Germany – Linde Engineering has opened the world’s first full-scale pilot plant in Dormagen to demonstrate how Linde’s HISELECT powered by Evonik membrane technology can separate hydrogen from natural gas streams.
The process is critical in scenarios where hydrogen is blended with natural gas and transported through natural gas pipelines. The hydrogen content of the blended gas could range from 5 to 60%. At the point of consumption, membranes are used to extract hydrogen from these natural gas streams. The hydrogen that results has a concentration of up to 90%. Purity levels of up to 99.9999 percent can be achieved using Linde Engineering’s pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology.
Functional hydrogen network in Europe
Membrane technologies are critical to efforts to build hydrogen infrastructure around the world. The European Hydrogen Backbone is being built by 11 transmission system operators across Europe. Their goal is to create and expand a functional hydrogen network that is largely made up of repurposed natural gas infrastructure. Membrane technology like HISELECT could be critical for transporting hydrogen to end users for use as an industrial feedstock, a source of heat and power, or a transportation fuel.
