Hydrogen Membrane Recovery

Hydrogen requirements are growing world wide due to the increased use of hydro-treating and hydro-cracking for cleaner and higher-value fuels as well as demand for chemical products and production of electronics. The processes using and/or generating hydrogen, typically create residual gas streams or by-products that still contain a significant amount of valuable pressurized hydrogen. GENERON® membrane modules are applied to economically recover hydrogen from such gas streams with minimal losses of 1 to 10% of your valuable hydrogen. Using GENERON® membrane modules in such gas separations will achieve hydrogen product purities from 90 to 99.9%.

Alternate technologies to recover and purify hydrogen rich gas streams include PSA (pressure swing adsorption) technology. Generon offers HYDROSWING® PSA technology to customers that require ultra-pure hydrogen (99.9% to 99.999+%). When the purity requirements are less stringent, we will recommend the GENERON® hydrogen membrane technology due to:

Higher efficiency w/ typically 90% to 99% hydrogen recoveries
Better economics due to lower prices as well as faster deliveries, commissioning and start-up cycles
Lower maintenance cost (no switching valves)
Feed Gas pressures up to 2,000 psi (138 bar)

In a typical GENERON® hydrogen membrane system for hydrogen recovery the feed gas is cooled to remove the higher hydro-carbons that would otherwise condense inside the membrane fibers during the separation process. After subsequent particle and condensate removal steps the feed gas is then heated to an optimum operation temperature and ready to enter the GENERON® membrane modules. Hydrogen gas permeates preferred through the membrane walls. The permeated gas is the purified hydrogen product. The "slower" permeating gases are collected in the non-permeate ("retentate").

Hydrogen Membrane System

The Applications

Methanol production
Hydro-cracker purge gas
FCC overhead gas
CO purification
H2:CO-ratio adjustment in syn gas
Gas-to-liquid fuel production (Fisher Tropsch)
Cold box down-stream
H2-PSA purge gas
Desulphurization purge gas
Ammonia purge gas
Amine production off-gas

The GENERON® Advantage

Skid mounted process units are easy to connect and commission
Built to your specifications and for your convenience
Engineering support from concept to completion
Remote control operation
Operation flexibility with automated part-load