– Reforming furnace outlet/HTS inlet
Ideally, you want a GC of the reformer outlet gas, but this is a hard sample
to take.
You can back calculate the composition from the methane contents in the raw
hydrogen to purification*.
Total flow will be the same as the reformer inlet.
– LTS inlet (if applicable)
Need a GC of the HTS converter outlet
Total flow is normally the same as the HTS outlet.
– Raw hydrogen before purification
Need a GC of this dry gas going to the purification system*
Assume the gas is saturated with water
Need the total gas rate*
– Product hydrogen to methanator (if applicable)
A GC of this is nice, but it can be estimated from the raw hydrogen by
removing the CO 2 .
The stream will be saturated with water at absorber overhead conditions.
– Product hydrogen
Need a GC of this stream*
Need flow rate*
– Product CO 2 (if applicable)
This stream will be mostly CO 2 , so it mainly needs the temperature and pressure.
It will be saturated with water at production conditions.
– PSA off-gas (if applicable)
GC of the gas*
Flow rate*
– Shift condensate
This stream is normally not metered, so the flow must normally be calculated
or estimated from the other streams.
It may be sampled; the CO 2 content can be estimated assuming the water is
saturated with CO 2 at production conditions.
If there are hot and cold shift effluent separators, you need to estimate the
flows and CO 2 contents for each separator.
Using the available data, a component-by-component material balance can be
constructed, along with the pressure and temperature for each stream. An
example of how to do this is in the Appendix of this chapter.
Where data are not available (especially GCs), the data can be calculated
assuming equilibria and using the overall equation for SMR reforming
(Eq. 20). Remember that you want the wet compositions at each point because
water is a major participant in many of the reactions.
Usually, this can all be built into a spreadsheet that will reconcile all the data.
This takes an initial effort to set up; but once the spreadsheet is built, it greatly
improves your ability to analyze the hydrogen plant operation.
Once you have a reasonable material balance, catalyst activity tracking and
other analyses are possible.
Hydrogen Production and Management for Petroleum Processing
607
Ideally, you want a GC of the reformer outlet gas, but this is a hard sample
to take.
You can back calculate the composition from the methane contents in the raw
hydrogen to purification*.
Total flow will be the same as the reformer inlet.
– LTS inlet (if applicable)
Need a GC of the HTS converter outlet
Total flow is normally the same as the HTS outlet.
– Raw hydrogen before purification
Need a GC of this dry gas going to the purification system*
Assume the gas is saturated with water
Need the total gas rate*
– Product hydrogen to methanator (if applicable)
A GC of this is nice, but it can be estimated from the raw hydrogen by
removing the CO 2 .
The stream will be saturated with water at absorber overhead conditions.
– Product hydrogen
Need a GC of this stream*
Need flow rate*
– Product CO 2 (if applicable)
This stream will be mostly CO 2 , so it mainly needs the temperature and pressure.
It will be saturated with water at production conditions.
– PSA off-gas (if applicable)
GC of the gas*
Flow rate*
– Shift condensate
This stream is normally not metered, so the flow must normally be calculated
or estimated from the other streams.
It may be sampled; the CO 2 content can be estimated assuming the water is
saturated with CO 2 at production conditions.
If there are hot and cold shift effluent separators, you need to estimate the
flows and CO 2 contents for each separator.
Using the available data, a component-by-component material balance can be
constructed, along with the pressure and temperature for each stream. An
example of how to do this is in the Appendix of this chapter.
Where data are not available (especially GCs), the data can be calculated
assuming equilibria and using the overall equation for SMR reforming
(Eq. 20). Remember that you want the wet compositions at each point because
water is a major participant in many of the reactions.
Usually, this can all be built into a spreadsheet that will reconcile all the data.
This takes an initial effort to set up; but once the spreadsheet is built, it greatly
improves your ability to analyze the hydrogen plant operation.
Once you have a reasonable material balance, catalyst activity tracking and
other analyses are possible.
Hydrogen Production and Management for Petroleum Processing
607