avnish Kumar
Kumar@livnsense.com
Based Control systems). These systems rely on
Decarbonisation through innovation
Explore some of the latest available sustainable technologies
measurement provides
AMETEK Thermox WDG-V a reference point to
Combustion Analyser begin lowering the
oxygen setpoint until
Optimising combustion control and optimised combustion
process efficiency is reached. Less fuel
is consumed at this
Designed for safety and reliability, the optimum oxygen
Thermox WDG-V is a flue gas analyser setpoint, which
designed to optimise combustion reduces
control and process safety through carbon
the flue gas measurements of excess emissions,
oxygen (O2), combustibles (CO+H2), and while a safety
hydrocarbons (CH4+). The WDG-V margin is
mounts directly to the process flange still maintained
using a close-coupled extractive to avoid spikes or
design, and it delivers fast responses breakthrough of
in flue gases up to 1648°C (3000°F). any combustibles.
It is ideal for a wide range of markets, including Together, the excess oxygen and combustibles
hydrocarbon processing, metals and mining, and measurements enable optimised combustion and
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processes. Also known as ‘residual’ oxygen or of safety in burner management systems and
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To reduce carbon emissions, the WDG-V safety availability with a low probability of failure,
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sales.pit-pa@ametek.com
with the excess oxygen reading, the combustibles
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BD Heat Recovery Air Preheaters

• The APH is fully welded, completely leak-free and
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Reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs
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osts withAs key targets

ultimate for 2030, the climate
AIR PREHEATERS and energy
TECHNOLOGY:
framework establishes that at least 40% of
ECOVERYgreenhouse
AIR PREHEATERSgas emissions (from 1990 levels) have
• The heat
to be reduced. exchanger
A landmark plates are made
judgment in The from
Haguestainless
• Thesteel
heatinexchanger
different thicknesses making the heat
plates are manufactured
exchanger resistant against corrosion.
Byrecently ruled that Shell and its suppliers must from stainless steel in different thicknesses,
rasseur, BD HEAT Recovery,
a, MERYTcut emissions
With a cold
•Catalysts by 45%made
stage
& Innovation by 2030
fromfrom 2019 levels,
ULTRA-alloy making
it can even the heat
operates exchanger
below the dewresistant to corrosion.
point when fuel gas is
a ruling
used asthata will
fuel.probably have
Latent heat to then
can be followed by
be recovered, • With a cold
increasing evenstage made from
the thermal Ultra Alloy, it
efficiency.
other big companies. can even operate below the dew point when
ablishes that as key targets for 2030 at least
These legal requirements and the need to 40% greenhouse fuel gas is used as a fuel. Latent heat can then
educed. Very recently, a landmark judgment in
reduce energy costs in refineries and chemical The Hague has be recovered, increasing even the thermal
missions by 45% by 2030 from the 2019 level, judgment that
companies.plants are the reason for installing new air efficiency.
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ed to reduceChoosing
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costsright APH is crucial
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REHEATER’s (APH),
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he best results.
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he internal plate packs can be replaced without the need to recovered and less CO2 is emitted.
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e drop and is less prone to fouling.
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97% within
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• It is based on a modular design, where the Please contact us if you are planning to reduce
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Decarbonisati n

Click here to learn

Our Thermox® WDG-V combustion analyzer is field-serviceable and monitors

Learn more about optimized combustion by watching our

© 2021, all rights reserved by AMETEK, Inc.

11 Catalysts and adsorbents in the energy transition

17 First principles of energy transition – Part 1

21 Clean hydrogen energy from repurposed gasification plant

25 CCUS challenges and opportunities in Chile

29 Carbon capture policy development and the pathway forward

33 Strategies for decarbonising combustion processes

37 Optimal energy and emissions management during energy transition

41 Zero-emission steam generation with electricity

45 Optimising green hydrogen production using system simulation

49 Reducing CO2 emissions through process electrification

53 CO2 capture and natural gas savings in SMR process

57 A novel approach to CO2 removal from natural gas

65 Evolution of marine fuels – move toward a sustainable future

69 Sustainable aviation fuel comes of age

73 Fuel oil to liquefied natural gas

77 Improve energy efficiency while reducing CO2 emissions sustainably

81 Decarbonisation through innovation

ELIMINATE SCOPE 2 EMISSIONS WHEN COUPLED WITH

VIRTUALLY 100% EFFICIENT CONVERSION OF ENERGY TO

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE FOR DYNAMIC AND HIGH

REMOVES THE COMPLEXITY AND COST OF COMBUSTION SOURCES

DRASTICALLY REDUCES MAINTENANCE COSTS AND DOWNTIME

Engineering a Sustainable Tomorrow.

www.chromalox.com | sales @ chromalox.com

any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise –

SUPERIOR LONG-TERM THERMAL

FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation is one of

Its all-glass, closed-cell composition is 100%

Scope Emission type Definition Examples

Through multi-specialist integrated offers, we deliver ever more

Ready today, Honeywell H2 Solutions is a suite

Plan your CO2 Countdown. uop.honeywell.com

Full biofuels conversion New COTC complex

Uniflex from UOP and

Density at 20°C, kg/m3 992-1023 983-1039 950-1200 990-1312 980-1030 900-1200

Residue conversion with 63-83 max. 85 >95 >95 90-96 >95

Total distillate yield, wt% 45-78 45-78 84 86 78 86

Jean-Gaël Le Floc’h, Mel Larson, Darren York and Robert Ohmes

+ 1.9 +40% -35% -27%

ELIMINATE SCOPE 2 EMISSIONS WHEN COUPLED WITH

VIRTUALLY 100% EFFICIENT CONVERSION OF ENERGY TO

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE FOR DYNAMIC AND HIGH

REMOVES THE COMPLEXITY AND COST OF COMBUSTION SOURCES

DRASTICALLY REDUCES MAINTENANCE COSTS AND DOWNTIME

Engineering a Sustainable Tomorrow.

www.chromalox.com | sales @ chromalox.com

Bhargav Sharma and Mark Schott Honeywell UOP

Wabash CO2 recovery plant Source: Honeywell UOP

Sulzer Chemtech MellapakCC™

Sulzer and Blue Planet announce partnership to reduce CO2 emissions to

Jose Barriga Cabezón

Buildings efficiency (17%)

Figure 2 Measure contributions towards carbon neutrality Source: Ministry of Energy1

CCUS hubs Summary

everyone, some of which 4,000

people being displaced

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