Iberdrola and Fertiberia launch renewable hydrogen project for green ammonia generation

By -

Type of post: NEWS. 

Iberdrola and Fertiberia have signed an agreement, which will trigger an investment of 150 M€, to construct the largest plant to produce green hydrogen for industrial use in Europe. The Spanish companies are to build the plant in Puertollano and it will be operational in 2021.

Figure 1. Green industrial plant for industrial use

Iberdrola will be responsible for the production of green hydrogen from 100 % renewable sources. The solution will consist of a 100 MW photovoltaic solar plant, a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh and one of the largest electrolytic hydrogen production systems in the world (20 MW).

The green hydrogen produced will be used at Fertiberia's ammonia plant in Puertollano, which has a production capacity of more than 200,000 tons/year. Fertiberia will revamp the plant to be able to use the green hydrogen produced to manufacture green fertilizers. In this way, Fertiberia will be able to reduce natural gas requirements at the plant by over 10 % and will be the first European company in the sector to develop expertise in large-scale green ammonia generation. By producing ammonia from renewable sources, the company will avoid the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere while reducing dependence on a fossil fuel that must be imported from third countries. The oxygen obtained as a co-product of the electrolysis of water will be used entirely in Fertiberia's nitric acid unit, which also reduces its emissions.

The project will take place in the municipality of Puertollano, in Ciudad Real, a prime location with a large industrial hub near to the National Hydrogen Centre, which has advised from the very beginning of the project. Its development and construction will generate 700 jobs and, once operational, will avoid 39,000 the emission of tons CO2/year (Includes the reduction of emissions from processes at the Fertiberia industrial plant).

Annual hydrogen production in Spain is estimated at 0.5 Mtons H2/year, which is used as a raw material in the refining, chemical and fertilizer industries. Most of it has fossil fuel origin and generates emissions of 5 Mtons CO2/year. Annual global H2 production (70 Mtons) represents CO2 emissions of 830 Mtons/year (over 2 % of emissions generated in the world). It is estimated that decarbonising global hydrogen production through the use of 100 % renewable energy would also increase electricity demand by over 10 %.

Popular Posts

Biofuels from algae

By -
Image
In my opinion, the production of biofuels and biobased chemicals from algae is one of the most fascinating topics in the sector of the biorefineries and it will be one of the niches of opportunity with highest potential in the medium and the long terms. This post pretend to be a very basic approach to the topic Algae-to-Biofuels through three general key points. Algae 1,2,3,4,5 Algae include a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms capable of transforming light, water and specific nutrients into products that can be used with commercial and industrial purposes. We can say that algae are sunlight-driven factories with potential to convert CO 2 into biofuels, high-value biochemical, food and feed. There are four algae cultivation technologies currently in use for commercial algae cultivation and proposed for algal biofuel production: extensive or open ponds, intensive or raceway ponds, closed photobioreactors in many designs and closed fermenter systems. Algal biof
Read more

Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones

By -
Image
English version Sección: BIOCOMBUSTIBLES AVANZADOS Serie: HVO - Hidrotratamiento (HVO) – Conceptos, materias primas y especificaciones - Hidrotratamiento(HVO) – Ventajas sobre el biodiesel convencional y propiedades - Biorrefinerías de Aceites Vegetales Hidrotatados (HVO) – El auge del diésel renovable - Entradas: HVO                El acrónimo HVO significa en inglés “ Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrotratados”) o ” Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils ” (“Aceites Vegetales Hidrogenados”). Clave del proceso: Tratamiento con hidrógeno. En el proceso de producción de HVO, el hidrógeno se usa para eliminar el oxígeno de los triglicéridos produciendo una mezcla de parafinas lineales, CO 2 y agua. Posteriormente, el producto de la primera etapa se isomeriza, siempre en presencia de hidrógeno, para ramificar las cadenas lineales con el propósito de mejorar las propiedades de flujo en frío de los productos finales. Por tanto, los HVO son
Read more

Levulinic acid biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 16/11/2015 Last update: 20/02/2016 Description 1,2 Levulinic acid (also known as 4-oxopentanoic acid or γ-ketovaleric acid) is an organic compound with chemical formula C 5 H 8 O 3 . It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It contains ketone and a carboxylic group whose presence results in interesting reactivity patterns. It is one of the more recognized Biobased Chemical Building Blocks , a starting material for a wide number of compounds (see Applications below). In fact, it was recognized by the US DoE as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future and it can successfully address many performance-related issues attributed to petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Process technologies 1,3,4,5 The controlled degradation of C6-sugars by acids is the most widely used approach to prepare levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. Other methods have also been studied, for instance, the hydroly
Read more

Biorefinery platforms – Sugars

By -
Image
Versión en Español BIOREFINERY PLATFORMS Concept - The sugar platform is defined as any combination of C5 (5 carbon atoms; xylose, pentose and ribose are the most common pentose sugars), C6 (6 carbon atoms; glucose, fructose and galactose are the most common hexose sugars) and/or C12 sugars (molecules containing two hexose sugar units) that exists within a pathway from biomass feedstock towards final biobased products. - These simple sugars are reactive molecules that can be converted biologically or chemically into fuels, chemicals, materials. food and animal feed. - Larger molecules such as oligosaccharides and polysaccharides are not included within the sugar platform. - The traditional processes are based on utilizing sucrose (composed of glucose and fructose) derived from sugar crops (sugar beet or sugar cane) or glucose obtained after hydrolysis of starch (founded in wheat, corn barley, rye, triticale…). - In advanced biorefineries, utilizing lignocellulosic biomass as feedst
Read more

Poliolefinas biobasadas – Polietileno biobasado (bio-PE)

By -
Image
English version Sección: PLÁSTICOS BIOBASADOS Series: Poliolefinas biobasadas. - Polietileno biobasado (bio-PE). Polietileno Biobasado (bio-PE) / Polietileno Verde / Polietileno Renovable - Su contenido de carbono biobasado puede alcanzar el 100% . - Recurso renovable . Se produce a partir de materias primas biomásicas renovables como azúcares o aceites vegetales. - Reduce las emisiones de GEI . Cada tonelada producida captura y secuestra CO 2 de la atmósfera. - 100% drop-in . Químicamente idéntico a su equivalente petroquímico. Tiene las mismas características de procesamiento que el PE de origen fósil, por lo tanto, puede procesarse en los mismos equipos. - No biodegradable . No puede ser compostado o biodegradado. - Termoplástico . Se puede fundir y volver a moldear en la forma deseada. - Se puede reciclar y procesar en nuevos productos de bio-PE utilizando tecnologías convencionales sin requerir inversiones adicionales.
Read more