Air Products Geismar Facilities on Stream
Air Products’ new steam methane reformer (SMR) and cold box have gone on stream at the Huntsman site in Geismar, Louisiana, USA. The US gases group built, owns and operates the facility under a long-term agreement, supplying carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen and steam.
The SMR is also connected to its Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline and network system (GCP), claimed to be the world’s largest hydrogen plant and pipeline network system.
The new facility is located on land leased from Huntsman and produces around 6.5 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of CO, along with 50 MMSCFD of hydrogen and up to 50,000 lbs. per hour of steam. The facility is also capable of being expanded to increase CO supply in the future to support additional demand, Air Products said.
With the additional hydrogen production facility, the Pennsylvania-headquartered gases producer is continuing to expand the capacity and capabilities of its pipeline, which was dedicated in 2012 and spans more than 600 miles from the Houston Ship Channel in Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana.
Air Products’ new state-of-the-art plant at Geismar offers high reliability and sustainability, with enhanced energy efficiency and reduced emissions, said the company’s chief operating officer Samir J. Serhan, noting also the company’s long-standing relationship with Huntsman.
Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman’s polyurethanes division, said the new plant substantially improves reliability and strengthens the reliability and environmental performance of the chemical producer’s upstream MDI-polyurethanes assets at the Gulf Coast site.
In January this year, Air Products announced another addition to the pipeline, with an SMR to be built in Texas City, Texas. When this facility is added to the GCP system, customers will be reliably served by over 1.7 billion feet of hydrogen per day from 24 connected production facilities, the company said.
Air Products also has hydrogen pipelines in California in the US, as well as in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
