The Advanced Hydrogen Energy Chain Association for Technology Development (AHEAD), which is joined by member companies of Chiyoda, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Nippon Yusen Kaisha, constructed a dehydrogenation plant in Toa Oil Keihin Refinery located along the Kawasaki Seafront Area was put in regular operation on April 24 using the subsidy of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

It was followed on May 26 by the start to supply hydrogen to the gas turbine (about 80MW) for neighboring Toa Oil Mizue ThermalPower Plant. On June 25, they held a plant tour for media people to show the dehydrogenation facilities of which fuel is the by-product gas and residual oil from the oil refinery process. Hydrogen is used as an auxiliary mixture fuel at the rate of 2 to 3%.

Methylcyclohexan (MCH) is produced by the reaction with toluene of the hydrogen which is obtained through the steam reforming from the process gas of LNG plant in Brunei Darussalam. Hydrogen is separated for use from the MCH transported in ISO tank containers each storing MCH of approx. 20㎘equivalent to 16 tons separated in a dehydrogenating plant in Japan. It is the world-first case to supply and use hydrogen imported from abroad.

In the press interview before the start of plant tour, Takakazu Morimoto president of AHEAD spoke, “There was some delay from the beginning due to the influence of the new coronavirus, but we now have a plant tour meeting at the commemorative timing of the actual docking of supply chain between Brunei Darussalam and Japan on the occasion of the second dehydrogenation of toluene on 21st of this month.”

After explaining the advantage of the Organic Chemical Hydride Method, he said, “With the verification of this international supply chain, we are going to prove that the technology can be put into practical applications immediately. Furthermore, we plan to obtain and analyze various data continuously so that improvements and upgrading may be realized for commercialization.”

Out of the imported 16 tons of MCH per ISO tank container, hydrogen accounts for 0.9 ton. Hydrogen we get from the dehydrogenation plant amounts to 210 tons per annum on basis of full operation which corresponds to filling of 40,000 FCVs. The verification is scheduled to continue until November of this year.