Hydrogen Consumption in Oil Refineries

Refineries cannot produce transportation fuels without hydrogen. It is consumed in hydrotreating, hydrocracking, isomerization, and other processes throughout the plant.

Hydrogen Consumption by Process

The table below summarizes rough hydrogen consumption in standard cubic feet per barrel of feed for common refinery operations. As a practical example, a 50,000 barrel-per-day gas oil hydrotreater would be expected to consume roughly 50 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen. [1]

Why Consumption Has Increased

Hydrogen consumption at refineries has grown since the 1990s, driven by increasingly strict transportation fuel standards. Lower sulfur limits in particular require deeper hydrotreating, which uses more hydrogen per barrel of feed. As fuel specs tighten further, hydrogen demand at refineries is unlikely to decrease.

References

[1] Handbook of Petroleum Refining Processes, 4th Ed., Meyers, Chapter 5.2