Valorizing the oxygen byproduct of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing

Earning money out of skinny air: Valorizing the oxygen byproduct of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing

Sure, oxygen produced as a by-product throughout inexperienced ammonia manufacturing can be utilized in different processes. Listed here are some methods oxygen can be utilized:

Enhance course of effectivity

Utilizing pure oxygen can enhance the effectivity of the ammonia manufacturing course of by rising the combustion temperature and making it simpler to seize CO2.

Different industrial processes

Oxygen can be utilized in industrial processes like nitric acid vegetation, metal manufacturing, and electrical energy technology.

Medical sector

Excessive purity oxygen can be utilized in area of interest purposes within the medical sector.

Different purposes

Oxygen has many different purposes, together with water remedy, combustion, aerospace, base chemical manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, and welding.

Growing a Inexperienced Ammonia Mission – EPCM

Inexperienced ammonia is produced utilizing renewable power to separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is then mixed with nitrogen to kind ammonia.

Overview

Among the many various routes to decreasing GHG emissions, Inexperienced Hydrogen is maybe the one with the best long-term potential. Hydrogen produced from renewable electrical energy is – technically not less than – among the many most engaging choices for decarbonizing transport fuels, trade, chemical compounds manufacturing, gasoline grids and a number of different sectors. The first obstacles to its uptake at current are availability and value. Nonetheless, as with another decarbonization choices, there’s potential for a key byproduct of the Inexperienced Hydrogen manufacturing course of – oxygen – to considerably enhance its manufacturing economics.

Generally, Inexperienced Hydrogen is produced through the splitting of water through electrolysis. In stoichiometric phrases, this course of produces one mole of oxygen for each two moles of hydrogen, equating (resulting from differing atomic mass) to roughly eight tons of oxygen for each ton of hydrogen output. With such a substantial amount, revenues from the sale of oxygen byproduct can – relying on obtained oxygen costs – considerably enhance the economics of Inexperienced Hydrogen manufacturing, contributing to improved cost-competitiveness in opposition to blue, gray or different hydrogen and different various choices. Market costs for bulk oxygen presently vary from roughly US$ 75 to 100 per ton relying upon location (and considerably extra for smaller cylinders e.g., for welding) , implying lots of of {dollars} per ton of byproduct revenues (effectively over US$ 10 million per 12 months) for an assumed 20 000 tons per 12 months Inexperienced Hydrogen plant. Even assuming a low worth of US$ 25 per ton (a fraction of the market worth presently) implies round $200 per ton of byproduct income (round US$ 4 million per 12 months) for a similar plant. This may vastly cut back the excessive prices related to Inexperienced Hydrogen, even earlier than any valorization of the product’s carbon depth discount, which in itself could be fairly substantial. Oxygen manufacturing in different rising hydrogen-based processes (e.g., Energy-to-Liquids) might be smaller however nonetheless substantial.

Notably, fuels derived from Energy-to-Liquids processes (primarily Fischer-Tropsch manufacturing from Inexperienced Hydrogen and captured CO2) are considered as probably the most fascinating long-term possibility for the decarbonization of “onerous to impress” sectors equivalent to aviation and marine transport, being theoretically free from the constraints on feedstock availability, or much less enticing carbon depth, which might be prone to restrict progress in biomass-derived fuels to beneath than the dimensions wanted to realize internet zero emissions. Nonetheless, these merchandise stay, at current, considerably costlier than biomass derived drop-in fuels, not to mention their petroleum equivalents. In an surroundings the place – as within the case of the European Union’s RefuelEU Aviation regulation – plane operators will both adjust to mandated consumption shares for e-fuels, or face vital fines, equal to twice the distinction in worth between e-fuels and petroleum jet gasoline – any enchancment to price of manufacturing, and due to this fact worth, coming from the monetization of byproduct oxygen will present a big aggressive benefit.

Oxygen Valorization Worth Proposition

What’s the downside?

Whereas on paper, a Inexperienced Hydrogen producer ought to discover it easy to promote its oxygen byproduct in the marketplace and realise the extra revenues detailed above, there are in actuality a number of obstacles to straightforward offloading:

Demand for oxygen is geographically unfold out and logistical prices are very excessive.

The marketplace for industrial gases doesn’t work like many different industries. Deciding whether or not to construct an air separation plant requires devoted contracts, which means that merchandise usually are not bought on the service provider market in the identical approach as different commodities. Industrial oxygen is itself incessantly produced as a byproduct of air separation, and together with Nitrogen is among the many most used industrial gases. Many present large-scale prospects are locked into long run contracts.

Oxygen is utilized in many various purposes, with totally different wants, together with:

Water remedy and water remedy chemical compounds (e.g. ozone)

Metal manufacturing (e.g. primary oxygen steelmaking)

Combustion (e.g. oxycombustion)

Aerospace (e.g. rocket gasoline)

Base chemical manufacturing (e.g. ethylene oxide)

Electronics manufacturing (e.g. semiconductor manufacturing)

Welding (e.g. LOx)

Healthcare and meals preparation.

Map of Oxygen Manufacturing within the US

What’s the Alternative?

Fortuitously for Inexperienced Hydrogen, extra progress alternatives are arising in comparatively synergistic areas. One such alternative is in carbon seize, each in precombustion and oxycombustion. Oxycombustion has potential purposes in lowering Scope 1 emissions (resulting from decrease NOX emissions), in addition to producing a stream of CO2 that’s carbon seize prepared, whereas oxycombustion is pursued extensively in each the ability and petrochemical sectors.

One other, rising – and considerably ironic – alternative is within the progress in blue hydrogen (and spinoff merchandise equivalent to blue methanol and blue ammonia), which additionally supply potential downstream synergies. In the meantime, energy and broader petrochemical purposes additionally supply their very own apparent upstream and downstream integration potentials respectively. Moreover, some routes to renewable chemical compounds and fuels that will be oxygen customers additionally present progress potential, though these usually are not as extensively pursued, and have a way more unsure trajectory.

Oxycombustion Course of Instance

Case Research: Closing the Loop

As PTL processes are inherently giant energy and CO2 customers, and oxycombustion has as a possible market energy with carbon seize, there’s vital integration potential. The ABEL Vitality undertaking in Australia is doing simply this—nonetheless anybody with a eager information of chemistry will notice that the oxygen continues to be in extra. ABEL has acknowledged that they’ll vent extra oxygen to the environment.

ABEL Vitality Oxygen Integration Instance

Key Takeaways

Three key takeaways from NexantECA’s probing of this area:

Oxygen valorization can unlock financial alternatives:

Inexperienced hydrogen (and derivatives equivalent to PTL merchandise) are very excessive price

Financial competitiveness is vastly aided by even a small worth for byproduct oxygen

Whereas the general oxygen market purposes are principally mature, alternatives exist for oxygen valorization and progress in key oxygen markets, particularly oxycombustion – which itself is poised for progress resulting from numerous drivers:

Energy decarbonization

Developments in carbon seize

Integration with PTL

As a result of dealing with and logistics, oxygen technology is nearly all the time located subsequent to consuming places when they’re first deliberate and commissioned. Oxygen valorization would due to this fact require superior planning and integration of complementary tasks to work – whereas not unattainable, that is considerably extra sophisticated than valorizing different chemical compounds