Zhenghe Group recently conducted technical renovation on the return tank’s gas discharge of its gasoline hydrogenation unit’s SHU system. It added a gas stabilization line between its gasoline hydrogenation and coking unit, which could recover gas, bring down energy consumption and raise output.
The increasing demands for higher quality oil products have required petrochemical enterprises to use the gasoline hydrogenation unit to reduce sulfur content, requiring more hydrogen. Therefore, making full use of self-produced hydrogen has become an important way to conserve energy. Previously, the gas separated from Zhenghe’s SHU reaction product flowed back to high-pressure gas pipes and was used as fuel or burnt at the torch, which was a waste of energy. The insufficient hydrogen hindered output growth, while the hydrogenation unit’s process capacity stood at 70-tons-per-hour, producing 200 cubic meters of gas per hour, which includes 60 to 80 percent hydrogen. Therefore, Meng Qingxue, the company’s CSO, decided to recycle the gas from the hydrogenation unit.
The added pipeline can recover C3 and C4 from the gas and make full use of the hydrogen to save energy. Since the renovation project kicked in, the unit has maintained stable production, achieving good economic benefits. Based on the current hydrogen market price, the recovered hydrogen can help create more than 1.3 million yuan ($209,579) in profits a year.