Tranter Provides Heat Exchangers for Carbon-Capture at Blue Hydrogen Plant

Tranter has received a contract for a large order of post-combustion carbon-capture equipment for a blue hydrogen plant to be built in Texas. The order specifies the delivery of six large plate and frame heat exchangers in stainless steel and 254 SMO with EPDM gaskets. These heat exchangers will be used for heat recovery and vent condensers in the CO₂ removal process from a gas stream, which will be carried out by an absorption process with regenerable solvents.

"Tranter was an early runner with plate and frame heat exchangers in post-combustion carbon-capture pilot plants back in 2010-2011, where we gained in-depth knowledge of the application, process, design, and operation of carbon-capture plants,” said Thomas Cassirer, Director EPC & Global Energy. “As carbon-capture plants now are commercializing to meet the global net zero goals, Tranter is a trusted advisor for the engineering companies during their engineering and design, and to the end user during operation of the plant with our service presence in Houston, United States."

Large plate/frame heat exchanger; Image Credits: Tranter

The heat exchangers were ordered by an EPC contractor specializing in gas processing, separation, and liquefaction technologies. Engineering and procurement activities were conducted by an entity in India, while the decision making and purchase order was managed at the company’s headquarters in Germany. The blue hydrogen plant will be constructed in Texas and will supply both hydrogen and nitrogen for the production of blue ammonia in the region. Clean hydrogen will also be provided to companies on the U.S. Gulf Coast for the decarbonization of their operations.

"Knowing the process design for plate heat exchangers in the post-combustion carbon-capture application was a key success factor to gain the customer's trust and confidence for this project,” said Drazen Dragicevic, Area Sales Manager EPC.“We had several discussions with their engineers regarding design margins, shear stress, port size and velocities to ensure safe and trouble-free operation of the heat exchangers in their process. Further, our ability to work globally and address all stakeholders' concerns in India, Germany and the United States, made it clear that Tranter was a first-choice provider of plate and frame heat exchangers to this project."

Heat exchangers will be used as vent condensers and for heat recovery between lean and rich solvent. The rich solvent will absorb the CO₂ from a gas stream and be heated prior to entering the desorption column, where the CO₂ is then separated to form lean solvent. The lean solvent then needs to be cooled down before being reintroduced to the absorber. Tranter’s heat exchangers will condense any evaporated solvent in desorption back into the column.

Tranter’s GT-series ThermoFit plates with the Omniflex plate pattern are exclusively designed for heat recovery duties capable of high NTUs. The design handles high NTUs without excessive pressure drop, making it an ideal component for post-combustion carbon-capture applications using regenerable solvents.