Hydrogen FCEV/FCEB
Hydrogen ad-mixing into natural gas pipeline
Synthetic fuels via Fischer Tropsch
Fuel cell
Wind
Desulphurisation of fossil fuels
Hydro power
Gas turbine
Upgrading biofuels
Hydrogen storage/ distribution
Electricity grid
Battery
Biomass
Methanol
Gasi cation
Invertor
Recti er
Ammonia
Other end use
Metals re ning
Solar PV
Hydrogen electrolyser
Electrolysis can convert renewable electricity to hydrogen, which can be used as a low carbon energy vector, as a reducing agent for steel making or to synthesise e-fuels, methanol, and ammonia
Methane monitoring and emissions mitigation matters
landfill methane, which can be used as an energy vector or be converted to hydrogen using a reformer. F-Gases – low tonnage, high climate impact The Paris Agreement on climate change sets a framework for the control of greenhouse gas emissions. It has been a catalyst for many efforts related to decarbonisation. Interestingly, it does not explicitly mention CO 2 once. It also does not mention methane, N 2 O, nor fluorinated hydrocarbons (known as F-Gases), which are all potent greenhouse gases. However, in recognition of their potentially harmful impact, legislation has been implemented around the world to focus on the processing and use of F-Gases, such as Regulation (EU) No 517/2014. Refrigerant gases are used in the oil gas sector for process chilling and to support liquefaction of hydrocarbons. A transition to low GWP F-Gases or so-called ‘natural’ refrigerant gases such as CO 2 or ammonia in mechanical refrigeration cycles will be essential to ensure sustainable refining and gas processing operations.
According to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), refineries in Europe that reported data to the public domain emitted between circa 100 and 2000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas methane per facility in 2017. The E-PRTR also reveals that methane emissions from gas pipelines, terminals, processing stations, and offshore platforms are in the range of 100 to 1200 tonnes per year per facility. Natural gas leaks during extraction, storage, and transport are estimated to total in the order of 9 million tonnes per year in the USA alone. Natural gas is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas that traps 56 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. In addition to the greenhouse warming potential of these methane emissions and the lost opportunity to provide valuable energy to consumers, methane is a flammable gas and intensive leaks present a safety risk. So, for a host of reasons, methane emissions monitoring is a ‘must’. Elimination of methane emissions from landfill sites is also essential. Technologies exist to capture
Stephen B. Harrison sbh@sbh4.de
www.decarbonisationtechnology.com
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