In addressing the global drive for cleaner transport fuels against increasing proportion ofheavier and sourer crudes, refiners are faced with the challenge to satisfy their current andfuture hydrogen demand economically. Hydrogen, with no direct revenue potential of its own,carries a substantial cost burden in a high complexity deep conversion refinery and constitutesa sizeable portion of the refinery processing and operational costs. Hence there is a strongdrive for improving refinery profitability or margins through added-value options in order tolower the unit cost of hydrogen (UCH), and thereby improving overall economics of a hydrogenfacility whether new or existing or under the 'make' or 'buy' scenarios, which eventuallyimproves refinery margins.These options include advanced H2 management along with integrated utilization of refineryoff-gas (ROG), augmentation of existing hydrogen capacity, economies of scale and strategicsteam-power synergy. Furthermore, most of these options carry inherent added merits ofimproved availability and reduced environmental impact.The paper outlines some of these proven value-enhancement options and case historiesproviding potential reduction in net unit cost of (on-purpose) hydrogen and thus enhancingrefinery's margins as well as its extrinsic economics.
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