Desulfurizing fuels
Oil naturally contains sulfur, which remains in the fuels we use. Hydrogen can be used to remove this sulfur, which in turn allows the prevention of sulfur dioxide emissions, which harm humans and the environment.
Did you know?
- On average, crude oil contains around 1.11% sulfur.
- Standards are becoming increasingly stringent: for diesel fuels, the maximum level of sulfur that is allowed went from 500 ppm in 2004 to 15 ppm in 2010 for the United States. In the same time, for the European Union, it fell from 150 ppm to10 ppm.
The combustion of fuels that contain sulfur generates sulfur oxide (SOx), which are responsible for smog, acid rain (deforestation, acidification of water and soil, etc.) and respiratory disorders in humans.
In order to produce cleaner fuels, the sulfur contained in crude oil is removed during refining. Hydrogen reacts with hydrocarbon molecules containing sulfur atoms to form a new molecule: hydrogen sulfur (H2S). In turn, this new molecule is transformed by the chemical industry into enhanced sulfur (fertilizers production).
As sulfur standards for fuels become increasingly stringent, hydrogen needs will increase. In 2008, the volumes of hydrogen supplied by Air Liquide to the world’s refineries made it possible to avoid releasing around 770,000 tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere (an amount that is nearly double the total annual emission levels of a country such as France (460,000 tons a year).
Air Liquide is present across the whole hydrogen chain: from research and production to gas transportation.
Over the last three years, Air Liquide has increased its global capacity for hydrogen production by more than 50%. In 2008, the Group’s 200 units—of which 38 have very large capacity—produced a total of 7 billion cubic meters of hydrogen, generating revenue of 1 200 million euros.
Air Liquide exploits the world’s longest hydrogen network, featuring 1,850 km of pipelines that transport hydrogen directly to its clients' sites, located in the major industrial basins of Europe (north of France and Benelux), the Americas (the Gulf of Mexico and the West Coast of the United States) and Asia (South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and China).
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