Sulphur recovery units in petroleum refineries and natural gas processing plants utilise incineration as a final treatment step for tail gas, ensuring that residual sulphur compounds are converted to less harmful emissions. Elmo Nasato of Nasato Consulting Ltd compares the two sulphur plant incinerator options – thermal incineration and catalytic incineration – including key considerations for policymakers, businesses, and environmental advocates.
NX eBlue™ is a next-generation hydrogen production technology, ready for industrial deployment, that integrates electrification with renewable energy to deliver a low-carbon, high-efficiency alternative to traditional steam methane reforming. M. Antonelli, M. Mennella, and Dr. S. Romagnuolo of KT Tech S.p.A. describe NEXTCHEM’s proposal for the electrification of steam methane reforming.
Johnson Matthey (JM) has officially opened its first hydrogen internal combustion engine facility, where emission control systems will be tested. Hydrogen internal combustion engines use zero carbon hydrogen fuel in tried-and-tested engine technology, presenting a viable path for decarbonising medium and heavy-duty transport, such as trucks and buses.
Air Water Gas Solutions, a subsidiary of Air Water America, will build an air separation unit to support the production of 1.1 million t/a of blue methanol at Sandpiper Chemicals’ blue methanol facility in the US. The low carbon methanol producer has contracted Air Water to design, build, and operate the ASU to provide oxygen, nitrogen, and instrument air for blue methanol production. The project is still at the pre-final investment decision (FID) stage, with production targeted for 2030.
CIMC Enric Holdings Ltd says that it has commissioned China’s first large-scale biomethanol facility in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, marking a major step forward in the decarbonisation of global shipping and clean fuel supply chains. The project, developed by CIMC Enric and its subsidiaries, is designed as a fully integrated closed-loop system converting forestry residues into green methanol for use as marine fuel. With an initial annual capacity of 50,000 t/a, it is the country’s first commercial scale green methanol plant, and is backed by the port of Zhanjiang and abundant local forestry wastes.
The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is maturing rapidly, and a succession of governance, standards and policy initiatives has been launched since 2020 to tackle weaknesses in integrity and scalability which have constrained uptake and undermined confidence.
KPI evaluates deep decarbonisation pathways for a new build ammonia plant of 3,500 t/d on the US Gulf Coast. Eight technology configurations are compared with results providing a framework for technology selection, balancing emissions reduction, process integration, and indicative economics.
Global demand for methanol is set to increase fivefold by 2050, driven by decarbonisation in shipping and other hard-to-abate sectors. Air Products Membrane Solutions discusses how membrane technology offers a proven, scalable solution to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and enable compliance across both traditional and low-carbon methanol pathways.
Blue ammonia – ammonia produced from fossil hydrogen with carbon capture and storage (CCS) – offers a cheaper alternative than green ammonia for low carbon supply in the short term, and is more suited to retrofits.
ClassNK has added Japan's first hydrogen-fuelled tug Ten-Oh to its register, built by Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. This vessel was developed and built under the 'Nippon Foundation Zero Emission Ships Project', a grant program by The Nippon Foundation aimed at developing ships with zero CO2 emissions. Based on discussions among the parties involved during the planning stage of the vessel, ClassNK reviewed the safety requirements and countermeasures for hydrogen-fuelled ships by applying Part GF of its 'Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships' etc. These reviews focused on issues such as preventing explosions caused by the high ignitability of hydrogen and mitigating the potential impacts of hydrogen fuel leakage on crew members and the environment.