Turquoise Hydrogen

The newest edition of PTQ-Petroleum Technology Quarterly has arrived. PTQ Q4 2021 (https://www.digitalrefining.com/) includes a number of interesting and technically informative articles.

Among them is one co-authored by two Saudi Aramco affiliates. It describes the use of modular construction to improve the economics of refinery upgrades, including a specific Aramco case study to illustrate their points.

Saudi Aramco, of course, is a well-known enterprise. Less well-known is sbh4 Consulting. An article describing turquoise hydrogen production, a mostly green process for hydrogen production, is authored by sbh4 Consulting founder and principal Stephen B. Harrison.

Because sustainable refining is a topic of increasing importance, Harrison’s article is worth a close look.

TIP: Google® what is turquoise hydrogen to learn the difference between green and turquoise hydrogen production.

EXCERPTS from the two articles highlighted above appear below.

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A modular approach to technology enhancements
Emad Al Subaie And Jesse H. Williams Saudi Aramco
Akash Desai, Ian Elgey and Alok Tanawade KBR
[ EXCERPTS ]
Commissioned in 1980, Riyadh refinery is implementing a new heavy oil upgrader to enhance plant profitability. Heavy oil upgrading is a typical industry strategy for many owner operators that seek to increase refinery margins. The key is to first identify the appropriate upgrader technology that creates the most value for the refinery.
Modular design facilities have been shown to create opportunities to accelerate the delivery of a project. The modularisation concept moves an elevated percentage of the construction work to an off-site location, under a more controlled environment compared to conventional stick-built on-site construction. Constructing the modules tivity and improves the quality that leads to lower costs.
Riyadh’s modules should be fully assembled with all essential process equipment, electrical, instrumentation, and fire protection systems, and tested before leaving the fabrication yard. Fully assembled modules allow for easy installation, tie-in (connectivity), and faster commissioning, as the essential engineering and pre-commissioning activities have been completed prior to final delivery to the site.
Annually, Saudi Aramco evaluates a selected group of potential future projects for module design. Riyadh refinery’s new heavy oil upgrader, the supercritical solvent deasphalting plant (SDA), was identified as a potential candidate for further evaluation and development.
Saudi Aramco and KBR have developed this article to provide an overview of potential opportunities for value creation when implementing technology improvements through modularisation for a centrally located Riyadh refinery.

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Turquoise hydrogen production by methane pyrolysis
Technologies for methane pyrolysis are at different levels of maturity up to early-stage commercial operations
Stephen B. Harrison sbh4 Consulting
[ EXCERPT ]
Hydrogen is in general regarded as a clean energy vector. But whether or not hydrogen has a positive impact on mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions depends heavily on its mode of generation.
Within this article, hydrogen production by means of methane pyrolysis is examined. Different technical approaches to methane pyrolysis are presented, and their benefits and drawbacks are highlighted
A major question in the whole value chain of hydrogen production through methane pyrolysis is the downstream utilisation of the produced solid carbon. If natural gas, shale gas or fracking gas is used in methane pyrolysis, fossil CO2 emissions are unavoidable in downstream processes, which eventually result in downstream emissions similar to state-of-the-art, coke based processes. To overcome this intrinsic obstacle, the use of upgraded biogas and synthetic e-methane are presented. In both ways, the carbon is derived from the atmosphere, either via a biological pathway in terms of biogas, or via direct air capture (DAC) of CO2. If atmospheric CO2 is used as the feedstock in renewable methane production, then methane pyrolysis could provide a viable pathway to the supply of sustainable solid carbon or graphite for various industrial applications.
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TIP: Google Stephen B. Harrison sbh4
Here is what appears on the sbh4 Web site …
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Hi, I am Stephen B. Harrison, Managing Director at sbh4.
My professional background extends over 30 years. Of those years, 16 were in the UK with The BOC Group plc, a FTSE 100 company.  More recently, I worked for 10 years in Munich with Linde AG, a DAX30 organisation.  As a result of this international experience, I am bilingual in English and German and I have dual nationality.
For more than half of my career, I have championed and led a niche Specialty Gases business within these two Industrial Gases giants. So, I have experienced the big corporate environment and the more intimate small firm culture that thrived in the specialties division.
Since 2017, I have been running my own consulting practice at sbh4 and I am also the principal, Germany at Nexant Energy & Chemicals Advisory – responsible for consulting activities in the DACH region.
I maintain close contact with the industrial gases sector through my work with gasworld & H2 View. I write for both of these leading trade publications and I am also a member of the gasworld editorial advisory board.
In 2019 my wife, Gundula Harrison, also joined sbh4 to extend our marketing services capacity. She has German, Chinese and English language skills and a wealth of experience at DAX 30 automotive and industrial companies and several Mittelstand organisations. Your communications and marketing projects will shine with her input.
sbh4 associates
Since the beginning of 2021, Nadra Mahmoudi has joined the sbh4 consulting team as an associate. Nadra has a rich pedigree in power management and renewables in Algeria. North Africa has significant potential for renewable wind and solar power generation and may become a renewable hydrogen export hub to Europe. We are delighted to have Nadra as a key member of the sbh4 team.
In June of 2021, Hamid Yousefi joined the sbh4 consulting team as an Associate Consultant. Hamid is a highly experienced reservoir engineer and is using his geological expertise to support CCUS and underground hydrogen gas storage and production projects. Beyond that, his technical expertise and Oil and Gas sector background is being applied to broader clean energy and decarbonisation themes. It is an honour to have Hamid on board at sbh4.
In the summer of 2021, Allegra Cresswell-Turner will be supporting the sbh4 consulting team as an intern. Allegra is committed to pursuing a career in renewables. She is an international languages and communications specialist and will support multiple projects with technical writing, translation, report preparation and PR activities. We are delighted to welcome Allegra to the sbh4 team.
We have an extensive network of experienced & expert energy & chemicals sector consultants who stand ready to support a broad range of market intelligence, technology evaluation, M&A transaction support, due diligence and investment analysis projects worldwide.
Our insight, experience, energy and expertise are at your service.
Tel +49 (0)8171 24 64 954
Email: info@sbh4.de
https://www.sbh4.de/team.html
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