Decarbonizing Transportation through the Use of Power-to-Gas for Oil Refining Operations

Power-to-Gas is a technology that generates hydrogen by electrolysis. It can be used to provide a number of energy services including energy storage, ancillary services for the electrical grid and, the production of hydrogen for industrial processes and transportation fuel. Hydrogen has many industrial applications such as in oil refining where it is used primarily in hydrotreating and hydrocracking processes. The purpose of this paper is to provide an incentive for using power-to-gas technology for oil refining processes in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint in refining industry and ultimately the transportation sector. It also highlights the optimal size and operation of the hydrogen production facility that include polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers to meet the proposed refinery demand. The economic calculations include comparison of the cost of hydrogen ($ per kg) between electrolysis and steam methane reforming. The carbon pricing is also incorporated in the analysis to show its potential impact in the costing of both technologies.