Boosting hydrogen production
For reference in connection with a typical hydrogen plant, see Figure 3. Production increase from such a facility might be achieved relatively inexpensively by relieving constraints in the Sulfinol and carbonate absorber systems, in knockout drums in the compressor train, and in various separator columns such as the water wash column in this particular plant.
The Sulfinol and carbonate absorbers scavenge sulfur gases and carbon dioxide. Inadequate removal will result in reduced hydrogen purity and production rate. One likely cause to investigate is insufficient capacity in the absorber or regenerator towers. If these towers use trays, consider converting the trays to a higher-capacity variety—or even better, to structured packing such as the Amistco type shown in Figure 4. In the case of packed towers, it may be possible to switch to an improved design such as Amistco’s patented Superblend-2Pac™ packing, which provides 15% more capacity without increasing pressure drop.
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