Chemical Engineering May 2023 - 12

Newsfront
Petroleum Refining
Decarbonization Strategies
As refiners respond to shifting product demand, pressure to decarbonize operations builds.
Investments in low-carbon hydrogen technologies, process optimization and integration
projects are on the rise
T
he petroleum-refining sector
sits in a unique place: global
demand for refined products
- especially diesel and
aviation fuel - remains strong, and
refining operations generated record
profits in 2022. The Russian invasion
of Ukraine has prompted many
countries to look more intensely at
energy security, with an emphasis on
established technologies to power
economies. But at the same time, the
petroleum refining industry is under
pressure to decarbonize its operations
and dramatically lower greenhouse-gas
(GHG) emissions.
The tension between short-term
profits and long-term sustainability
creates challenging decisions for refineries
looking to navigate a pathway
to the future of low-carbon energy.
Low-carbon hydrogen production,
digital
technologies,
shifting
feedstocks
and process optimization are
among the strategies being pursued
for lowering the carbon footprint of
refining operations (Figure 1).
" Refinery margins are forecast
to be pretty healthy at least for the
rest of the decade, and [refining
companies]
have been practicing
capital discipline around fossil-fuel
infrastructure, " says Alan Gelder, senior
VP for refining and chemicals at
WoodMackenzie (Edinburgh, U.K.;
www.woodmac.com). " There's still
investment happening, but it's shifted
toward decarbonization-related projects. "
Wood Mackenzie anticipates
an acceleration of investment in lowcarbon
technologies, including carbon
capture, utilization and storage
(CCUS), hydrogen, next-generation
nuclear technologies and advanced
12
battery chemistries.
Analysis by the International
Energy
Agency
(Paris;
www.iea.org)
found that clean energy
investment by oil & gas
companies has risen by
an average of 12% each
year since 2020.
" We're seeing a big
focus on energy efficiency
and process
optimization in petroleum refineries, "
Gelder says. " Refiners are working
on reducing site emissions, and looking
to produce low-carbon fuels (by
co-processing bio-based feedstock,
for example). There's also been a coalescence
around the idea of refinerypetrochemical
integration, " he says.
Low-carbon H2 production
In March, the United Nations Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC; Geneva, Switzerland; www.
ipcc.ch) finalized its sixth assessment
report on climate change. Regarding
the threat of climate change, the report
states: " There is a rapidly closing
window of opportunity to secure a
liveable and sustainable future . . . The
choices and actions implemented in
this decade will have impacts now
and for thousands of years. "
The report emphasizes the need
for " deep and rapid reductions in
gross emissions of CO2 " and other
GHG emissions, but acknowledges
that some hard-to-abate residual
GHG emissions (from agriculture,
aviation, shipping and industrial processes,
for example would remain
and " would need to be counterbalanced
by deployment of carbon
Shutterstock
FIGURE 1. Refineries have been practicing capital discipline around
fossil-fuel infrastructure, but have been investing in decarbonization-related
projects
dioxide removal (CDR) methods to
achieve net zero GHG emissions. "
The need for carbon capture and
storage (CCS) in industrial operations
is clear: " Global modeled mitigation
pathways for reaching net-zero CO2
and GHG emissions include transitioning
from fossil fuels without CCS
to very low- or zero-carbon energy
sources, such as renewables or fossil
fuels with CCS, " the report says,
as well as demand-side measures,
such as improving efficiency, minimizing
non-CO2 GHG emissions,
and CDR.
Petroleum refineries are both large
producers and consumers of hydrogen,
placing them in a key role for
a future that emphasizes hydrogen
as a no-emissions energy source.
Low-carbon hydrogen production is
one of the key paths to decarbonizing
hard-to-abate industries like petroleum
refining and others, such as
ammonia production, steel manufacturing
and long-haul transportation.
In the U.S., Europe and elsewhere,
investment in low-carbon hydrogen
has been spurred by government
policy (Figure 2). The European legislative
package known as " Fit for
55 " aims to reduce greenhouse gas
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Chemical Engineering May 2023

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