Erratic combustion, variable feedstocks, and inadequate instrumentation can result in SMR instability, leading to higher costs and emissions.
Facilities needing a continuous supply of hydrogen often use steam methane reforming to produce it. For these units, energy consumption and temperature variability affect costs, output quality, and safety. This variability stems from combustion inefficiency, process variability, and equipment degradation. Emerson’s SMR solution enables operators to respond to changing conditions and optimize performance.
Natural gas reforming uses an advanced and mature process that builds upon the existing natural gas availability and infrastructure. In the United States, 95% of the hydrogen produced utilizes natural gas reforming to enable and meet the demand for hydrogen production. Emerson supports operators through advanced technologies in steam methane reformer, amine treatment and vacuum swing adsorption.
Optimizing Steam to Carbon Ratio in the SMR for Blue Hydrogen
Measurement instrumentation designed to deliver accurate, repeatable flow measurement for even the most challenging environments and applications.
Fisher Control Valves
Fisher control valves manipulate a flowing fluid (such as gas, steam, water), or chemical compounds to compensate for the load disturbance, and keep the regulated process variable as close as possible to the desired set point.
Equipment Performance Monitoring Service
Get easy and cost-effective access to your equipment performance data through our Performance and Condition Monitoring Service.
Anderson Greenwood Type 400 and 800 Safety Valves
Premium performance and advanced technology for overpressure protection.
Rosemount Chromatograph and X-Stream Process Gas Analyzer
Precision analysis of multi-components in process applications down to ultra low ppm.
Variable Frequency Drives (VFD)
Emerson's family of rugged VFDs optimizes motor speeds to match power demand and minimize energy costs.
RX3i PLC (additional integration to DeltaV via MTP)
Emerson-supported MTP integration enables more modular manufacturing, reduces capital and operating costs, and accelerates digital transformation deployment.
Mimic Simulation Software
Mimic™ Simulation Software provides accurate and real-time simulation of plant behaviors.
Operators using amine treatment to capture carbon face a trade-off between capture efficiency and energy cost to regenerate solvent. Emerson supports operators through advanced technologies to reach peak efficiency.
DeltaV PK Controller with DeltaV PredictPro and Advanced Process Control
The most powerful and versatile DeltaV™ controller ever developed.
ASCO 327 3/2-Way Solenoid Valve
The 327 Series 3/2-way direct-acting solenoid valves permit high flows at minimum power levels, making it ideal for chemical processing facilities.
Micro Motion Compact Density Meter
The CDM provides precision density and temperature for custody transfer and concentration measurement.
Rosemount Permasense Ultrasonic Sensors for Corrosion / Erosion
Permasense non-intrusive systems use sensor technology and wireless data delivery to continuously monitor for metal loss.
Anderson Greenwood Type 400 and 800 Safety Valves
Premium performance and advanced technology for overpressure protection.
Valve Fugitive Emissions
The valves in your plant are a leading source of fugitive emissions. Every valve upgrade you make moves you closer to achieving current and future fugitive emission compliance.
Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) cyclical process requires high levels of hydrogen purity to remove carbon dioxide from continuous gas streams. Using control and rotary valves along with gas analyzers, Emerson technologies ensure units operate reliably in critical high cycle operations.
Fisher High Performance Butterfly Valve. Control Valve and Actuator System
Keep pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units operating reliably without unplanned interruptions.
Rosemount™ CT5800 Continuous Gas Analyzer
The Rosemount CT5800 Continuous Gas Analyzer is the first hybrid, lased-based analyzer designed for industrial process applications requiring Class I, Division 2 hazardous area certification.
Valve Fugitive Emissions
The valves in your plant are a leading source of fugitive emissions. Every valve upgrade you make moves you closer to achieving current and future fugitive emission compliance.
KTM Metal Seated Valves
The world’s first supplier of full-bore, split-body ball valves and pioneered soft- and metal-seated valves.
Fisher FIELDVUE DVC6200 SIS Digital Valve Controller
Minimize risk for your plant and personnel by controlling valve safety shutdown and using partial stroke testing, while concurrently monitoring the health of the entire valve assembly.
Vacuum swing adsorption (VSA), an adsorption technique for post-combustion CO2 capture at atmospheric pressure, can achieve sequestration rates above 90%. High stroking frequency and stringent leak requirements make valve selection critical to minimize safety risks and avoid loss of containment.
Fisher High-Cycling Control Valves
Keep pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units operating reliably without unplanned interruptions.
PACSystems
Drive smarter business outcomes with advanced automation and control.
Monitoring Solutions for Vacuum Swing Adsorption
Instantly detect and analyse gas molecules in the near and mid-infrared range with pin-point accuracy and repeatability.
KTM Metal Seated Valves
The world’s first supplier of full-bore, split-body ball valves and pioneered soft- and metal-seated valves.
Frequently-Asked Questions about Steam Methane Reforming
The bulk of hydrogen produced today is “gray” hydrogen, produced by SMR with CO2 released to atmosphere. Since this has obvious greenhouse gas emissions, some facilities are adding carbon capture as a separate stage that reclassifies the hydrogen as “blue,” which is higher on the sustainability scale.
SMR has been in use long enough to make it a mature process with extensive natural gas feedstock availability and infrastructure. Emerson supports operators through advanced technologies for the SMR, plus multiple technology choices for carbon capture.
These techniques are both used for carbon capture, and capable of sequestration rates above 90%. The challenges involving PSA and VSA are similar – ensuring safety, purity and reliability despite very high cycle rates, while preventing leaks that cause lower capture efficiency. The choice of which technology to use is another discussion, but Emerson’s advanced control technologies can maintain efficient operation, tied to the production rate of the associated SMR unit.
