Green hydrogen application is the key path to achieve decarbonization in the petrochemical industry

A few days ago, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Emergency Management jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Petrochemical and Chemical Industry during the "14th Five-Year Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions").
Opinions") clearly stated that it is necessary to enhance the power of innovation and development, and accelerate the breakthrough of key technologies such as "green hydrogen" large-scale application
.

The application of green hydrogen is the key path for the petrochemical industry to achieve decarbonization.
For this reason, many places in the "Opinions" emphasize the use of green hydrogen to promote emission reduction in the industrial chain
.
For hydrogen energy, the petrochemical and chemical industry is one of the important application scenarios.
As the "top-level design" for high-quality development of the industry during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the release of the "Opinions" will serve as a guide for hydrogen energy, especially green hydrogen.
Development has far-reaching consequences
.

Emphasize the important role of green hydrogen application in the petrochemical and chemical industry and boost the demand for hydrogen energy
.
The petrochemical and chemical industry is a key area of ​​carbon emissions, and it is an area with more difficulty in reducing emissions.
Promoting the application of green hydrogen is one of the important paths to achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality
.
The "Opinions" pointed out that it is necessary to give full play to the advantages of carbon-fixed carbon consumption, coordinately promote carbon emission reduction in the industrial chain, reasonably guide the "replacement of coal with gas" as fuel, and moderately increase the proportion of hydrogen-rich raw materials
.

In fact, the petrochemical and chemical industry has always been an important application field of hydrogen, but it is always dominated by gray hydrogen
.
In 2020, global hydrogen demand will reach 90 million tons, the vast majority of which is used for refining and industrial use
.
The development of "green hydrogen industry" is an important measure for the petrochemical industry to achieve deep decarbonization
.
For example, methanol and synthetic ammonia are the two largest areas of hydrogen application.
More than 10% of the world's hydrogen is used in the process of producing methanol every year, and more than 37% of the hydrogen is used in the synthesis of ammonia.
The development of green hydrogen instead of gray hydrogen to produce green chemicals products, which will effectively reduce carbon emissions in related fields
.

Take methanol product (synthesis of carbon monoxide and hydrogen) as an example.
Currently, natural gas is used as the main raw material in the world.
However, due to "rich coal, lean oil and little gas" in China, coal is mainly used as the production raw material, and coal-to-methanol accounts for 76%
.
There is a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the process of hydrogen production from natural gas and coal
.
Compared with natural gas to methanol, coal-to-methanol has higher carbon emissions, producing 1 ton of methanol produces 4.
4 tons of carbon dioxide, which is about 2.
4 times that of the former
.
Data shows that China's total methanol output in 2020 is about 65 million tons, and the carbon dioxide emissions related to the synthetic methanol industry exceed 200 million tons
.

For ammonia products, China's synthetic ammonia industry also mainly uses coal as the raw material for production.
Of the total output of 49.
54 million tons of synthetic ammonia in 2020, about 39 million tons are produced from coal as raw material
.
In the production process of each ton of product, the carbon emission of coal-based synthetic ammonia is about 4.
9 tons, which is about 1.
5 times that of natural gas-based synthetic ammonia.
Based on this calculation, China's synthetic ammonia industry-related carbon dioxide emissions will be close to 220 million tons in 2020
.

In the future, it is necessary to replace fossil energy with green hydrogen to produce hydrogen, and gradually realize carbon emission reduction
.
As relevant policies pay more attention to the role of green hydrogen in reducing carbon emissions in the petrochemical and chemical industry, the demand for hydrogen in this industry will continue to grow
.
At the same time, given the huge hydrogen demand in the petrochemical and chemical industry, the trend of green hydrogen replacement will further promote the rapid development of the upstream renewable energy hydrogen production industry
.

Encourage the coupled demonstration of petrochemical chemical industry and green hydrogen and other industries, and promote model innovation
.
The synergy and coupling of hydrogen production through renewable energy and the chemical industry is an important mode innovation to promote the application of green hydrogen
.
The "Opinions" make it clear that petrochemical and chemical enterprises are encouraged to develop and utilize green hydrogen in a reasonable and orderly manner according to local conditions, promote the coupled demonstration of refining, coal chemical industry, green power, green hydrogen and other industries, and use the high purity carbon dioxide emitted by refining and coal chemical plants to capture and capture carbon dioxide.
Integrate the characteristics of low cost and carry out demonstrations of large-scale carbon dioxide capture, storage, oil displacement and chemical production
.

At present, chemical industry and green hydrogen are coupled, and some demonstration projects have appeared at home and abroad
.
For example, ThyssenKrupp's "Green Chemical Project" and Ningdong Base's "Green Hydrogen Chemical Demonstration Project",
etc.

As early as 2018, Thyssenkrupp started the green hydrogen project test work at the Duisburg steel plant, combining carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas of the steel plant with green hydrogen to synthesize chemical products such as methanol, plastic and urea, replacing some fossils.
energy applications to reduce carbon emissions
.
Among them, the experimental power of the water electrolysis hydrogen production equipment is 2MW, the hydrogen production capacity is 440Nm3/h, the hydrogen purity is greater than 99.
95%, and the fast load adjustment has also been verified.
The equipment can automatically adjust the operating power according to the electricity price.
At present, the project has entered the commercialization stage
.

On April 20, 2021, Baofeng Energy's "National Comprehensive Demonstration Project of Solar Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production" was officially put into operation in Ningxia Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base.
The project includes a 200,000 kW photovoltaic power generation device and a production capacity of 20,000 Nm3/ h's electrolyzed water hydrogen production device can reduce coal consumption by 254,000 tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 445,000 tons per year
.
On the one hand, the hydrogen produced by this project is combined with the existing coal chemical plant of Baofeng Energy to achieve cost reduction, efficiency increase, energy saving and emission reduction in the methanol production process; on the other hand, the application scenarios are expanded through cooperation with urban hydrogen energy demonstration bus lines.
, to promote the development of the hydrogen energy industry chain
.

In the future, with the support of policies, through the coupled demonstration of the chemical industry and green hydrogen and other industries, it will promote the acceleration of hydrogen energy industry model innovation
.
At the same time, with the reduction of green hydrogen production cost and the mature application of CCUS technology, the application scale and application level of green hydrogen will be further improved
.

Support a moderate increase in the import of light, low-carbon and hydrogen-rich raw materials and promote international cooperation
.
At present, hydrogen energy is generally in the industrial introduction period, and the international trade of hydrogen has not yet started.
However, with the continuous increase of global "hydrogen energy heat", it will also become the future development direction of countries to achieve complementary advantages through strengthening cooperation.
Cooperation will become a new "blue ocean"
.
As of August 2021, 20 countries and regions around the world have formulated national-level hydrogen energy development strategies and roadmaps, and nearly 30 countries have launched hydrogen energy industry layouts.
Among them, Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East are actively Layout of hydrogen energy export trade
.

Hydrogen trade, cross-border infrastructure, technology, industry, standards, markets, etc.
related to international cooperation in hydrogen energy all have great potential for cooperation in the future
.
In terms of applications in the petrochemical and chemical industry, ensuring the supply of hydrogen and hydrogen-rich raw materials in China will be an important requirement for international cooperation
.
The "Opinions" emphasize the need to strengthen the guarantee of raw material resources, maintain the safety and stability of the industrial chain and supply chain, and require the establishment of a domestically stable supply system with a diversified and stable international supply system, and moderately increase the import of light, low-carbon and hydrogen-rich raw materials
.

In the future, with the continuous expansion of the hydrogen energy market, international trade in raw materials such as green hydrogen and green ammonia will emerge rapidly
.
China is the country with the largest hydrogen production capacity in the world, and has a good foundation for developing hydrogen international trade
.
At the same time, along the "Belt and Road", most of the countries in the world that have issued hydrogen energy strategies have gathered, and the countries and regions along the "Belt and Road" have abundant water, wind and light resources, and are developing green hydrogen and promoting green hydrogen trade.
With great advantages, these will create conditions for expanding international cooperation in hydrogen energy in the future
.

In order to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in an all-round way, China should establish and improve an international cooperation model based on "leading" and "participatory", accelerate the formulation of multi-level cooperation implementation paths, actively participate in the formulation of international standards, and selectively introduce foreign advanced enterprises.
At the same time, encourage domestic enterprises to "go global"; further improve the guarantee measures for international exchanges and cooperation, and set up international key special plans; under the framework of the "Belt and Road", deepen cooperation in technology research and development, project development and equipment manufacturing, and build a regional scientific and technological innovation cooperation community
.