[ transport ]
The LOHC cycle with benzyl toluene . Image © Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies
transported over long distances in the existing liquid fuel infrastructure . It also shows no boil-off ( hydrogen losses ), not even during long periods of time . Hydrogen purity according to ISO-14687 is ensured . By using the existing infrastructure , LOHC-BT is also particularly fast and cost-effective to implement , and the local workforce for handling of liquid fuels can be leveraged , which in turn helps securing jobs . The flexibility of the technology favours diversification of import routes – transport via tank ships , barges , railroad and tanker trucks is possible .
Especially when seaports and barge ports are involved as transshipment points for the onward transport of hydrogen to off-takers , the LOHC-BT is advantageous due to its relatively low hazard potential compared to , for example , the highly toxic ammonia , which is considered to be very problematic in the urban environment of ports close to cities such as Amsterdam , Rotterdam or Hamburg .
Benefits of LOHC for industrial applications
An advantageous characteristic of the LOHC-BT technology lies in the chemical process itself : while
the hydrogenation ( storage of hydrogen in the LOHC ) is an exothermic process that produces excess heat energy , the dehydrogenation ( release of hydrogen from the LOHC ) is an endothermic process – it requires additional energy in the form of heat .
This opens up synergies on the hydrogen production side , where the excess heat from hydrogenation could for example be fed into local heat grids or used for seawater desalination . On the off-taker side , heavy industry with a lot of process heat could leverage this excess energy for the dehydrogenation of the hydrogen from the LOHC-BT .
Steel mills are among the industry off-takers that can particularly benefit from the LOHC-BT technology : they not only need green hydrogen as a form of carbon-neutral energy source but also molecular hydrogen with high purity for their production processes . LOHC-BT can easily be stored at the off-taker site for releasing hydrogen on demand , which is key for industrial use . Steel mills also have a lot of excess heat that could be integrated in the LOHC-BT dehydrogenation process , lowering the total cost of ownership .
Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 9 | April 2023 15