Petroleum Refineries

Meet Your On-Site Hydrogen Needs with HYEN Hydrogen Production Systems!

The petroleum refining process is energy-intensive and generates significant carbon emissions. Hydrogen plays a crucial role in various refinery operations, particularly in hydrocracking and desulfurization processes, where it is used to break down heavy hydrocarbons and remove sulfur from crude oil. Traditionally, this hydrogen is produced from natural gas through steam methane reforming (SMR), a process that emits CO₂ as a byproduct.

The petroleum industry can significantly reduce its carbon footprint by transitioning to green hydrogen in the following ways:

• Hydrocracking: This key refining process uses hydrogen to break down large molecules in crude oil into smaller, more valuable products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Hydrogen is typically sourced from SMR; however, using green hydrogen can decarbonize the refining process. Green hydrogen offers a cleaner alternative to conventional hydrogen production methods, helping to reduce emissions associated with refining.
• Desulfurization: Another essential refining process is hydroprocessing or desulfurization, in which hydrogen is used to remove sulfur from petroleum products to produce cleaner fuels. By replacing fossil-fuel-derived hydrogen with green hydrogen, the carbon intensity of the entire refining process can be reduced, leading to the production of cleaner fuels. Green hydrogen also supports the production of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), a cleaner alternative to conventional diesel fuel.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is a set of techniques used to extract additional oil from reservoirs once primary and secondary recovery methods are exhausted. One of the most common EOR techniques is CO₂ injection, in which CO₂ is injected into oil fields to increase pressure and help release trapped oil. While effective, this method relies on CO₂ as an injection fluid, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Green hydrogen can play a role in hydrogen-based EOR (often referred to as H₂-EOR), offering a cleaner alternative to CO₂ injection:

• Hydrogen Injection in Oil Fields: In H₂-EOR, green hydrogen is injected into oil fields to increase reservoir pressure and improve oil recovery, replacing CO₂ injection. Hydrogen reacts with oil, facilitating extraction. A key advantage of hydrogen over CO₂ is that it can be stored underground without contributing to atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions. This makes H₂-EOR an attractive option for the petroleum industry to reduce both operating costs and emissions.
• Hydrogen Storage in Oil Reservoirs: Another emerging possibility in the petroleum industry is the underground storage of hydrogen in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. Known as geological hydrogen storage, this concept plays a critical role in integrating green hydrogen into the energy system by enabling large-scale storage for use when needed.

Green Hydrogen as a Fuel for Industrial Applications in the Petroleum Industry

Beyond its role in refining and EOR, green hydrogen has the potential to be used as a clean fuel in various industrial processes within the petroleum and petrochemical sectors. The petroleum industry relies heavily on large-scale industrial processes, most of which are powered by fossil fuels.

• Hydrogen for High-Temperature Heat Production: Green hydrogen can replace natural gas and coal in industrial furnaces and boilers. For example, hydrogen can fuel furnaces used in petrochemical production and crude oil distillation, generating the high temperatures required for these processes without the carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels. This transition can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of industrial operations in petroleum refineries, leading to cleaner processes and overall emission reductions.
• Hydrogen for Power Generation in Offshore Platforms: Offshore oil and gas platforms require significant amounts of power, often relying on diesel generators or natural gas. Green hydrogen can serve as an alternative fuel for these platforms, enabling the decarbonization of offshore operations.
  Offshore platforms can reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and minimize their environmental impact by utilizing green hydrogen in fuel cells or turbines, contributing to cleaner energy production within the oil and gas industry.