Exxon Brings Hydrogen Pipeline To Gulf Coast

Louisiana is oiling up for a hydrogen network.

Exxon Mobil has entered in to a long-term contract with Air Products for constructing a new Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) Hydrogen production facility in Louisiana. The facility will be connected to Air Products’ Louisiana Hydrogen Pipeline Network and will service Exxon Mobil’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery. It will also provide services to other customers in the region and is expected to be online by March 2010.

Air Products has collaborated with Exxon Mobil in other hydrogen based facilities in both Baytown, Texas and Joliet, Illinois.

“We are very pleased to expand our global business relationship with ExxonMobil. Air Products takes great pride in its production facilities and hydrogen supply reliability, and this project will enable us to demonstrate the added value of our expanded Louisiana Hydrogen Pipeline Network,” said Alex Masetti, vice president, North America Tonnage Gases for Air Products.

Supplying refineries with hydrogen for cleaner burning fuels is one of Air Products’ main areas of growth. In fact, Air Products has the largest hydrogen pipeline in the US Gulf Coast, which supplies more than fifty refineries.

Image source: Mene Tekel on Flickr

About Jerry James Stone

Jerry is a web developer, part-time blogger and a full-time environmentalist. His crusade for all things eco started twenty years ago when he ditched his meat-and-potatoes upbringing for something more vegetarian-shaped.

He currently works at Care2 and also blogs over at Treehugger. His passions include green tech, eco politics and smart green design. And while he doesn't own a car anymore, he loves to write about those too.

Jerry studied at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA. During his time there he was a DJ at the campus station KCPR and he also wrote for the campus paper.

Jerry currently resides in San Francisco, CA with his cat Lola.

You can stalk him on Twitter @jerryjamesstone.

Comments

  1. Carney says:

    Hydrogen is a boondoggle. Totally impractical. Anything it can do, methanol can do better, cheaper, more safely, and without a massive redundant new distribution infrastructure.

    The only reason it’s staggering forward is political pressure, tax dollars, PR posturing, and most of all, ignorance.

    http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-hydrogen-hoax

  2. Carney says:

    Hydrogen is a boondoggle. Totally impractical. Anything it can do, methanol can do better, cheaper, more safely, and without a massive redundant new distribution infrastructure.

    The only reason it’s staggering forward is political pressure, tax dollars, PR posturing, and most of all, ignorance.

    http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-hydrogen-hoax

  3. michael Bryant says:

    I not a good idea to produce hydrogen form a methane. It better to just burn the methane. Also this pipe line is not for people at home to use to heat their homes.

  4. michael Bryant says:

    I not a good idea to produce hydrogen form a methane. It better to just burn the methane. Also this pipe line is not for people at home to use to heat their homes.

  5. Daniel says:

    In response to Carney

    The problem with hydrogen is that many of the processes used to make it produce CO2 which negates its environmentally friendly usage. The problem with methanol is that large areas of land are required to produce it and as such it takes away land for growing other crops.

    Both are not ideal, however hydrogen has the potential to be mass produced from ANY renewable energy source. Methanol is produced indirectly through solar energy.

  6. Daniel says:

    In response to Carney

    The problem with hydrogen is that many of the processes used to make it produce CO2 which negates its environmentally friendly usage. The problem with methanol is that large areas of land are required to produce it and as such it takes away land for growing other crops.

    Both are not ideal, however hydrogen has the potential to be mass produced from ANY renewable energy source. Methanol is produced indirectly through solar energy.

  7. I always knew that first sign that alternatives were for real was when the oil companies jumped in. With crude at it’s current level we are hanging on by our finger tips, but we are hanging on!

  8. I always knew that first sign that alternatives were for real was when the oil companies jumped in. With crude at it’s current level we are hanging on by our finger tips, but we are hanging on!

  9. James says:

    RE: Ray the Money Man

    “Hanging on by our finger tips”? At $65/barrel, I don’t think so.

  10. James says:

    RE: Ray the Money Man

    “Hanging on by our finger tips”? At $65/barrel, I don’t think so.

  11. nick says:

    this has nothing to do with fuel cells and other pie in the sky hydrogen green boondoggles. europe has a fair number of these pipelines. they simply takes hydrogen from where it is a byproduct or produced cheaply to where it can be best used to remove sulphur and other impurities from fuel. improved hydrogen storage might make hydrogen fuel cells practical for transportation but electricity is the most likely “green” growth prospect for transport. exxon will happily sell the natural gas to the power plant that recharges your vehicle!

  12. nick says:

    this has nothing to do with fuel cells and other pie in the sky hydrogen green boondoggles. europe has a fair number of these pipelines. they simply takes hydrogen from where it is a byproduct or produced cheaply to where it can be best used to remove sulphur and other impurities from fuel. improved hydrogen storage might make hydrogen fuel cells practical for transportation but electricity is the most likely “green” growth prospect for transport. exxon will happily sell the natural gas to the power plant that recharges your vehicle!

  13. Quite useful information

  14. Quite useful information

  15. steve shurts says:

    Engines designed for Methanol have a higher compression ratio than engines running on gasoline. Higher compression ratios mean higher NOx emissions, the primary component in smog. More cars running on methanol equals more smog, hardly a green solution. Take into account the loss of food production that accompanies methanol, etc. and methanol starts to become unattractive.

    Hydrogen can be made by using some solar cells, table salt and water. The only by-product of its production is oxygen, which also has commercial value. When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, the only by product is water. If you were to use the hydrogen directly and used the oxygen produced in the hydrolysis process, the only by product would be water; all-in-all, a very desireable outcome.

    Hydrogen is not a gimmick – alcohol is a gimmick…

  16. steve shurts says:

    Engines designed for Methanol have a higher compression ratio than engines running on gasoline. Higher compression ratios mean higher NOx emissions, the primary component in smog. More cars running on methanol equals more smog, hardly a green solution. Take into account the loss of food production that accompanies methanol, etc. and methanol starts to become unattractive.

    Hydrogen can be made by using some solar cells, table salt and water. The only by-product of its production is oxygen, which also has commercial value. When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell, the only by product is water. If you were to use the hydrogen directly and used the oxygen produced in the hydrolysis process, the only by product would be water; all-in-all, a very desireable outcome.

    Hydrogen is not a gimmick – alcohol is a gimmick…

  17. Jim Jones says:

    All I know is that I can fill up my tank again with less than $40 and I am HAPPY!

    http://www.online-privacy.cz.tc

  18. Jim Jones says:

    All I know is that I can fill up my tank again with less than $40 and I am HAPPY!

    http://www.online-privacy.cz.tc

  19. Patrick says:

    Steve, thank you for setting the record straight. At first glance, Hydrogen may seem as though it’s not the best route- but it IS. The reason is that it can be created & stored at home using water and sun. I know- it’s expensive and ‘DANGEROUS’ (ooooww!) but those factors can be overcome. It is inevitable. We should focus as much as we possible can on it right now. Solar home hydrogen stations. I have a H2 Car- it’s the toy car, about 12 inches long. I put water in the mini station, but the mini solar panel in the sun, and watch it create hydrogen then it then uses in it’s mini fuel cell zoom around the room.

    Exxon- those bastards will “Get away with it” if they do both green and dirty. They will be able to change their image while still be dirty bastards who have polluted and robbed us for so long. Anyway… see below…

    http://EnergyInOurHands.com

    http://TheWarOnOil.com

    http://GreedyOilPoliticians.com

    It Is Time to Decentralize Energy and Take It Into Our Own Hands. The electric grid and gas distribution system is like a leash around our necks- wee are ‘Milked’ like cows in a field for oil money.

    Let’s move right past American Energy Independence & directly to Individual Energy Independence

    Here’s an energy plan from the grass root’s org that is formulating these goals ande perspectives:

    Pass it along- becuase if it’s preaching to the choir, remember… the choir sings!

  20. Patrick says:

    Steve, thank you for setting the record straight. At first glance, Hydrogen may seem as though it’s not the best route- but it IS. The reason is that it can be created & stored at home using water and sun. I know- it’s expensive and ‘DANGEROUS’ (ooooww!) but those factors can be overcome. It is inevitable. We should focus as much as we possible can on it right now. Solar home hydrogen stations. I have a H2 Car- it’s the toy car, about 12 inches long. I put water in the mini station, but the mini solar panel in the sun, and watch it create hydrogen then it then uses in it’s mini fuel cell zoom around the room.

    Exxon- those bastards will “Get away with it” if they do both green and dirty. They will be able to change their image while still be dirty bastards who have polluted and robbed us for so long. Anyway… see below…

    http://EnergyInOurHands.com

    http://TheWarOnOil.com

    http://GreedyOilPoliticians.com

    It Is Time to Decentralize Energy and Take It Into Our Own Hands. The electric grid and gas distribution system is like a leash around our necks- wee are ‘Milked’ like cows in a field for oil money.

    Let’s move right past American Energy Independence & directly to Individual Energy Independence

    Here’s an energy plan from the grass root’s org that is formulating these goals ande perspectives:

    Pass it along- becuase if it’s preaching to the choir, remember… the choir sings!

  21. eddiemyboy says:

    Carney must be sniffing ethonal!Ethonal was one of my causes until I thought it out and looked around and found out that it was using up land for food.It also kept us dependent on oil,because in the present form it is mixed with gasoline to extend gasoline use.Hydrogen has that problem to some extent,because it takes oil or nuclear,,,,,electricity to break down the hydrogen in water or in natural gas to have hydrogen fuel.Hydrogen can be made with wood ash and water and electricity,but that is small scale.We need large scale and conservation to produce larger amounts of hydrogen for energy and fuel use.Don’t be so bloody greedy and learn to conserve and not be a freaking roadblock!!

  22. eddiemyboy says:

    Carney must be sniffing ethonal!Ethonal was one of my causes until I thought it out and looked around and found out that it was using up land for food.It also kept us dependent on oil,because in the present form it is mixed with gasoline to extend gasoline use.Hydrogen has that problem to some extent,because it takes oil or nuclear,,,,,electricity to break down the hydrogen in water or in natural gas to have hydrogen fuel.Hydrogen can be made with wood ash and water and electricity,but that is small scale.We need large scale and conservation to produce larger amounts of hydrogen for energy and fuel use.Don’t be so bloody greedy and learn to conserve and not be a freaking roadblock!!

  23. Lacey says:

    Huh…methanol? You know what else contains hydrogen, is cheap, and produces NO harmfull emissions? Water. But Exxon will never let that happen, I’m sure.

  24. Lacey says:

    Huh…methanol? You know what else contains hydrogen, is cheap, and produces NO harmfull emissions? Water. But Exxon will never let that happen, I’m sure.

  25. LonnieB says:

    As I posted on another thread on this site, I am very interested in learning more about hydrogen, it’s production and it’s use.

    Steve mentioned using solar cells, table salt and water to produce it. That’s basic grade school science, but I must admit embarrasingly that it’s been a few decades since I was in grade school, and I have forgotten things like the salt-to-water ratio. I have a few more questions that I would like to put in front of the braintrust here (I mean that as a sincere compliment). For instance, if I am using a plate-type generator, what is the number/size of plates-to volume of water ratio? Is there a formula that doesn’t Einsteinian brainpower to use that would tell me how much hydrogen is produced per square inch of plate?

    I’m sure I could find these things out for my self, imperically and over time, but I am by no means a scientist and may overlook critical clues.

    I have a personal interest in this because, pursuant to what Patrick said, I have no faith in government and realize that the best solutions throughout history have come from the people, not the politicians. And so, I am developing a business plan to produce crate engines which are powered by alternative fuels (ethanol, CNG & hydrogen)for car enthusiasts (i.e. hot rods, muscle cars and collector cars) who want to enjoy their toy without making OPEC richer or harming the environment.

    Any suggestions or information will be greatly appreciated, and I plan to put all my proven research out to the public to help break Big Oil’s grip on our wallets and lives.

  26. LonnieB says:

    As I posted on another thread on this site, I am very interested in learning more about hydrogen, it’s production and it’s use.

    Steve mentioned using solar cells, table salt and water to produce it. That’s basic grade school science, but I must admit embarrasingly that it’s been a few decades since I was in grade school, and I have forgotten things like the salt-to-water ratio. I have a few more questions that I would like to put in front of the braintrust here (I mean that as a sincere compliment). For instance, if I am using a plate-type generator, what is the number/size of plates-to volume of water ratio? Is there a formula that doesn’t Einsteinian brainpower to use that would tell me how much hydrogen is produced per square inch of plate?

    I’m sure I could find these things out for my self, imperically and over time, but I am by no means a scientist and may overlook critical clues.

    I have a personal interest in this because, pursuant to what Patrick said, I have no faith in government and realize that the best solutions throughout history have come from the people, not the politicians. And so, I am developing a business plan to produce crate engines which are powered by alternative fuels (ethanol, CNG & hydrogen)for car enthusiasts (i.e. hot rods, muscle cars and collector cars) who want to enjoy their toy without making OPEC richer or harming the environment.

    Any suggestions or information will be greatly appreciated, and I plan to put all my proven research out to the public to help break Big Oil’s grip on our wallets and lives.

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