KR20210011183A - Hydrogen production apparatus using flare gas and hydrogen production method using this apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention includes: a hazardous component processing unit that filters out harmful components from a flare gas delivered by a flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) of a flare system; a first separation unit for separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas from which harmful components have been filtered by the hazardous component processing unit; a reforming unit for reforming methane separated in the first separation unit; a second separation unit for separating hydrogen and other gases from a synthesis gas reformed by the reforming unit; and a storage unit for storing hydrogen separated by the first separation unit and the second separation unit.

Description

Hydrogen production device using flare gas and hydrogen production method using this device {HYDROGEN PRODUCTION APPARATUS USING FLARE GAS AND HYDROGEN PRODUCTION METHOD USING THIS APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a hydrogen production apparatus using a flare gas and a hydrogen production method using the apparatus, and in detail, a flare gas configured to select and store hydrogen from flare gas, which is waste gas generated in an oil refinery or a petrochemical plant. It relates to a hydrogen production apparatus using the and a hydrogen production method by the apparatus.

Currently, most of the energy consumed around the world consists of petroleum and coal, which are fossil raw materials, and in the case of automobiles, it is safe to say that all of them use oil such as gasoline or diesel.

However, fossil fuels such as petroleum have a limit in their reserves, and various gases, dusts, and residual substances after combustion that are generated when burning to obtain energy are the main causes of environmental pollution, and global warming, which is the most important issue these days. It can be said to be the main culprit.

Alternative energy sources that can overcome this situation include clean energy sources such as hydrogen and natural energy such as hydropower, wind power, and solar heat. Especially, fuel using hydrogen considering its efficiency and output as an energy source for automobiles Batteries are expected to be the most desirable power source.

For example, in recent years, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles using such fuel cells are being developed, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles use compressed hydrogen as fuel, so a hydrogen station that supplies compressed hydrogen in the same form as a gas station that supplies gasoline. The situation is being developed for the commercialization of this hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

On the other hand, flare gas is a waste gas generated from oil refineries or petrochemical plants, and refers to a gas that has volatile and flammable properties. To manage, treat, and discharge flare gas generated continuously and in large quantities, flare gas is Flare consists of a number of flowing pipes (pipes), a flare header that collects discharged gas or liquid, a knockout drum that separates and collects the liquid delivered from the flare header from the gas, and a pilot burner and an ignition device as an incineration tower. A flare system comprising a flare stack for burning and discharging gas, a seal drum for preventing an accident due to a flame flowing back from the flare stack, and the like is provided.

Accordingly, the flare gas is discharged to the outside through a discharge and waste gas treatment device called a flare stack. That is, the flare gas is delivered to the flare stack through the pipe, and may be burned in the flare stack and discharged into the atmosphere.

However, the amount of gas emitted from the flare system as described above is really enormous, and the cost loss is very large. For example, 1.4% of global CO ₂ emissions are emitted from the flare system and (GGFR, Golbal Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership Presentations), and 30% of EU gas consumption has been consumed as Flaring, the annual 360million ton CO ₂ is Is released.

In addition, in general domestic oil refineries and petrochemical plants, the cost of maintaining a flare system of 3-4 billion won per year is incurred, and the cost loss according to the amount of flare gas emission amounts to billions of billions per year. For reference, despite the large loss due to the release of flare gas, many refineries and petrochemical plants do not realize this, because the flow rate of flare gas composed of various components cannot be accurately measured. .

Accordingly, a flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) facility for recycling flare gas may be applied to the flare system. This FGRU facility can collect flare gas before it is transferred to the flare stack and recycle it into usable gas, in terms of environmental protection and in terms of reducing the operating cost of the flare system, and gas It can be said to be very useful in that it can reduce the cost loss due to the amount of emission.

The applicant of the present invention sought a way to reduce the emission of flare gas, which is a waste gas, and to produce hydrogen, which is recently in the spotlight as a clean energy source, by using the flare gas collected in FGRU.

However, when hydrogen is produced using flare gas other than natural gas, steam or burners supplied to produce hydrogen are changed in real time as the amount and composition of the gas generated in oil refineries or petrochemical plants fluctuate in real time. It is difficult to calculate and control the amount of fuel to be supplied to the optimum amount, and it is difficult to accurately monitor the hydrogen production amount according to the components and flow rate of the flare gas. There is no problem.

Accordingly, the present applicant has developed the present invention in order to solve the above problems, and as a related prior art document, there is a'hydrogen charging station and a control method thereof' of Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2011-0077659.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a hydrogen production apparatus capable of producing hydrogen using flare gas collected in an FGRU, and thereby reducing the amount of flare gas discharge, and a hydrogen production method using the apparatus. There is a purpose to provide.

In addition, the present invention provides a measuring means for accurately calculating the flow rate of the flare gas, and a hydrogen production device capable of accurately grasping and controlling the amount of steam or fuel supplied to a process facility for producing hydrogen, and It aims to provide a method for producing hydrogen.

In addition, the present invention analyzes the correlation of the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas with high accuracy, and efficiently supplies hydrogen to various facilities or reservoirs that require hydrogen such as a hydrogen charging station (hydrogen station) in a timely manner and An object of the present invention is to provide a transportable hydrogen production device and a hydrogen production method using the device.

The present invention, a harmful component processing unit for filtering harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) of the flare system; A first separation unit for separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas in which the harmful components are filtered by the harmful component processing unit; A steam reformer for reforming the methane separated in the first separation unit; A second separation unit for separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated by the steam reformer; And a storage unit for storing the hydrogen separated by the first separation unit and the second separation unit.

In addition, a control unit for optimally maintaining the reforming reaction by the steam reformer; wherein the control unit includes a flow rate of the flare gas supplied from the FGRU to the first separation unit and the flow rate of the flare gas supplied from the FGRU to the steam reformer. Steam and fuel supplied to the steam reformer may be controlled based on the flow rate of methane.

In addition, the control unit may include: a steam amount calculator configured to calculate an amount of steam to be supplied to the steam reformer; And a fuel amount calculating unit for calculating an amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer, wherein the steam amount calculating unit and the fuel amount calculating unit are provided in a flow pipe that guides the flare gas from the FGRU to the first separating unit to determine the flow rate of the flare gas. It is possible to receive the flow rate of flare gas from the first measurement unit to be measured, and receive the flow rate of methane from the second measurement unit that measures the flow rate of methane provided in a flow pipe that guides methane from the first separation unit to the steam reformer. have.

In addition, the steam amount calculation unit may calculate a minimum amount of steam required for reforming methane based on the flow rate values provided by the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit, and transfer the calculated value to the steam supply unit. .

In addition, the fuel amount calculation unit calculates an amount of fuel that allows the steam reformer to have a minimum temperature for reforming methane based on the flow rate values provided by the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit. The value can be passed to the fuel supply.

In addition, the control unit, based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the first measurement unit and the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the second measurement unit, analyzes and collects the correlation between the amount of methane produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas. Thus, it may further include an analysis unit for controlling the operating conditions of the steam reformer.

In addition, the analysis unit receives the flow rate of hydrogen from a third measuring unit that is provided in a flow pipe that guides hydrogen from the first separation unit to the storage unit and measures the flow rate of hydrogen, and receives hydrogen from the second separation unit to the storage unit. It is possible to analyze the correlation of the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas by receiving the flow rate of hydrogen from the fourth measuring unit provided in the flow pipe guiding the flow rate of hydrogen.

In addition, the first measuring unit may include a measuring probe into which a lower end in the longitudinal direction is inserted into the flow tube; A velocity measuring unit that measures the velocity of the flare gas while being connected to the measurement probe; A density measuring unit for measuring the density of the flare gas while being connected to the measuring probe; And a flow rate analysis unit that calculates the flow rate of the flare gas based on the values measured by the speed measurement unit and the density measurement unit, and stores and analyzes the calculated flow rate.

In addition, the speed measuring unit may include a first pipe having one end connected to the first pressure port formed in the measuring probe so as to be communicated with each other in a length direction; A second pipe having one end connected to the second pressure port formed in the measurement probe so as to communicate with each other; And the other end in the longitudinal direction of the first pipe and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the second pipe, and are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other, and by using a pressure difference between the pressure generated in the first pipe and the pressure generated in the second pipe, It may include; a first sensor unit for measuring the speed.

In addition, the first sensor unit, the voltage measured through the first pressure port disposed in a direction facing the flow direction of the flare gas and the second pressure port disposed with the flow direction of the flare gas, etc. After the dynamic pressure is calculated using the static pressure, the calculated dynamic pressure value may be transferred to the flow rate analysis unit.

In addition, the density measuring unit may include a third pipe having one end connected to the gas inlet formed in the measuring probe so as to communicate with each other in a longitudinal direction; A fourth pipe having a lengthwise end connected to the gas outlet formed on the circumferential surface of the measuring probe so as to communicate with each other; And a second sensor unit connected in communication with the other end in the longitudinal direction of the third pipe and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the fourth pipe, and measuring the density of the flare gas introduced through the third pipe. .

In addition, the present invention, as a hydrogen production method using a flare gas, filtering step of filtering out harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) of the flare system; A first separation step of separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas in which harmful components have been filtered out by the filtering step; A reforming step of reforming the methane separated in the first separation step; And a second separation step of separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated in the reforming step.

In addition, a measuring step of measuring the flow rate of the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) and the flow rate of methane separated in the first separation step; may further include.

In addition, a control step of controlling the amount of steam and the amount of fuel used in the reforming step based on the flow rate of flare gas and the flow rate of methane measured in the measuring step; may further include.

The hydrogen production apparatus and the hydrogen production method using flare gas according to the present invention have a configuration capable of controlling the amount of steam and the amount of fuel supplied to the steam reformer based on the amount of methane produced and the amount of hydrogen produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas. Energy costs and costs associated with hydrogen production can be reduced by using only energy for optimally maintaining the reforming reaction by the reformer.

In addition, the hydrogen production apparatus and the hydrogen production method using flare gas according to the present invention have a configuration capable of producing hydrogen from a flare gas having irregular flow rates and components over time, and thus reduce the amount of waste gas discharged to the atmosphere Pollution can be minimized.

In addition, the hydrogen production apparatus and the hydrogen production method using flare gas according to the present invention can control the operation state of the steam reformer operated under high-temperature steam and high-temperature conditions based on the amount of methane produced in the flare gas. , It is possible to reduce the cost of energy use by minimizing the waste of steam and fuel in the steam reformer.

In addition, the hydrogen production apparatus and hydrogen production method using a flare gas according to the present invention can measure the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas in real time to transport and supply hydrogen to a hydrogen use place requiring hydrogen at an appropriate time. .

1 is a view showing the configuration of a hydrogen production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing the overall configuration of a first measurement unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an enlarged perspective view of an area A of the measurement probe shown in FIG. 3.
5 is a cross-sectional view of a region A of the measurement probe shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the side.
6 is a view showing a first sensor unit and a second sensor unit provided inside the case shown in Fig. 3;
7 is a flow chart of a hydrogen production method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings.

However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in a variety of different forms, only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Hereinafter, a hydrogen production apparatus using flare gas and a hydrogen production method using the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations are omitted so as not to obscure the subject matter of the invention.

1 and 2, the hydrogen production apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention filters harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) 110 of the flare system. A first separation unit 130 for separating hydrogen and methane from the harmful component processing unit 120 and the flare gas where harmful components are filtered by the harmful component processing unit 120, and the first separation unit 130 A steam reformer 140 for reforming the methane, and a second separation unit 150 and the first separation unit 130 for separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated by the steam reformer 140 ) And a storage unit 160 in which the hydrogen separated by the second separation unit 150 is stored; may be largely included.

First, the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) 110 of the flare system, as mentioned in the background of the specification of the present invention, may be said to be a facility for collecting and reusing flaring gas. .

The FGRU 110 may be used wherever the flame of the flare is high, and may be collected before the flare gas is moved to the flare stack and transmitted to the hazardous component processing unit.

The harmful component processing unit 120 is a component that processes harmful components included in the flare gas, and may be implemented with a known desulfurizer that removes sulfur components included in the flare gas. When the hazardous component processing unit 120 is implemented as a desulfurizer, it means removing the sulfur component of methane contained in the flare gas.

The harmful component processing unit 120 may receive flare gas from the FGRU 110 through the first flow tube P1.

In addition, the flare gas from which the harmful component has been removed by the harmful component processing unit 120 may be moved to the first separation unit 130 through the second flow pipe P2.

The first separating unit 130 may be implemented with a known pressure swing adsorption (PSA) using a property that gas is adsorbed on a solid surface under high pressure. Hydrogen and methane may be generated in the first separation unit 130.

Hydrogen separated in the first separation unit 130 is moved to the storage unit 160 through a third flow pipe (P3), and the methane separated in the first separation unit 130 is transferred through the fourth flow pipe (P4). It may be moved to the steam reformer 140.

The steam reformer 140 may be regarded as a component that reacts methane with steam (water vapor) at a high temperature to reform it into syngas. That is, in a reformer having a temperature condition of 900°C to 1200°C, methane and high-temperature steam are reacted under a catalyst such as nickel to convert it into syngas, a mixture gas of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

For reference, since the steam reforming method using the steam reformer 140 as described above is a known technique that has been used for a long time in the chemical industry, a detailed description thereof will be omitted so as not to obscure the gist of the invention in the present specification.

In addition, the syngas reformed by the steam reformer 140 may be moved to the second separation unit 150 while passing through a known aqueous conversion reactor (not shown), not shown. This aqueous conversion reactor serves to generate hydrogen by reacting water vapor with carbon monoxide contained in the syngas. In other words, it can be said that syngas is converted into carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

The second separation unit 150 may be referred to as a component for separating hydrogen and other gases from the syngas reformed by the steam reformer 140. That is, it may play a role of separating carbon dioxide and hydrogen generated through the aqueous conversion reactor. The second separating unit 150 may also be implemented with a known pressure swing adsorption (PSA) using a property that gas is adsorbed on a solid surface under high pressure.

In addition, the hydrogen separated by the second separation unit 150 may be moved to the storage unit 160 through the fifth flow pipe P5.

Meanwhile, the hydrogen production apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a control unit 200 that optimally maintains the reforming reaction by the steam reformer.

The control unit 200 as described above is based on the flow rate of the flare gas supplied from the FGRU 110 to the first separation unit 130 and the flow rate of methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 from the first separation unit 130 Accordingly, the steam reformer 140 controls the amount of steam and fuel supplied to the steam reformer 140 and controls the operation state of the steam reformer 140.

Accordingly, the control unit 200, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, calculates the amount of steam to be supplied to the steam reformer 140 and calculates the amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer 140. It may include a fuel amount calculation unit 220.

The steam amount calculation unit 210 is provided in the first flow pipe P1 that guides the flare gas from the FGRU 110 to the first separation unit 130 and measures the flow rate of the flare gas from the first measurement unit M1. It can receive the flow of gas. In addition, the steam amount calculation unit 210 is provided in the fourth flow pipe P4 that guides methane from the first separation unit 130 to the steam reformer 140 and measures the flow rate of methane from the second measurement unit M2. The flow rate of can be delivered.

As described above, the steam amount calculation unit 210 calculates the minimum amount of steam required to reform methane based on the flow rate values provided by the first measurement unit M1 and the second measurement unit M2, and calculates this The value can be transferred to the steam supply unit 141. Then, the steam supply unit 141 can supply only the optimum amount of steam required to reform the methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 to the steam reformer 140 based on the calculated value calculated by the steam amount calculation unit 210. have.

Accordingly, the steam amount calculation unit 210 prevents more than necessary steam from being supplied to the steam reformer 140 relative to the flow rate of methane supplied to the steam reformer 140, and, in addition, high-temperature steam from the steam supply unit 141 The energy used to form can also be reduced.

Unlike natural gas, the flare gas supplied from the FGRU 110 has an irregular fluctuation in flow rate over time and a different component. Therefore, it can be said that it is very important to accurately grasp the flow rate of the flare gas fluctuating in real time and the amount of methane separation according to its components, and to supply the corresponding amount of steam to the steam reformer 140. If, as in the method of generating hydrogen from natural gas, a certain amount of steam is continuously supplied to the steam reformer 140 without considering the above matters, the steam used to reform methane is transferred to the steam reformer 140. Not only is it supplied more than necessary, and consequently, enormous energy is lost, but also the cost of generating hydrogen increases.

The fuel amount calculation unit 220 is also provided in the first flow pipe P1 that guides the flare gas from the FGRU 110 to the first separation unit 130 and measures the flow rate of the flare gas from the first measurement unit M1. It can receive the flow of gas. In addition, the fuel amount calculation unit 220 is provided in the fourth flow pipe P4 that guides methane from the first separation unit 130 to the steam reformer 140 and measures the flow rate of methane from the second measurement unit M2. The flow rate of can be delivered.

As described above, the fuel amount calculation unit 220, based on the flow rate values provided by the first measurement unit M1 and the second measurement unit M2, the minimum temperature for the steam reformer 140 to reform methane The amount of fuel to have A may be calculated and the calculated value may be transmitted to the fuel supply unit 141. Then, the fuel supply unit 141 can supply only the optimum amount of fuel required to reform the methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 to the steam reformer 140 based on the calculated value calculated by the fuel amount calculation unit 220. have.

More specifically, the fuel amount calculation unit 220 is heated by a heating means such as a burner so that the reformer of the steam reformer 140 has a temperature condition for reforming methane, and is supplied to the steam reformer 140 The amount of fuel supplied from the fuel supply unit 142 to the heating means may be calculated so as to form and maintain an optimum temperature condition corresponding to the flow rate of methane.

Accordingly, the fuel amount calculation unit 220 is supplied with more than necessary fuel to the steam reformer 140 relative to the flow rate of methane supplied to the steam reformer 140, and the steam reformer 140 has a constant temperature while forming It is possible to reduce the energy required to produce hydrogen by preventing the phenomenon from being maintained for a period of time in advance.

For reference, the steam reformer 140, as widely known, has an advantage of generating high concentration of hydrogen. However, since the reforming of methane requires high-temperature steam and the reforming temperature condition is very high, there is a disadvantage in that it consumes a lot of energy. In particular, it is intended to operate in a steady state (time to reach the reforming temperature condition) from a standstill. The downside is that it takes a very long time.

Therefore, it can be said that it is very important to accurately grasp the flow rate of the flare gas fluctuating in real time and the amount of methane separation according to its components, and to supply the corresponding fuel amount to the steam reformer 140. If, such as the method of generating hydrogen from natural gas, if constant fuel is continuously supplied to the steam reformer 140 without taking into account the above matters, the fuel used to reform methane is more than necessary in the steam reformer 140 As a result, enormous energy is lost as a result, and the cost of generating hydrogen is increased.

The steam amount calculating part 210 and the fuel amount calculating part 220 may calculate the amount of steam and the amount of fuel, respectively, based on only the flow rate of methane measured by the second measuring part M2, but the first measuring part M1 It is preferable to calculate the amount of steam and the amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer 140, respectively, based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured in ).

Because the methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 is generated separately from the flare gas supplied from the FGRU 110, the correlation of the amount of methane produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas is analyzed and the data is continuously collected. This is because it can be utilized to efficiently drive the reformer 140. In other words, the process of changing the operating conditions of the steam reformer 140 from time to time in response to the characteristics of the flare gas with large fluctuations in flow rate and composition over time increases energy consumption and consumes a lot of time to operate in a normal state. Occurs, but to solve this problem.

For example, the steam amount calculation unit 210 and the fuel amount calculation unit 220 may contain the amount of methane that may be supplied to the steam reformer 140 based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the first measurement unit M1. The maximum flow rate may be predicted, and accordingly, the amount of steam and the amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer 140 may be primarily predicted and calculated.

Then, the steam supply unit 141 may perform an operation process of generating high-temperature steam from the point when the flow rate of the flare gas is measured by the first measurement unit M1. In this case, it can be said that the amount of steam generated by the steam supply unit 141 substantially satisfies the amount of steam required to reform the methane supplied to the steam reformer 140.

In addition, the fuel supply unit 141 may preheat the reformer by supplying fuel to the heating means of the steam reformer 140 from the point when the flow rate of the flare gas is measured by the first measurement unit M1. Similarly, it can be said that the amount of fuel supplied from the fuel supply unit 142 to the steam reformer 140 substantially meets the minimum amount of fuel used to form a temperature at which methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 can be reformed. That is, before the methane is supplied to the steam reformer 140, the steam reformer 140 has already formed a reforming temperature condition so that the methane can be immediately reformed from the time when it is supplied to the steam reformer 140.

If the steam amount calculation unit 210 and the fuel amount calculation unit 220 calculate the amount of steam and the amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer 140 based only on the flow rate of methane measured by the second measurement unit M2, , The steam supply unit 141 and the fuel supply unit 142 perform an operation process of generating high-temperature steam from the point when methane is supplied to the steam reformer 140 and an operation process of heating the reformer by supplying fuel to the heating means. For this reason, it takes a long time for the steam reformer 140 to reach a normal state, and thus energy is wasted.

Accordingly, the steam amount calculation unit 210 and the fuel amount calculation unit 220 are based on the flow rate of flare gas measured by the first measurement unit M1 and the flow rate of methane measured by the second measurement unit M2. It is preferable to calculate the amount of steam and the amount of fuel to be supplied to 140), respectively.

In addition, the control unit 200 may further include an operation unit 230 that determines whether the steam reformer 140 is operated.

The operation unit 230 applies an ON/OFF signal to the steam reformer 140 based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the first measurement unit M1 and the flow rate of methane measured by the second measurement unit M2. can do. The operation unit 230 stops the operation of the steam reformer 140 when it is determined that the flow rate of methane generated from the flare gas is lower than the preset value and thus the production efficiency of hydrogen is low compared to the amount of energy consumed by the operation of the steam reformer 140 On the contrary, when the flow rate of methane generated from the flare gas is higher than a preset value, an ON signal for operating the steam reformer 140 may be applied to the steam reformer 140. I can. Of course, the operation unit 230 may control the steam supply unit 141 supplying steam to the steam reformer 140 and the fuel supply unit 142 supplying fuel.

And, the control unit 200, based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the first measurement unit (M1), the flow rate of methane measured by the second measurement unit (M2) and the amount of hydrogen stored in the storage unit 160 As a result, it may further include an analysis unit 240 for analyzing the correlation of the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas.

This analysis unit 240 can be said to be a component that analyzes the correlation of the amount of methane produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas mentioned above, and continuously collects data according to the above-mentioned, so that the steam reformer 140 operates efficiently. In addition, the collected and analyzed data can be delivered to the operation unit 230.

Then, the operation unit 230 can efficiently control the operation state of the steam reformer 140 by controlling the steam supply unit 141 and the fuel supply unit 142 based on the data provided by the analysis unit 240. have.

In addition, the analysis unit 240 may analyze the correlation of the amount of methane production according to the flow rate of the flare gas as well as the correlation of the amount of hydrogen production according to the flow rate of the flare gas, as described above. Accordingly, the analysis unit 240 is provided in the third flow pipe P3 for guiding hydrogen from the first separation unit 130 to the storage unit 160 from the third measurement unit M3 for measuring the flow rate of hydrogen. A fourth measuring unit (M4) that can receive the flow rate of hydrogen and measures the flow rate of hydrogen provided in the fifth flow pipe (P5) that guides hydrogen from the second separation unit 150 to the storage unit 160 The flow rate of hydrogen can be transmitted from

In conclusion, the analysis unit 240 analyzes the correlation between the methane production amount and the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas based on the flow rate in the first measurement unit M1 to the fourth measurement unit 4, respectively, and the data Is provided to the operation unit 230 to promote efficient operation of the steam reformer 140 to save energy, and in addition, the hydrogen stored in the storage unit 160 can be supplied or transported in a timely manner to a hydrogen use place such as a hydrogen station. I can.

For reference, most of domestic hydrogen production is by-product hydrogen produced as a by-product in chemical processes, etc., and most of this by-product hydrogen is recovered and reused in the process, and only a small portion is compressed and distributed in a pipeline or tube trailer at a certain pressure. However, since hydrogen is the lightest gas per unit volume, only about 200kg of hydrogen can be stored/transported with one module of a tube trailer. As a result, there is a problem that the actual hydrogen sales price is high due to the burden of transportation charges outside the regions where by-product hydrogen is produced.

Therefore, it can be said that calculating the amount of hydrogen stored in the storage unit 160 in real time based on the flow rate of the flare gas is very important in terms of reducing the transportation and supply cost of hydrogen. That is, in order to accurately determine when the hydrogen stored in the storage unit 160 can be transported or supplied to a hydrogen use place, the amount of hydrogen flowing from the first separation unit 130 to the storage unit 160 according to the flow rate of the flare gas It is important to determine the amount of hydrogen stored in the storage unit 160 based on the flow rate and the flow rate of hydrogen flowing from the second separation unit 150 to the storage unit 160, and the analysis unit 240 performs such matters. can do.

In summary, the control unit 200 configured as described above can control the steam and fuel supplied to the steam reformer 140 based on the amount of methane produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas, and also, methane according to the flow rate of the flare gas. By analyzing the correlation between the production amount and the hydrogen production amount, the operation state of the steam reformer 140 may be controlled in the direction of saving energy.

Accordingly, the control unit 200 of the hydrogen production apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, a first measurement unit M1 for measuring the flow rate of the flare gas, and a second measurement unit M3 for measuring the flow rate of methane. ), and a third measuring unit (M3) and a fourth measuring unit (M4) for measuring the flow rate of hydrogen must be provided.

The first measurement unit (M1) to the fourth measurement unit (M4) as described above transmits an accurate flow rate value to the control unit 200, so that various components of the hydrogen production device 100 can efficiently produce hydrogen while saving energy. It plays an important role in helping you.

In addition, the flow rate measured by the first measurement unit (M1) to the fourth measurement unit (M4) is used as data to grasp the pressure fluctuations of a plurality of flow pipes that connect various components of the hydrogen production device 100 to each other. The structural stability and hydrogen production efficiency of the hydrogen production device 100 may be improved.

Therefore, it is preferable that the first to fourth measuring units M1 to M4 accurately measure the flow rate of the gas.

However, it is not possible to accurately measure the flow rate of a flare gas in which the physical conditions and composition of the flow are non-uniform with the conventional flow meter.

For example, a thermal mass type flow meter was used to measure the flow rate of flare gas, but the thermal mass type flow meter was relatively accurate in a situation where the gas composition value was constant and the physical condition of the flow was maintained almost uniformly. As a device capable of measuring, there is a problem in that the accuracy of the flow rate value is low due to a relationship in which the composition of the non-uniform flare gas generated in various processes such as flare gas cannot be accurately identified. In addition, measuring the flow rate of the flare gas having a low speed/low pressure usually has a problem in that it is difficult to perform a calibration correction operation of the flow meter because it is practically difficult to implement the flow.

Thus, the first measuring unit (M1) for measuring the flow rate of the flare gas, as shown in Figs. 3 to 6, the measurement probe 310 into which the lower end in the longitudinal direction is inserted into the first flow pipe (P1); A speed measuring unit 320 measuring the speed of the flare gas while being connected to the measuring probe 310; A density measuring unit 330 measuring the density of the flare gas while being connected to the measuring probe 310; And a flow rate analysis unit 340 that calculates the flow rate of the flare gas based on the values measured by the speed measurement unit 320 and the density measurement unit 330 and stores and analyzes the calculated flow rate. can do.

First, the measurement probe 310 may have a shape of a straight vertical bar with a space portion formed therein. That is, the measurement probe 310 has the shape of a vertical bar, and its lower end may be inserted into the first flow tube P through a through hole formed in the first flow tube P.

A case (C) in which the first sensor unit 323 of the speed measurement unit 320 to be described later and the second sensor unit 333 of the density measurement unit 330 are embedded is provided at the upper end of the measurement probe 310, The upper portion of the measurement probe 310 including the case C may be referred to as a component disposed outside the first flow tube P1.

That is, when the lower portion of the measurement probe 310 is inserted into the first flow tube P1, the upper portion of the measurement probe 310 including the case C is disposed above the first flow tube P1.

In addition, the lower end of the measurement probe 310 may be referred to as a part that substantially measures the flow rate of the flare gas, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an arc disposed facing the flow direction A of the flare gas Shaped round surface 311; A chamfer 312 provided with a predetermined length on the rear side of the round surface 311; And a vertical surface 313 that divides the chamfer 312 and connects both ends of the round surface 311 in the width direction to each other.

In other words, the lower portion of the vertical rod-shaped measurement probe 310 having a circular cross section as a whole may have a shape cut by “c” when viewed from the side.

The round surface 311 may be disposed to face the flow direction A of the flare gas while having a semicircular curvature. That is, when the lower end of the measurement probe 310 is inserted into the first flow pipe P1, the round surface 311 may be said to be a portion disposed to face the flow direction A of the flare gas.

On the other hand, the round surface 311 may be formed with a first pressure port 311a for measuring the velocity of the flare gas, the first pressure port 311a is interrupted in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the round surface 311 Can be placed on the site.

In addition, a gas inlet 311b for measuring the density of the flare gas may be provided on the round surface 311, and the gas inlet 311b is located at a position that does not interfere with the formation position of the first pressure port 311a. Can be provided in

As described above, the chamfered portion 312 includes a vertical surface 313 connecting both ends of the round surface 311 in the width direction, and a horizontal surface 314 extending in the horizontal direction from the upper and lower ends of the vertical surface 313, respectively. ) Can be partitioned.

A second pressure port 313a for measuring the velocity of the flare gas may be formed on the vertical surface 313, and the second pressure port 313a is located at the middle of the vertical surface 313 in the longitudinal direction and the width direction. Can be placed.

Here, the first pressure port 311a formed on the round surface 311 may be referred to as a hole for measuring the voltage at the point where the measurement probe 310 is inserted into the first flow tube P1, and conversely, the vertical surface ( The second pressure port 313a formed in 313 may be referred to as a hole for measuring a static pressure at a point where the measurement probe 310 is inserted into the first flow tube P.

As above, a first pressure port 311a is provided on the round surface 311 facing the flow direction A of the flare gas, and a second pressure port 311a is provided on the vertical surface 313 opposite to the round surface 311. The reason for forming) is that the vortex generated when the flare gas and the round surface 311 are in contact with each other flows in the direction in which the vertical surface 313 is arranged and flows into the second pressure port 313a. This is to prevent.

That is, the purpose is to prevent the flare gas flowing after contacting the round surface 311 from flowing in the vertical surface 313 direction so that the second pressure port 313a can accurately measure the static pressure.

Therefore, the first pressure port 311a is preferably formed on the round surface 311 that diverges the flare gas in both directions, and the second pressure port 313a is branched by the round surface 311 and flows. It is preferably formed on the vertical surface 313 not affected by the flare gas.

Here, the round surface 311, when viewed from above, preferably has an arc shape having a central angle of 180 degrees, that is, a semicircle shape. If the round surface 311 has an arc shape having a central angle of 180 degrees or more, the flare gas in contact with the round surface 311 flows into the chamfer 312 on which the vertical surface 313 is disposed, and the vertical surface 313 ) There is a problem that the accuracy of the static pressure measured on the phase is poor.

Conversely, if the round surface 311 has an arc shape having a central angle of 180 degrees or less, the flare gas in contact with the round surface 311 flows outward of the vertical surface 313 to measure the static pressure on the vertical surface 313 The accuracy of the can be increased.

On the other hand, a gas outlet 311c is provided at the lower end of the measuring probe 310 in which the chamfer 312 is not formed, and the gas outlet 311c is a fourth pipe 332 of the density measuring unit 330 to be described later. ) Can be connected.

The speed measuring unit 320 may include a first pipe 321 having one end connected to the first pressure port 311a formed on the round surface 311 so as to communicate with each other as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6; A second pipe (322) having one end connected to the second pressure port (313a) formed on the vertical surface (313) so that communication is possible; And the other end in the longitudinal direction of the first pipe 321 and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the second pipe 322, and the pressure generated in the first pipe 321 and the second pipe 322 It may include; a first sensor unit 323 that measures the velocity of the flare gas using the differential pressure of the pressure generated in.

The first pipe 321 and the second pipe 322 may be provided inside the measuring probe 310 along the longitudinal direction of the measuring probe 310.

One end in the longitudinal direction of the first pipe 321, that is, the lower end, may be connected to be in communication with the first pressure port 311a, as described above, and the other end in the longitudinal direction, that is, the upper end may be connected to the first sensor unit 323. have.

In addition, one end in the longitudinal direction of the second pipe 322, that is, a lower end, is connected in communication with the second pressure port 313a as described above, and the other end in the longitudinal direction, that is, an upper end, is a first sensor unit 323 ) Can be connected.

The first sensor unit 323 may be referred to as a known differential pressure sensor, and calculates the differential pressure (dynamic pressure) between the pressure generated in the first pipe 321 and the pressure generated in the second pipe 322, and calculates the same. The flare gas velocity can be calculated using the value.

In addition, the velocity of the flare gas calculated by the first sensor unit 323 may be transmitted to the flow rate analysis unit 340.

The density measurement unit 330 may include a third pipe 331 having one end connected to the gas inlet 311b formed on the round surface 311 so as to communicate with each other as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6; A fourth pipe 332 having a lengthwise one end connected to the gas outlet 311c formed on the circumferential surface of the measuring probe 310 on which the chamfer 312 is not disposed; The second is connected in communication with the other longitudinal end of the third pipe 331 and the other longitudinal end of the fourth pipe 332 and measures the density of the flare gas flowing through the third pipe 331 It may include a sensor unit 333;

The third pipe 331 and the fourth pipe 332 may also be provided inside the measuring probe 310 along the longitudinal direction of the measuring probe 310.

One end in the longitudinal direction of the third pipe 331, that is, the lower end, may be connected to be in communication with the gas inlet 311b as described above, and the other end in the longitudinal direction, that is, the upper end may be connected to the second sensor unit 333 have.

One end in the longitudinal direction of the fourth pipe 332, that is, the lower end, is connected so as to be able to communicate with the gas outlet 311c as described above, and the other end in the longitudinal direction, that is, the upper end, is connected to the second sensor unit 333 I can.

Accordingly, the flare gas flowing through the gas inlet 111b may be delivered to the second sensor unit 333 through the third pipe 131, and the flare gas passing through the second sensor unit 333 is a fourth It may be discharged to the gas outlet 311c through the pipe 332.

Here, so that the flare gas discharged through the gas discharge port 311c does not flow into the second pressure port 313a formed on the vertical surface 313, the gas discharge port 311c is a measuring probe disposed on the vertical surface 313 ( 310) is preferably provided on the circumferential portion.

The second sensor unit 333 may be referred to as a known quartz oscillator gas sensor that vibrates using a flare gas as a medium, and measures the density of the flare gas and calculates the measured value as the flow rate analysis unit ( 340).

The flow rate analysis unit 340 may receive power from the battery unit B, and may transmit the power to the first sensor unit 323 and the second sensor unit 333.

As described above, the flow rate analysis unit 340 calculates and stores the flow rate of the flare gas by receiving the measured data values from the first sensor unit 323 and the second sensor unit 333, as described above, and, You can analyze the data values.

The first measuring unit (M1) configured as above measures the velocity of the flare gas in a pressure calculation method that is not affected by turbulence/laminar flow according to the flow velocity of the flare gas, and calculates the flow rate of the flare gas using the velocity value. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of measuring the flow rate of the fluid in the flow pipe, and in addition, the flow rate of the flare gas having a low/low flow rate can be accurately measured.

Accordingly, the control unit 200 can be used to control the steam reformer 140 by receiving the flow rate of the flare gas measured with high accuracy from the first measurement unit M1 configured as above.

Hereinafter, a method of producing hydrogen using a flare gas according to an embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 7.

As shown in Figure 7, the hydrogen production method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the filtering step (S100) of filtering out harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the FGRU 110 of the flare system; A first separation step (S200) of separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas in which harmful components are filtered by the filtering step (S100); A reforming step (S300) of reforming the methane separated in the first separation step (S200); And a second separation step (S400) of separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated in the reforming step (S300).

First, the filtering step (S100) may be performed by the harmful component processing unit 120. In this step, the sulfur (S) component contained in the flare gas may be filtered out.

The first separation step S200 may be performed by the first separation unit 130 and may be referred to as a step of separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas from which the sulfur component has been removed. The hydrogen separated in this step may be moved to the storage unit 160 and stored.

The reforming step (S300) may be performed by the steam reformer 140. This step may be referred to as a step of reacting the methane separated in the first separation step (S200) with steam (water vapor) and reforming it into syngas. And, the reformed syngas can generate hydrogen through an aqueous conversion reaction.

The second separation step (S400) may be referred to as a step of separating hydrogen and other gases (carbon dioxide) from the syngas reformed in the reforming step (S300), and may be performed by the second separation unit 150. have. In addition, the hydrogen separated in this step may be moved to and stored in the storage unit 160.

The hydrogen production method having the above steps includes a measuring step (S50) of measuring the flow rate of the flare gas supplied by the FGRU 110 and the flow rate of the methane separated in the first separation step (S200); I can.

The measurement step (S50) is carried out before the filtering step (S100) to measure the flow rate of the flare gas, and is also carried out after the first separation step (S200) and before the reforming step (S300) to measure the flow rate of methane. can do. The measuring step S50 may be performed by the above-described first measuring unit M1 and the second measuring unit M2.

Further, a control step 250 of controlling the amount of steam and the amount of fuel used in the reforming step S300 based on the flow rate of the flare gas and the flow rate of methane measured in the measuring step S50 may be further included.

The control step (S250) may be performed by the control unit 200, and the optimum amount of steam and fuel required to reform the methane supplied to the steam reformer 140 may be calculated, and based on this calculated value. The operation state of the steam reformer 140 may be controlled.

Although the specific embodiments according to the present invention have been described so far, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by being limited to the described embodiments, and should be defined not only by the claims to be described later, but also by the claims and their equivalents.

100: hydrogen production device 110: FGRU
120: hazardous component processing unit 130: first separation unit
140: steam reformer 141: steam supply
142: fuel supply unit 150: second separation unit
160: storage unit 200: control unit
210: steam amount calculation unit 220: fuel amount calculation unit
230: operation unit 240: analysis unit
M1: first measurement unit M2: second measurement unit
M3: third measurement unit M4: fourth measurement unit

Claims (14)

A hazardous component processing unit that filters harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) of the flare system;
A first separation unit for separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas in which the harmful components are filtered by the harmful component processing unit;
A steam reformer for reforming the methane separated in the first separation unit;
A second separation unit for separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated by the steam reformer; And
And a storage unit for storing the hydrogen separated by the first separation unit and the second separation unit.
The method of claim 1,
Includes; a control unit for optimally maintaining the reforming reaction by the steam reformer,
The control unit,
Characterized in that controlling steam and fuel supplied to the steam reformer based on a flow rate of flare gas supplied from the FGRU to the first separation unit and a flow rate of methane supplied from the first separation unit to the steam reformer Hydrogen production equipment.
The method of claim 2,
The control unit,
A steam amount calculator configured to calculate an amount of steam to be supplied to the steam reformer; And
Includes; a fuel amount calculation unit for calculating the amount of fuel to be supplied to the steam reformer,
The steam amount calculation unit and the fuel amount calculation unit,
It is provided in a flow pipe that guides the flare gas from the FGRU to the first separation unit and receives the flow rate of the flare gas from the first measurement unit measuring the flow rate of the flare gas,
A hydrogen production apparatus, characterized in that the flow rate of methane is received from a second measuring unit provided in a flow pipe that guides methane from the first separation unit to the steam reformer and measures the flow rate of methane.
The method of claim 3,
The steam amount calculation unit,
A hydrogen production apparatus, characterized in that the amount of steam required for reforming methane is calculated based on the flow rate values provided by the first measuring unit and the second measuring unit, and transmitting the calculated value to the steam supply unit.
The method of claim 3,
The fuel amount calculation unit,
Based on the flow rate values provided by the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit, the amount of fuel for the steam reformer to have a minimum temperature for reforming methane is calculated, and the calculated value is transferred to the fuel supply unit. Hydrogen production device, characterized in that.
The method of claim 3,
The control unit,
Based on the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the first measurement unit and the flow rate of the flare gas measured by the second measurement unit, the steam reformer is operated by analyzing and collecting the correlation between the amount of methane produced according to the flow rate of the flare gas. Hydrogen production apparatus, characterized in that it further comprises an analysis unit for controlling the conditions.
The method of claim 6,
The analysis unit,
It is provided in a flow pipe that guides hydrogen from the first separation unit to the storage unit, receives the flow rate of hydrogen from a third measuring unit that measures the flow rate of hydrogen, and is provided in a flow tube that guides hydrogen from the second separation unit to the storage unit. Hydrogen production apparatus, characterized in that for analyzing the correlation of the hydrogen production amount according to the flow rate of the flare gas by receiving the flow rate of hydrogen from the fourth measuring unit measuring the flow rate of hydrogen.
The method of claim 3,
The first measuring unit,
A measuring probe into which the lower end in the longitudinal direction is inserted into the flow tube;
A velocity measuring unit that measures the velocity of the flare gas while being connected to the measurement probe;
A density measuring unit for measuring the density of the flare gas while being connected to the measuring probe; And
And a flow rate analysis unit that calculates the flow rate of the flare gas based on the values measured by the speed measurement unit and the density measurement unit, and stores and analyzes the calculated flow rate.
The method of claim 8,
The speed measuring unit,
A first pipe having one end connected to the first pressure port formed in the measurement probe so as to communicate with each other;
A second pipe having one end connected to the second pressure port formed in the measurement probe so as to communicate with each other; And
It is connected in communication with the other longitudinal end of the first pipe and the other longitudinal end of the second pipe, and the speed of the flare gas by using a pressure difference between the pressure generated in the first pipe and the pressure generated in the second pipe Hydrogen production apparatus comprising a; a first sensor unit for measuring the.
The method of claim 9,
The first sensor unit,
Dynamic pressure is calculated by using the voltage measured through the first pressure port arranged in a direction facing the flow direction of the flare gas and the static pressure measured through the second pressure port arranged with the flow direction of the flare gas and the back After that, the hydrogen production apparatus, characterized in that transmitting the calculated dynamic pressure value to the flow rate analysis unit.
The method of claim 9,
The density measuring unit,
A third pipe having one end connected to the gas inlet formed in the measurement probe so as to communicate with each other;
A fourth pipe having a lengthwise end connected to the gas outlet formed on the circumferential surface of the measuring probe so as to communicate with each other; And
And a second sensor unit connected in communication with the other end in the longitudinal direction of the third pipe and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the fourth pipe, and measuring the density of the flare gas introduced through the third pipe. Hydrogen production equipment.
As a hydrogen production method using flare gas,
A filtering step of filtering out harmful components from the flare gas supplied by the flare gas recovery unit (FGRU) of the flare system;
A first separation step of separating hydrogen and methane from the flare gas in which harmful components have been filtered out by the filtering step;
A reforming step of reforming the methane separated in the first separation step; And
And a second separation step of separating hydrogen and other gases from the synthesis gas generated in the reforming step.
The method of claim 12,
A method of producing hydrogen further comprising a; measuring step of measuring the flow rate of the flare gas supplied by the FGRU (Flare Gas Recovery Unit) and the flow rate of the methane separated in the first separation step.
The method of claim 13,
And a control step of controlling the amount of steam and fuel used in the reforming step based on the flow rate of flare gas and the flow rate of methane measured in the measuring step.

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