Danbury industrial gas supplier Praxair Inc. says it is extending its Mississippi River corridor hydrogen pipeline to deliver more hydrogen to a major Gulf Coast refiner who supplies Connecticut with motor fuel.
Praxair says it is expanding its hydrogen capacity in Texas and Louisiana under long-term supply agreements for 270 million standard cubic feet per day (scfd) with Texas refiner Valero Energy Corp.
Valero operates gas stations throughout Connecticut.
Refineries need hydrogen to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels, demand for which has risen sharply along with new state and federal environmental standards.
In Louisiana, Praxair is installing a world-class 135 million scfd hydrogen plant at Valero’s St. Charles refinery. Under a long-term agreement, Valero will consume 120 million scfd of hydrogen and approximately 400,000 pounds per hour of steam at its new 50,000 barrels-per-day hydrocracker. Start-up is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Praxair is extending its Louisiana pipeline by 50 miles, connecting the new hydrogen plant in St. Charles to Praxair’s existing complex in Geismar, La. That pipeline extension is scheduled to be in operation by the second quarter of 2012.
The new facilities will allow Praxair to supply other customers in Louisiana, providing a hydrogen supply alternative to refineries and chemical plants located in the lower Mississippi River corridor.
Additionally, Praxair is installing a new 135 million scfd hydrogen plant at Valero’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. Plant start-up is scheduled for the first quarter of 2013.
