Hydrogen
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Use of hydrogen in oil refining Anyone familiar with sulphur in oil ( colloquially referred to as sour crude oil ), knows how problematic this compound is . Sulphur is undesirable because when burned it converts into sulphur oxides which can lead to acid rain and other environment-damaging pollutants . Refineries now widely use hydrogen to remove sulphur from oil products , such as diesel fuels — as much as 1.33 billion standard cubic feet ( SCF ) daily in the United States . By extension , this leads to “ cleaner ” fuels since they release less sulphur oxide when burned . The use of hydrogen for oil refineries is increasingly vital as we ’ re approaching the era of peak oil . As the demand for oil production ramps up , so will carbon emissions . Therefore , the oil industry must find cleaner ways to process crude oil to reduce these emissions . Hydrogen is a viable solution .
Why hydrogen isn ’ t yet used globally In Europe , government officials have shifted their energy focus to adopting hydrogen as a fuel source . The European Commission announced an effort to use 40 gigawatts of electrolyzers to split water into hydrogen in its borders by 2030 2 . Germany is a notable example of this , announcing its National Hydrogen Strategy , an $ 8.2 billion investment in research and development of green hydrogen production . All of these seem like sensible initiatives , because hydrogen is helpful in a range of industries , such as steelmaking , concrete production , and more . They ’ re also given the increasing demand for oil , but the downside is it will bring higher carbon emissions . In North America , the picture is quite different . In 2020 , The Energy Department announced it would invest $ 64 million in hydrogen research and development . That ’ s just a fraction of Germany ’ s investment . And although American companies and industries are actively using hydrogen , 95 percent of its production relies on steam refining , which uses fossil fuels . Standard arguments for the reluctance to adopt hydrogen production include its high production cost and high reactivity ( making it an explosion hazard ). While these are real concerns , methods to produce hydrogen at a low cost and store it safely are improving . That suggests that what may be necessary is an increased focus on research rather than overreliance on existing methods .
Using electric heaters to create hydrogen Although mainstream adoption of hydrogen has faced some hurdles , the production of hydrogen is , theoretically , straightforward . Hydrogen production is a thermochemical process using heat to release hydrogen , ideally from organic sources , such as biomass or water . Electric heaters , such as those built here at Wattco , can facilitate this method of hydrogen extraction with relative ease . These heaters already produce little or no emissions and can generate sufficient heat fast . They ’ re also operable at low costs . If the demand for hydrogen use increases , the heating equipment will be readily available . Here at Wattco , we build a wide range of electric heaters that can facilitate well-established processes and support emerging ones , such as hydrogen production .
References
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1 . Fuelpositive . com : https :// fuelpositive . com / greyammonia /#:~: text = More % 20than % 2080 % 25 % 20of % 20the , of % 20 its % 20high % 20nitrogen % 20component .
2 . Grist . org : https :// grist . org / energy / europe-is-going-all-in-onhydrogen-power-why-isnt-the-us /
20 Heat Exchanger World May 2023 www . heat-exchanger-world . com