Feedstock:

• Natural Gas
• Steam
  

Feedstock Detail Characteristics:

• min. design limit "50/50"
  • methane CH₄ mol% 87.510
  • ethane C₂H₆ mol% 6.870
  • propane C₃H₈ mol% 1,749
  • n-butane nC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.259
  • 2-methylpropane iC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.120
  • n-pentane nC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.018
  • 2-methylbutane iC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.030
  • n-hexane C₆H₁₄ mol% 0.019
  • nitrogen N₂ mol% 1.197
  • carbon dioxide CO₂ mol% 2.231
• design “80/20”
  • methane CH₄ mol% 89.034
  • ethane C₂H₆ mol% 6.334
  • propane C₃H₈ mol% 1.045
  • n-butane nC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.114
  • 2-methylpropane iC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.078
  • n-pentane nC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.008
  • 2-methylbutane iC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.013
  • n-hexane C₆H₁₄ mol% 0.010
  • nitrogen N₂ mol% 1.179
  • carbon dioxide CO₂ mol% 2.194
• max design limit  “100/0”
  • methane CH₄ mol% 90.174
  • ethane C₂H₆ mol% 5.922
  • propane C₃H₈ mol% 0.670
  • n-butane nC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.036
  • 2-methylpropane iC₄H₁₀ mol% 0.043
  • n-pentane nC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.006
  • 2-methylbutane iC₅H₁₂ mol% 0.005
  • n-hexane C₆H₁₄ mol% 0.001
  • nitrogen N₂ mol% 0.909
  • carbon dioxide CO₂ mol% 2.233
    

Required Feedstock Specification:

• Presssure
  • 27.0 barg min
  • 34.0 barg max
• Temperature
  • 0°C min
  • 40°C max
  • 25°C normal
• Dewpoints
  • Water -60°C max
  • Hydrocarbon -30°C max
• Heating Value
  • Higher Heating Value (expected range)
  • 0.4837 Therms or 51.03 MJ/kg design
  • 0.4823 Therms or 50.89 MJ/kg min
  • 0.4857 Therms or 51.25 MJ/kg max
• Total Sulphur Composition Limits
  • 15 ppmv max
  • 3 ppmv normal
    

Products Produced :

1. Hydrogen
2. CO₂
3. Steam

Product Detail Characteristics:

1. Hydrogen

• Analysis
  • H₂ 99.999 mol% min
  • Impurities
    • CO 5 ppmv max, CO₂ 5 ppmv max
    • H₂0 5 ppmv max
    • Sulphur I ppm max
    • Unsaturated 5 ppmv max hydrocarbons
    • N₂/CH₄ balance
• Pressure
  • 44.8 barg min
  • 55.0 barg max
• Temperature
  • 35°C max
    

2. Carbon Dioxide

• Dependent on CO₂ plant added
• Typical purity of 99.5% with impurities of CH4, CO, H2, and H2O
  

3. Steam (Typical)

• Pressure
  • 16.5 barg min
  • 19.5 barg max
• Temperature
  • 205°C min
  • 350°C max
• Total Dissolved Solids
  • Typical 0.2 ppm max

For Production rates less than or equal to 0.875 MT/h:

• Fixed consumption per hour
  • Natural Gas: 1 838.7 Therms
  • IP Steam: (11.7) t
  • Power: 931 kWh
  • Demin Water: 16.2 t
  • LP Steam: 0.61 t
• Consumption per ton of Hydrogen per hour
  • Natural Gas: 0 Therms
  • IP Steam: 0 t
  • Power: 0 kWh
  • Demin Water: 0 t
  • LP Steam: 0 t

2.  For Production rates greater than 0.875 t/h:

• Fixed Consumption per hour
  • Natural Gas: 187.7 Therms
  • lP Steam: 1.615 t
  • Power: 765 kWh
  • Demin Water: 0t
  • LP Steam: 0.03 t
• Consumption per ton of Hydrogen per hour
  • Natural Gas: 1,888 Therms
  • lP Steam: (15.2) t
  • Power: 243 kWh
  • Demin Water: 19.55 t
  • LP Steam: 0.741 t
    

Plant Licensor: KTI (Technip)

Plant Capacity:

• H_2: 15,330 MT/year (42 MT/day)
• CO_2: 70,000 MT/year (potential if CO₂ plant added)
• Export Steam: 218,000 MT/year

Start Up: August 1998

Shut Down: April 2009  (The plant was shut down according to safety and environmental procedures.  N₂ purge has been maintained on the equipment & catalysts.)

Plant Flexibility:

• Minimum quantity H₂ = 21 MT/day (19 MT/day with loss of efficiency)
• Minimum quantity CO₂= 96MT/day based on minimum hydrogen
• Note that CO₂ plant could be run further turned down (around 10 MT/day) with upstream venting

Operation Time Per Year:

• Typical: 8,649 hours/99% attainment.
  Equivalent of 2 trips/year (36 hours from cold restart)
• Worst ever = 8,562 hours/98% attainment.
   Equivalent of 3.6 trips/year (36 hours from cold restart)
• Note that this does not include planned outages, typically every 2 years (16 days)
  

The plant is design basis is to produce carbon dioxide [CO₂] and hydrogen [H₂]. This is achieved reacting Methane [CH₄] and water [steam] through a catalytic reforming process. This produces H₂ and carbon monoxide [CO]. By adding additional water over a second reactor the CO is converted to CO₂ and additional hydrogen is also liberated.

Steam is produced using the waste heat from the reforming process, and is sufficient quantity and quality provided the steam feed and export steam excess to other users. The export steam is IP steam 17.5 barg/280°C

The synthesis gas is then purified firstly by the removal of CO₂ through an aMDEA03 recovery unit. This CO₂ can be vented to atmosphere or liquefied for further use as a saleable product. The impurities from this system (small CH₄, CO and H₂) are sent back to the reformer as a fuel.

The hydrogen is purified using a 6 bed pressure swing absorption system [PSA] to services its pipeline customers. The waste  gas from the PSA cycle is returned to the reforming process as fuel

The plant is operates at a elevated pressure therefore feed and product compression is required.  Two multi service compressors are used such that each compressor compresses 50% of the plants feed/product requirements.

Feed: Natural gas compression min/max 27.0/34.0 barg
Product; Hydrogen min/max 44.8/55.0 barg

Hydro-Desulphurization (1 reactor 2 different catalyst beds)

Feed Product Compression

• 2 Thomassen multi service compressors, with closed loop water system and oil system
• Steam Methane Reformer[SMR]
• Combustion section
• Convection section ( with  5 cooling coils )
• Induced Draft Fan with guide vane control
• Reforming (1 item)
• Press. Inlet = 22 bar
• Temp. Inlet = 600°C
• Press. Out = 19 bar
• Temp. Out = 800-880°C
• Ratio steam/feed
• 3.0 at max capacity
• 3.2 at min capacity
• Refractory
• Ceramic fiber bick

Location Burner

• 35 top fired low NOx burners  21of100% & 14 of 65%
• NOx in flue gas under 150 ppmv (150 mg/m³)

CO2 removal (MDEA plant)

• Absorber column
• HP flash column
• LP flash column
• Knock out pot
• 1 air cooler
• 1 Heater
• 1 cooler
• 2 Pumps
• Tank storage
• Solvent – MDEA 03solution

Steam system

• 1 waste heat boiler
• 1 Degasifier
• 1 Steam boiler
• 1 Dosing system
• 2 pumps
• 2 heat exchangers
• 2 Convection coils (in convection section of reformer)

H2 purification

• 6 bed PSA system
• 1 surge tank to provide waste gases back to SMR as fuel

CO2 product

• The CO₂ is sent to the atmosphere. There is an opportunity to liquefy this CO₂ as a saleable product but this equipment will not be sold with the Reformer.

Vent header system with cold process vent stack

Note that there is no Demin plant, as Demin water has been supplied from external sources.