Nov-2024

The technologies opening new opportunities for refineries (ERTC 2024)

The global energy landscape is diversifying, driven by the need to reduce emissions and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Elena Scaltritti
CCO, Topsoe

Article Summary

Refineries are particularly notable due to their substantial carbon footprint. According to the IEA, oil and gas operations contribute approximately 15% of global energy-related emissions, equating to 5.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases. Fortunately, the refinery industry has a history of adapting to changing regulations and market demands.
As the focus on energy transition and decarbonisation intensifies, refineries must innovate and adapt to new technologies and regulations. Each refinery faces unique challenges and opportunities based on its specific circumstances. However, the future refinery is certain to be defined by technological advancements, optimal catalysis, and significant flexibility.

Throughout the years, a recurring theme for refineries has been the need to navigate challenging times, evolving regulations, new product demands, and necessary investments, all amid uncertainty about the future. This challenging and uncertain environment is once again confronting the industry today. The challenges faced by our customers in the refinery sector are also our challenges as a catalyst and technology provider. Our collaboration and partnership are crucial to ensuring the refinery industry’s resilience during the energy transition.

Diversification and refinery revamps
The energy transition and the Covid pandemic’s impact on demand have led to the closure of several refineries in the US in recent years. In Europe, refinery closures over the past 10-15 years have been primarily due to increased competition from large refinery expansions in the Middle East and India.

However, some US and European refineries have adapted by transforming into biofuel producers, highlighting the importance of flexibility in refinery operations. Interest in renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is now spreading to Asia and China. Diversification strategies are taking hold globally.

At Topsoe, we have observed significant interest in co-processing for SAF, a cost-effective solution to meet the EU’s 2% SAF requirement by 2025. For instance, TotalEnergies recently chose Topsoe’s isomerisation catalysts for co-processing SAF at its Gonfreville refinery in France. This project, Topsoe’s first SAF co- processing initiative, aims to produce 40,000 tons of SAF from used cooking oil by 2025. The interest in co-processing SAF extends beyond Europe, attracting refiners in the Middle East and Asia who plan to export the fuel to Europe.

Refinery optimisation remains central
Topsoe’s vision is ‘to be recognised as the global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies,’ and we have developed a comprehensive portfolio of decarbonisation solutions tailored to specific customer needs. Beyond helping refineries’ diversification into renewable fuels and SAF, our focus areas include replacing grey fuels in refinery operations with green or low-carbon/blue hydrogen, reducing air pollution through advanced solutions that minimise volatile organic compound (VOC), sulphur oxide (SOx), and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, and enhancing conventional refinery operations. This means helping refineries become more productive and profitable while reducing their emissions through improved catalysts, digitalisation, and optimised technology.

Low-carbon hydrogen presents an opportunity for refineries
Refineries are large industrial users of hydrogen, most of which is currently ‘grey’ (sourced from fossil fuels without carbon capture). Hydrogen remains essential for processes such as hydrocracking, hydrotreating, sulphur removal, and upgrading gasoline. However, transitioning from grey to low-carbon or ‘blue’ hydrogen (either produced on-site or acquired) offers a substantial opportunity to reduce emissions.

Where CO₂ storage capacity is available, existing hydrogen production facilities at refineries can be converted to blue hydrogen. This can be made more efficient through the autothermal reforming (ATR) production process rather than the traditional steam methane reforming (SMR), which is more emissions-intensive. Topsoe’s SynCOR™, an ATR process, produces hydrogen with exceptionally low carbon intensity (CI) by capturing up to >99% of the CO₂ generated from the process side.

A portion of the blue hydrogen produced in the SynCOR unit is used as fuel in a small furnace upstream of the ATR unit, ensuring that the flue gas emitted is nearly carbon-free, further reducing emissions. The blue hydrogen produced is then used throughout the refinery, replacing all the grey hydrogen traditionally used in hydrotreating and hydrocracking units. It is also used as a decarbonised fuel across the refinery, ensuring zero direct carbon emissions from the refinery’s heaters and furnaces.

Additional efficiencies
SynCOR typically uses the refinery’s fuel gas, which is today used as fuels in the heaters and furnaces. Utilising this low-quality fuel gas as feedstock in SynCOR is a significant and unique benefit, achievable by pretreating the fuels gas in Topsoe’s fuel gas hydrotreating (FGH) solution. Without this step of pretreatment, the fuel gas would be flared (it would not be useful in the refining process), resulting in CO₂ emissions.

Additionally, the heater in the SynCOR process is markedly smaller than that used in a SMR plant. The required heat in SynCOR is primarily generated within the ATR unit, where natural gas is combusted with pure oxygen in a highly exothermic reaction. Consequently, only a small amount of additional heat is needed to bring the natural gas and steam to the necessary temperature at the ATR inlet, resulting in a much smaller heater in the SynCOR train.

In our SynCOR technology, nearly all the carbon from natural gas is captured and sequestered through carbon capture storage (CCS), resulting in exceptionally low-carbon hydrogen. In conventional SMR plants, capturing CO₂ from flue gases is challenging due to low partial pressure, low CO₂ concentration, and a higher process flow. However, in advanced systems like SynCOR, CO₂ is captured in process, where it is more concentrated, at a higher pressure, and lower total flow, resulting in much lower Capex and Opex. This integration not only enhances CO₂ capture efficiency but also reduces the overall carbon footprint of the hydrogen production process.

Fuelling up for the journey ahead
The energy transition journey for refineries is filled with complexities. To navigate these, strategic collaborations between refiners and technology providers like Topsoe are crucial. By working together, the industry can identify the most promising future pathways, balancing regulatory requirements, costs, and technology maturity. Topsoe works closely with its customers, from the initial brainstorming and study phases through to the deployment and operation of various solutions, such as co-processing or hydrogen units. This continuous partnership ensures that refineries can optimise their processes, reduce emissions, and remain competitive in a carbon-constrained world.

This short article originally appeared in the 2024 ERTC Newspaper, which you can VIEW HERE