Catacel SSR TM : Removing Barriers in Steam Methane Reforming

Transcription

1 Catacel SSR TM : Removing Barriers in Steam Methane Reforming Michael Hepworth Engineering Technology Manager Increased steam methane reformer throughput Air Liquide/Johnson Matthey Petroleum Quarterly, April 2017 Marie Basin, Daniel Gary (Air Liquide), William Whittenberger, Jumal Shah (Johnson Matthey)

2 What limits your reformer s capacity? a) Upstream supply of feed d) Downstream PSA capacity/heat recovery/other process limitation b) Reformer pressure drop e) Downstream user demand c) Tube wall / other temperature limits f) Other! Poll

3 Increasing demand, limited capacity, cost During the lifetime of Steam Methane Reformers serving Refineries Hydrogen, Methanol or Ammonia petrochemical plants: Capacity can be challenged Pressure drop limits Flue gas temperature limits Tube wall temperature limits Operating cost savings required Fuel burn efficiency drive Back to basics What does the catalyst do? ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 3

4 Catalyst Pellets and Heat Transfer Reforming is endothermic and relies upon effective heat transfer Pellets passively break up the gas film and create turbulence at tube wall Smaller pellets create more points of contact at the tube wall Trade off: Small pellets give higher heat transfer but higher pressure drop ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 4

5 Structured Catalyst and Heat Transfer Catacel SSR actively manipulates flow causing jetting against the gas film at the wall Jets destroy the stagnant film at the tube wall 20-30% improved heat transfer ensures more heat is available at the catalyst surface to drive reforming reaction ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 5

6 Introducing Catacel SSR Structured catalyst arranged in stacks of fans within a reformer tube Increased void space with Catacel SSR Pressure drop 10% to 20% lower Lowers cost of compression Allows more feed through plant for same dp Foil will expand and contract with tube Structure does not break down over time Very little increase in dp over time ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 6

7 Catacel SSR Activity Activity is strongly related to geometric surface area (GSA) 40% more surface area means more activity More readily tolerates minor upsets Higher conversion/more throughput at same fuel rate Reduced fuel consumption for the same throughput Relative performance, typical values Values indicative only and vary based on reformer tube and operating conditions ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 7

8 Case Study Air Liquide HyCO Plant 2450 Nm3/h (about 2 MMSCFD) hydrogen plant 12 tubes at 5 ID, single burner Debottleneck study (2015) showed that plant limited by high flue gas temperature (1000 C) Inhibiting process gas exit temperature and production with conventional catalysts JM proposed and installed Catacel SSR TM ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 8

9 Case Study Air Liquide HyCO Plant Increasing H2 Throughput by Increasing Reforming Temperature Plant Parameter Conventional Catalyst Catacel SSR TM Flue Gas Temperature C Reformer Exit Temperature C S/C Pressure Drop bar Methane Slip mol% Dry Syngas Flow Nm3/h H2 Production (before PSA) Nm3/h Increase in syngas flow rate % Increase in hydrogen production % T flue gas T syngas C ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 9

10 Case Study Air Liquide HyCO Plant Increasing H2 Throughput by Increasing Plant Load Plant Parameter Conventional Catalyst Catacel SSR TM Flue Gas Temperature C Reformer Exit Temperature C S/C Pressure Drop bar Methane Slip mol% Dry Syngas Flow Nm3/h H2 Production (before PSA) Nm3/h Increase in syngas flow rate % Increase in hydrogen production % T flue gas T syngas C ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 10

11 Case Study Air Liquide HyCO Plant Performance after 1 year of Operation Plant Load Range (dry syngas production) Conventional Catalyst 2014/15 (% Operating Time) Catacel SSR TM 2015/16 (% Operating Time) Below 50% % % % % % >105% ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 11

12 Case Study Air Liquide HyCO Plant Plant Load and Plant Efficiency (Syngas Flow / Total Natural Gas Flow) Savings on natural gas consumption are high due to better conversion and lower fuel consumption due to better heat transfer Savings experienced at the Air Liquide HyCO Plant are 3-4% for % load 5% for 106% load ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 12

13 Conclusions Changing market conditions result in a greater need to be able to operate flexibly, robustly and efficiently at increased demand to meet the user s needs. Catacel SSR TM technology represents the next generation of steam reforming catalysts, delivering significant performance improvements compared to traditional pelleted catalysts Benefits of the coated foil based structure to overcome the observed limit on flue gas exit temperature are demonstrated at the Air Liquide HyCO Plant Air Liquide has validated the increased plant efficiency and highlight the long term 6% increase in throughput was achieved successfully and without incurring any capital cost to modify plant equipment ERTC 2017 Catacel SSR TM 13

14 Poll Results Insert footer here 14