Sep 12 2007
The technology group The Linde Group today officially started operations at a second hydrogen liquefaction plant and a new air separation plant at the chemical site in Leuna, Germany. The total investment in the expansions at Linde's biggest gas production site in Germany amounts to approximately EUR 60 million.
"With these new facilities we can offer our customers greater supply capacity, a broader product portfolio and even greater product purity. As hydrogen is becoming increasingly used as a fuel for road traffic vehicles, the hydrogen liquefier is a valuable investment in the future," says Dr. Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG.
Cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) has a much higher storage density than gaseous hydrogen, which is why LH2 is more efficient in the fields of transportation and logistics. Germany's only hydrogen liquefier until now is in Ingolstadt, and is also run by Linde. Today's customers for LH2 include the semiconductor industry, which almost entirely uses liquid hydrogen because of its very high purity. Linde aims to satisfy the fuel demand of hydrogen-powered vehicles with sustainable production methods in the near future.
The new liquefier which has the capacity to produce approximately 3,000 litres of LH2 per hour (or approximately 5 tonnes of LH2 per day) is supplied with feed gas via a pipeline from the neighbouring hydrogen production plant. The hydrogen is liquefied at a temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius and is then loaded into LH2 container vehicles at special filling stations for transportation to the customer.
The new air separation plant has a capacity of 33,000 cubic metres of oxygen per hour (or 1,130 tonnes of oxygen per day). Most of the oxygen is fed into the local pipeline network and supplies the on-site refinery. Argon and smaller quantities of other noble gases are also produced.