Hydrogen pinch analysis (HPA) is a

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

management method that originates from the concept of heat

pinch analysis Pinch analysis is a methodology for minimising energy consumption of chemical processes by calculating thermodynamically feasible ''energy targets'' (or minimum energy consumption) and achieving them by optimising heat recovery systems, energy su ...

. HPA is a systematic technique for reducing hydrogen consumption and hydrogen generation through integration of hydrogen-using activities or processes in the

petrochemical industry The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector. Comp ...

, petroleum refineries hydrogen distribution networks and hydrogen purification.

Principle

A mass analysis is done by representing the purity and flowrate for each stream from the hydrogen consumers (sinks), such as hydrotreaters,

hydrocracker In petrochemistry, petroleum geology and organic chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of ...

isomerization In chemistry, isomerization or isomerisation is the process in which a molecule, polyatomic ion or molecular fragment is transformed into an isomer with a different chemical structure. Enolization is an example of isomerization, as is tautomeriz ...

units and

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

plants and the hydrogen producers (sources), such as hydrogen plants and

naphtha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ' ...

reformers, streams from hydrogen purifiers,

membrane reactor A membrane reactor is a physical device that combines a chemical conversion process with a membrane separation process to add reactants or remove products of the reaction. Chemical reactors making use of membranes are usually referred to as membr ...

pressure swing adsorption Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is a technique used to separate some gas species from a mixture of gases (typically air) under pressure according to the species' molecular characteristics and affinity for an adsorbent material. It operates at ne ...

and

continuous distillation Continuous distillation, a form of distillation, is an ongoing separation in which a mixture is continuously (without interruption) fed into the process and separated fractions are removed continuously as output streams. Distillation is the sep ...

and off-gas streams from low- or high-pressure separators. The source-demand diagram shows bottlenecks, surplus or shortages. The hydrogen pinch is the purity at which the hydrogen network has neither hydrogen surplus nor deficit. After the analysis REFOPT from the Centre for Process Integration at

The University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

is used as a tool for process integration with which the process is optimized. The methodology was also developed into commercial software by companies such as Linnhoff March and AspenTech. The Aspen product incorporated the work of Nick Hallale (formerly a lecturer at University of Manchester) and was the first method to consider multiple components, rather than a pseudo-binary mixture of hydrogen and methane.

History

The first assessment based on cost and value composite curves of hydrogen resources of a hydrogen network was proposed by Tower et al. (1996). Alves developed the hydrogen pinch analysis approach based on the concept of heat

in 1999.Multi-period hydrogen management
Nick Hallale and Fang Liu extended this original work, adding pressure constraints and mathematical programming for optimisation. This was followed by developments at AspenTech, producing commercial software for industrial application.

References

;Citations ;Sources Nick Hallale, Ian Moore, Dennis Vauk, "Hydrogen optimization at minimal investment", Petroleum Technology Quarterly (PTQ), Spring (2003)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrogen Pinch Mechanical engineering Chemical engineering Hydrogen technologies Analysis

Principle

History

See also

References

External links