New Hydrogen Plant Commissioned in Los Angeles, California, Basin

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc., has commissioned a new hydrogen plant adjacent to Ultramar, Inc.’s refinery in Wilmington, California, U.S.A., to supply both the refiner and other Los Angeles Basin customers with high-purity hydrogen. Air Products owns and operates the facility and supplies Ultramar under a long-term agreement.

Air Products also will provide hydrogen from the plant to other area refineries via a pipeline system. The plant represents a capital investment by Air Products in excess of US$80 million.

When Ultramar’s Clean Fuels Project is brought onstream, Air Products will provide up to 50 million SCFD of hydrogen and 100,000 pounds/hour of steam. The project, spurred by the 1996 California Air Resource Board’s requirements to produce cleaner burning fuel, is aimed at significantly reducing the sulfur, olefins, and aromatics content in the transportation fuels the refinery produces, which can be accomplished most effectively through the use of hydrogen processing.

Engineering, procurement, and construction of the steam reforming hydrogen plant was provided by Kinetics Technology International Corporation. A subsidiary of Mannesmann Demag (a German industrial corporation), KTI is the leading supplier of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and syngas production facilities to the refining and chemical industries.

For further information, contact Arthur George at Air Products & Chemicals, 7201 Hamilton Boulevard, Allentown, PA 18195-1501, U.S.A. Phone: +1-610-481-1340. Email: georgeaf@apci.com

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