One of the major issues in meeting Ultra Low Sulfur (ULS) targets is the availability and effective use of hydrogen. There is significant impact on profitability based on the method by which hydrogen is supplied to, and used by hydroprocessing units. The influence of hydrogen quantity, purity, pressure (hence compression), routing through the refinery and cost must all be considered. There are also important considerations regarding the fuel gas system – especially, the amount of fuel gas and its hydrogen content – that play a role in the overall profitability of the refinery. The paper will discuss methodology that is available, and has been applied to enable refiners to optimise and manage hydrogen usage as they strive to achieve sulfur reduction targets for 2006 and beyond. The paper highlights the limitations of "traditional" approaches to hydrogen optimisation, which can lead to sub-optimal solutions, and demonstrates an improved methodology that has delivered significant additional benefits. Reduced capital and operating expenses result from this approach. A case study is presented of work performed with Irving Oil, to illustrate the concepts of these techniques.
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