H2Tech - Q1 2021 - 22

SPECIAL FOCUS

ADVANCES IN HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGY

TABLE 3. List of major equipment for ISBL H2 liquefaction plant
Type of equipment

Number of items

CP1 CH4 recycle compressor, including motor

CP2 H2 recycle compressor, including motor

Multiple reciprocating

CP3 CH4 flash gas compressor, including motor

EC1 CH4 expander-compressor

EC2 CH4 expander-compressor

EH1 H2 expander

EH2 H2 expander

Cold box

SP1 separator

AD1 H2 feed gas adsorbers

AD2 cryogenic adsorbers
OP ortho-para conversion reactors

* The H2 liquefaction cycle does
not require expensive,
hermetically sealed compression
and expander equipment of the
kind that is often required to reduce
leakage of more costly refrigerants,
such as helium and neon
* Considering the expected low
specific power and low equipment
count, the proposed plant
arrangement is highly competitive
with the projections shown in
TABLE 2.

Cost estimate. A cost estimate was de-

veloped for the inside battery limit liquefaction plant. The inputs to this estimate
were a sized equipment list and supplier
pricing data. The equipment list is provided in TABLE 3.
The cost estimate for the 100,000-tpy
production unit is US$380 MM, based
on a Q1 2021 instant execution basis.
The following methodology was applied
to develop the cost estimate:
* Mechanical equipment. A costed
equipment list was developed.
The majority of equipment items
were priced based on budget
proposals received from
equipment suppliers. Budget
proposals from suppliers were
benchmarked against proposals
and actual costs from other
projects to arrive at an overall
anticipated cost. An allowance
for 2 yr of spares and an allowance
for first fill of lubricants were
also included in the mechanical
equipment cost.
22 Q1 2021 | H2-Tech.com

2
Integrated with BAHX

* Direct field cost. This cost was
factored from the mechanical
equipment cost based on data
from similar cryogenic projects
of similar power demand. The
overall project cost was obtained
by addition of contingency,
technology license fee and
contractor's EPC services and
margin to the direct field cost.
* Estimate exclusions. The
following costs were excluded
from the estimate:
° Owner's costs
° Costs for fees and permits
° Finance costs
° Insurance costs
° Customs and import duties
° Taxes
° Forward escalation
° Liquid H2 storage costs
° Offsites and utilities costs.
Takeaway. H2 liquefaction by methane
and nitrogen precooling processes incorporating a partially liquefying expander
holds considerable promise as a low-cost,
high-efficiency system. Significant engineering work, relevant to H2 application,
was carried out as part of the scheme's
earlier development for LNG application.
Early-stage use of H2 as an energy
vector, prior to its more widespread deployment, may require plants of a capacity below the 100,000-metric-tpy capacity
selected as the basis of design. The application of the described process, given its
simplicity and particular balance between
operating and capital cost, may be enhanced at these lower plant capacity levels.

A patent for the described precooling process has been applied for covering
methane and nitrogen refrigerants and
mixtures of the two. A patent application
has also been made for the use of the lowsuction-temperature H2 recycle compression system.
LITERATURE CITED
1 Hydrogen Council, " Hydrogen scaling
up: A sustainable pathway for the global
energy transition, " November 2017, online:
https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/
uploads/2017/11/Hydrogen-scaling-upHydrogen-Council.pdf
2 Cardella, U., " Large-scale hydrogen liquefaction
under the aspect of economic viability, "
Dissertation at the Technischen Universität
München, May 17, 2018.
3 Leachman, J. W. et al., " International cryogenics
monograph series-Thermodynamic properties
of cryogenic fluids, " Ed. 2, Springer, New York,
New York, 2017.
4 Essler, J. et al., " Report on technology overview
and barriers to energy and cost efficient large scale
hydrogen liquefaction, " Fuel Cells and Hydrogen
Joint Undertaking, Grant Agreement No. 278177,
June 5, 2012.
5
Cardella, U., " Large-scale liquid hydrogen
production and supply, " Hydrogen Liquefaction
and Storage Symposium, Perth, Australia,
September 26-27, 2019.
NOTE
a The methane expander precooling system (OHL-
Optimized Hydrogen Liquefaction) described in this
article is owned and licensed by Gasconsult Ltd. Data
on equipment performance was provided by BHGE.
BILL HOWE is the CEO of
Gasconsult Ltd. He graduated as a
chemical engineer from Birmingham
University and has spent 30 yr in the
E&C industry, mainly with Foster
Wheeler. He was Managing Director
of Foster Wheeler's South African
affiliate and, subsequently, Director of Sales and
Marketing at Foster Wheeler Reading in the UK.
GEOFF SKINNER is the Technical
Director of Gasconsult Ltd. He
graduated from Oxford University
and joined Foster Wheeler UK
in 1965. From 1981-1986, he was
Technical Director of Foster
Wheeler Synfuels Corp. in
Livingston, New Jersey. Upon his return to the UK,
he acted as a consultant to several multinational
companies and has registered a number of patents,
including LNG and OHL liquefaction processes.
ADRIAN FINN is Process Technology
Manager at Costain, with
responsibility for gas processing
technology development and
commercialization. He has nearly
40 yr of experience with Costain and
has led approximately 100 feasibility
studies, pre-FEED studies and FEED studies on
international cryogenic gas processing projects with
energy majors. He has authored more than 60 papers,
holds 28 granted patents and has presented globally
on cryogenic gas processing and process integration.

https://www.hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Hydrogen-scaling-up-Hydrogen-Council.pdf http://www.H2-Tech.com

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