Uhde India and Praxair India Begin Construction of Hydrogen Plant in Orissa

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Uhde India Limited (Mumbai) and Praxair India Private Limited (Bangalore, Karnataka) have begun construction on a hydrogen plant at Paradip in Orissa. Praxair India will operate the facility once it is commissioned. Uhde India and Praxair India are the Indian subsidiaries of engineering company Uhde GmbH (Dortmund, Germany) and industrial gas supplier Praxair Incorporated (NYSE:PX) (Danbury, Connecticut), respectively.

The plant will use Uhde's steam-reformer technology and has been designed to generate about 100,000 normal cubic meters per hour of hydrogen. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and naphtha will serve as feedstock for the plant. Uhde India will supply the project with hydrogen on a turnkey basis. Uhde GmbH will provide the technology, monitoring services, fundamental supplies, and necessary licenses to the project. The plant is scheduled to begin operations by the first quarter of 2012.

The hydrogen produced will be supplied to India's national oil company, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (BSE:530965) (IOC) (Mumbai). IOC, India's largest petroleum company, is constructing a 300,000-barrel-per-day greenfield refinery in Paradip. Phase I of the refinery is likely to be commissioned in November 2012. In November 2009, Praxair India won the contract to supply nitrogen and hydrogen gases to IOC's upcoming refinery.

The new hydrogen facility is part of a global hydrogen cooperation agreement signed in December 2009 by Praxair with Uhde and its subsidiary, Uhde Corporation of America (Bridgeville, Pennsylvania). The deal covers hydrogen production that uses the steam-reforming process and over-the-fence hydrogen supply. The main objective of constructing these new plants is to supply hydrogen to nearby refineries that produce low-sulfur fuels. The worldwide crude oil refining industry is fuelling hydrogen production because of a steady rise in demand for hydrogen. Using hydrogen in the cracking process of refineries helps in the production of clean fuels.

Uhde is known for technological capabilities in the critical and energy-intensive steam-reforming process. Steam reforming is widely used for the generation of gases, such as hydrogen and synthesis gases from hydrocarbons. The engineering and construction giant has plant locations worldwide and is capable of successfully executing world-scale projects.

Praxair's expertise lies in supplying atmospheric gases like oxygen and nitrogen, and specialty gases such as hydrogen, helium and carbon dioxide. With a presence in more than 30 countries, the company has strong operations and construction capabilities. The symbiotic relationship between Praxair and Uhde will benefit customers in getting safe, reliable, low-cost and energy-efficient supplies of hydrogen.

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