Plant and hydrogen utilization method

Abstract

To provide a new technique for producing hydrogen from organic hydride.SOLUTION: A plant 1 comprises: a modified raw material oil tank 8 for storing a modified raw material oil; an organic hydride tank 16 for storing organic hydride; and a catalytic reforming apparatus 10 in which the modified raw material oil in the modified raw material oil tank 8 and the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank 16 are directly or indirectly supplied to produce a reformed product, a dehydrogenate of the organic hydride, and hydrogen from the modified raw material oil and the organic hydride by a catalytic reaction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a plant and a method for producing hydrogen. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, organic hydrides have been attracting attention as an energy carrier for large-scale transport and storage of hydrogen. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a hydrogen transport and storage system that hydrogenates aromatic compounds to produce organic hydrides, transports the produced organic hydrides to a dehydrogenation reactor, and dehydrogenates the organic hydrides in the dehydrogenation reactor to extract hydrogen. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-269522 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional hydrogen transport and storage systems, a dedicated dehydrogenation reaction device is used to extract hydrogen from organic hydrides, i.e., to produce hydrogen. However, after extensive research, the present inventors have discovered a new technology for producing hydrogen from organic hydrides without using a dedicated dehydrogenation reaction device.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a new technique for producing hydrogen from an organic hydride. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One embodiment of the present invention is a plant comprising a reformer feedstock tank for storing reformer feedstock, an organic hydride tank for storing organic hydride, and a catalytic reforming device to which the reformer feedstock in the reformer feedstock tank and the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank are directly or indirectly supplied, and which generates a reformate, a dehydrogenated product of the organic hydride, and hydrogen from the reformer feedstock and the organic hydride through a catalytic reaction.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a method for producing hydrogen, comprising: directly or indirectly supplying an organic hydride to a catalytic reformer of a reforming feedstock, and producing hydrogen by dehydrogenating the organic hydride through a catalytic reaction in the catalytic reformer.

[0008] Any combination of the above components and any conversion of the expression of the present disclosure between a method, an apparatus, a system, etc. are also valid as aspects of the present disclosure. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, a new technique for producing hydrogen from an organic hydride can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a plant according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a plant according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on preferred embodiments. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are omitted as appropriate. The scale and shape of each part shown in each drawing are set for convenience to facilitate explanation, and are not to be interpreted as being limiting unless otherwise specified. In addition, when terms such as "first" and "second" are used in this specification or claims, these terms do not indicate any order or importance, but are intended to distinguish one configuration from another. In addition, some of the members that are not important in explaining the embodiment in each drawing are omitted.

[0012] The inventors have been exploring ways to use existing facilities instead of dedicated dehydrogenation reactors as a method for producing hydrogen from organic hydrides, and have come up with the idea of ​​using a catalytic reforming unit in an oil refinery. In the oil refining process, a catalytic reforming unit reforms reformed feedstock such as naphtha to produce reformates such as high-octane reformed gasoline.

[0013] More specifically, in the catalytic reformer, a cyclization dehydrogenation reaction of paraffins and a dehydrogenation reaction of naphthenes contained in the reforming feedstock occur. This produces a reformate containing reformed gasoline rich in aromatic compounds such as benzene, toluene, and xylene (so-called BTX), and hydrogen as a by-product. Therefore, by using the catalytic reformer, it is possible to carry out the dehydrogenation treatment of organic hydrides as well as the reforming treatment of the reforming feedstock.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a plant 1 according to an embodiment. The plant 1 of this embodiment is an oil refining plant, and includes a crude oil tank 2, an atmospheric distillation unit 4, a hydrodesulfurization unit 6, a reforming feedstock oil tank 8, a catalytic reforming unit 10, a hydrogen utilization unit 12, and a hydrogen production unit 14. Depending on the scale of the refinery, it is possible to omit some of the equipment and add other equipment. These pieces of equipment included in the plant 1 are well known, and therefore detailed explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

[0015] Crude oil is stored in the crude oil tank 2. The crude oil in the crude oil tank 2 is subjected to processes such as desalting, dehydration, and solid content removal, heated to a predetermined temperature, and supplied to the atmospheric distillation unit 4. The atmospheric distillation unit 4 separates the supplied crude oil into each fraction such as off-gas, LPG, naphtha, kerosene, light oil, and heavy oil. The naphtha fractionated in the atmospheric distillation unit 4 is supplied to the hydrodesulfurization unit 6. The naphtha supplied to the hydrodesulfurization unit 6 is mainly heavy naphtha.

[0016] The hydrodesulfurization unit 6 performs desulfurization treatment on the naphtha. For example, the desulfurization treatment is performed in the presence of hydrogen under conditions of a reaction temperature of 280 to 350° C., a hydrogen partial pressure of 0.5 to 10 MPaG, and a liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of 1.0 to 8.0 h -1 For example, naphtha is brought into contact with a hydrorefining catalyst under reaction conditions of a hydrogen / oil ratio of 10 to 150 NL / L. The desulfurized naphtha is stored in a reforming feedstock tank 8 as a reforming feedstock.

[0017] The reforming feedstock stored in the reforming feedstock tank 8 may contain catalytically cracked gasoline (CCG). Catalytically cracked gasoline includes light catalytically cracked gasoline with a boiling point range of about 30 to 100°C and heavy catalytically cracked gasoline with a boiling point range of about 100 to 200°C. Catalytically cracked gasoline can be produced, for example, by a fluid catalytic cracking unit connected to the atmospheric distillation unit 4 and supplied to the reforming feedstock tank 8. The method for producing catalytically cracked gasoline is not particularly limited, and the catalytic cracking unit, raw materials, operating conditions, etc. can be known. As an example, a method for producing catalytically cracked gasoline by catalytically cracking petroleum fractions from diesel to vacuum diesel, intermediate desulfurized diesel obtained from a heavy oil indirect desulfurization unit, direct desulfurized heavy oil obtained from a heavy oil direct desulfurization unit, atmospheric residual oil, etc., using a catalyst such as amorphous silica alumina or zeolite is exemplified. Note that only catalytically cracked gasoline may be used as the reforming feedstock.

[0018] The reforming feed oil in the reforming feed oil tank 8 is supplied to the catalytic reforming unit 10. In this embodiment, the reforming feed oil is supplied directly to the catalytic reforming unit 10, that is, without passing through other processing equipment. The reforming feed oil may be supplied indirectly to the catalytic reforming unit 10, that is, via other processing equipment. The catalytic reforming unit 10 performs a reforming process on the reforming feed oil to produce reformates, hydrogen, and the like. The catalytic reforming unit 10 has a platinum-alumina catalyst or a bimetallic alumina catalyst in which a second metal such as rhenium, germanium, tin, or iridium is added to platinum. The reaction temperature in the reforming process is preferably 400 to 600°C, and more preferably 450 to 550°C. The LHSV (liquid hourly space velocity) is preferably 0.5 to 5 h -1 , more preferably 1 to 2 hours -1 The reaction pressure is preferably 0.1 to 2 MPa, and more preferably 0.2 to 1.5 MPa. The hydrogen / oil ratio (molar ratio) is preferably 0.5 to 10, and more preferably 1 to 5. There are no particular limitations on the operating conditions of the catalytic reformer 10 and the type of catalyst.

[0019] The reformate produced in the catalytic reforming unit 10 contains aromatic compounds such as BTX. The reformate is used as a high-octane gasoline base material (reformed gasoline) or a chemical raw material (aromatic compounds such as BTX) either as is or after a separation process. Furthermore, a portion of the aromatic compounds can also be used as an organic hydride raw material, which will be described later.

[0020] The hydrogen generated in the catalytic reformer 10 is supplied to the hydrogen utilization unit 12. The hydrogen utilization unit 12 includes a hydrorefining unit, a hydrocracking unit, and the like. The hydrorefining unit includes a unit that removes impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen from the base material used in petroleum products. The base material may be naphtha, kerosene, diesel, and the like separated in the atmospheric distillation unit 4. In other words, the hydrogen utilization unit 12 may also include the hydrodesulfurization unit 6.

[0021] The hydrorefining unit may also include a unit for saturating unnecessary unsaturated hydrocarbons contained in the base petroleum product to stabilize the properties of the base petroleum product, and a unit for hydrogenating compounds other than the base petroleum product. The hydrocracking unit may include a unit for hydrocracking the heavy fraction separated in the atmospheric distillation unit 4 to convert it into light fractions.

[0022] The hydrogen utilization device 12 may be provided outside the plant 1. Furthermore, the hydrogen generated in the catalytic reformer 10 may be used for hydrogen power generation or supplied to a hydrogen station. That is, the hydrogen utilization device 12 may be a hydrogen power generation device, a hydrogen station, or the like. A hydrogen station is a facility that supplies hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles and the like that use hydrogen as fuel. When the hydrogen generated in the catalytic reformer 10 is supplied to a hydrogen station, the hydrogen obtained from the catalytic reformer 10 may be refined according to the required purity of hydrogen.

[0023] In addition, a part of the hydrogen generated in the catalytic reformer 10 can be used in the catalytic reformer 10. The catalytic reforming reaction is a dehydrogenation reaction. Therefore, a lower hydrogen partial pressure is advantageous in terms of the progress of the reaction. However, by supplying hydrogen to the catalytic reformer 10, it is possible to suppress the deposition of coke on the reforming catalyst and suppress the deactivation of the catalyst. In addition, the fractions other than naphtha generated in the atmospheric distillation unit 4 are also appropriately subjected to various refining processes including desulfurization as necessary, and are used as products as they are or as raw materials for other products (including reforming feedstock oil). In addition, as in the case of gasoline production, a product may be produced by mixing a plurality of these fractions (including those that have been subjected to refining processes, etc.) to obtain desired properties.

[0024] The hydrogen utilization device 12 is supplied with hydrogen not only from the catalytic reformer 10 but also from the hydrogen production device 14. The hydrogen production device 14 is supplied with off-gas, LPG, naphtha, etc. as raw materials, and off-gas, etc. as fuel. The hydrogen production device 14 reforms the raw materials into hydrogen and carbon monoxide by a steam reforming reaction. The generated carbon monoxide is converted into carbon dioxide by a shift reaction, and hydrogen is generated in the process. The generated hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen production device 14 to the hydrogen utilization device 12. This makes it possible to make up for the shortage of the hydrogen supply amount when the hydrogen consumption amount in the hydrogen utilization device 12 exceeds the hydrogen supply amount from the catalytic reformer 10. Alternatively, the supply of hydrogen from the catalytic reformer 10 to the hydrogen utilization device 12 can reduce the hydrogen production amount in the hydrogen production device 14.

[0025] The plant 1 of this embodiment also includes an organic hydride tank 16, an O2 stripper 18, and a raw material tank 20.

[0026] The organic hydride tank 16 stores an organic hydride. The organic hydride and its dehydrogenated product used in this embodiment are not particularly limited as long as they are organic compounds that can remove / add hydrogen by reversibly causing a dehydrogenation reaction / hydrogenation reaction, and a wide range of organic compounds such as acetone-isopropanol, benzoquinone-hydroquinone, and aromatic hydrocarbons can be used. Among these, aromatic hydrocarbons are preferred from the viewpoint of transportability during energy transportation.

[0027] The aromatic hydrocarbon compounds as the dehydrogenated products of the organic hydrides are compounds containing at least one aromatic ring, and examples thereof include benzene, alkylbenzene, naphthalene, alkylnaphthalene, anthracene, and diphenylethane.

[0028] Alkylbenzenes include compounds in which 1 to 4 hydrogen atoms in an aromatic ring are substituted with a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Examples of such compounds include toluene, xylene, mesitylene, ethylbenzene, and diethylbenzene. Alkylnaphthalenes include compounds in which 1 to 4 hydrogen atoms in an aromatic ring are substituted with a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Examples of such compounds include methylnaphthalene. The preferred dehydrogenated product is at least one of toluene and benzene.

[0029] Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic aromatic compounds such as pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrazine, quinoline, isoquinoline, N-alkylpyrrole, N-alkylindole, and N-alkyldibenzopyrrole can also be used as the dehydrogenated product. The organic hydride may be used alone or in combination of two or more kinds.

[0030] The organic hydride in the organic hydride tank 16 may contain a large amount of oxygen. In particular, when the organic hydride is supplied to the organic hydride tank 16 from outside the plant 1 by marine transportation or the like, there is a high possibility that a large amount of oxygen is contained. Oxygen can be a catalyst poison for the catalytic reforming catalyst. For this reason, the organic hydride is supplied to the catalytic reformer 10 after oxygen is removed in the O2 stripper 18. The O2 stripper 18 has a known structure. Therefore, in this embodiment, the organic hydride is supplied to the catalytic reformer 10 indirectly, that is, via the O2 stripper 18. Note that, when the oxygen contained in the organic hydride is equal to or less than the allowable amount, the O2 stripper 18 may be omitted. In this case, the organic hydride is supplied directly to the catalytic reformer 10.

[0031] In the plant 1 shown in FIG. 1, a line (transport pipe) for the organic hydride is connected to a line connecting a reforming feedstock tank 8 and a catalytic reformer 10. Therefore, the reforming feedstock and the organic hydride are mixed in the line by a line blending method and supplied to the catalytic reformer 10. For example, when the organic hydride is methylcyclohexane, the reforming feedstock also contains methylcyclohexane, but the proportion of methylcyclohexane in the reactants can be increased by supplying methylcyclohexane from an organic hydride tank 16 to the catalytic reformer 10. The method for mixing the reforming feedstock and the organic hydride is not limited to the line blending method.

[0032] The catalytic reformer 10 produces a reformate and hydrogen from the reforming feedstock oil through a catalytic reaction, and also produces a dehydrogenated product and hydrogen from the organic hydride. The operating conditions of the catalytic reformer 10, including temperature, pressure, LHSV, and the like, are appropriately adjusted according to the composition of the reactants supplied to the catalytic reformer 10 and the type of the target product. The catalytic reformer 10 may also be operated to adjust the reaction temperature by changing the amount of fuel gas supplied according to the amount of organic hydride added from the organic hydride tank 16.

[0033] An organic hydride feedstock is produced by a catalytic reaction in the catalytic reformer 10. At least a portion of the organic hydride feedstock produced in the catalytic reformer 10 is recovered from the catalytic reformer 10 and stored in a feedstock tank 20 for the production of organic hydrides. A portion of the organic hydride feedstock stored in the feedstock tank 20 may be used as a gasoline base stock or a feedstock for chemical products. The organic hydride feedstock to be recovered can be recovered by subjecting the product obtained from the catalytic reformer 10 to known treatments such as distillation separation, extraction separation, membrane separation, and adsorption separation.

[0034] An example of the organic hydride feedstock produced in the catalytic reforming device 10 is a dehydrogenated organic hydride supplied from the organic hydride tank 16. Note that a portion of the dehydrogenated organic hydride supplied from the organic hydride tank 16 is not recovered in the feedstock tank 20, that is, it can be used as a gasoline base material or a feedstock for chemical products without passing through the feedstock tank 20. In addition, the same compound as this dehydrogenated product can also be produced by a catalytic reforming reaction of reforming feedstock. In other words, the organic hydride feedstock can be produced not only by the dehydrogenation reaction of organic hydride but also by the catalytic reforming reaction of reforming feedstock.

[0035] For example, the organic hydride is methylcyclohexane, and the organic hydride feedstock to be recovered is toluene. In this case, in the catalytic reforming device 10, toluene is produced by both the dehydrogenation reaction of the organic hydride (methylcyclohexane) and the catalytic reforming reaction of the reforming feedstock. Therefore, the toluene derived from the organic hydride and the toluene derived from the reforming feedstock are stored in a mixed state in the raw material tank 20.

[0036] The organic hydride raw material may be any compound that becomes an organic hydride by a hydrogenation reaction. Therefore, the organic hydride raw material recovered in the raw material tank 20 is not limited to the dehydrogenated organic hydride (compound A) supplied from the organic hydride tank 16 and the same compound A produced by the catalytic reforming reaction of the reformed feedstock. For example, when a compound B that is different from the dehydrogenated organic hydride (compound A) supplied from the organic hydride tank 16 and becomes an organic hydride by a hydrogenation reaction is produced by the catalytic reforming reaction of the reformed feedstock, the compound B may be recovered in the raw material tank 20 alone or together with the compound A. That is, when methylcyclohexane is supplied as an organic hydride from the organic hydride tank 16, the organic hydride raw material recovered in the raw material tank 20 is not limited to toluene (corresponding to compound A) derived from the organic hydride and the reformed feedstock, but may include benzene, xylene (corresponding to compound B), etc. produced by the catalytic reforming reaction of the reformed feedstock. As described above, the organic hydride feedstock may contain a dehydrogenated organic hydride (compound A) supplied from the organic hydride tank 16 and a compound B different from the same compound (compound A) derived from the reformed feedstock, but it is preferable that the organic hydride feedstock recovered in the feedstock tank 20 is composed of a dehydrogenated organic hydride (compound A) supplied from the organic hydride tank 16 and the same compound (compound A) derived from the reformed feedstock.

[0037] The organic hydride raw material stored in the raw material tank 20 is supplied to the organic hydride production apparatus 22. The organic hydride production apparatus 22 produces an organic hydride from the organic hydride raw material. Preferably, an amount of the organic hydride raw material equivalent to the amount of organic hydride supplied to the catalytic reformer 10 is supplied from the raw material tank 20 to the organic hydride production apparatus 22 and used for producing organic hydride.

[0038] As the organic hydride production apparatus 22, a known apparatus capable of subjecting an organic hydride raw material to hydrogenation treatment can be used. For example, the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be an apparatus that produces hydrogen by water electrolysis or the like and produces an organic hydride by hydrogenation treatment such as chemical hydrogenation. The source of hydrogen used to produce the organic hydride is not particularly limited. For example, hydrogen may be derived from fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal. Alternatively, hydrogen may be by-product hydrogen generated in the steel production process, such as coke production, or by-product hydrogen generated in the caustic soda production process.

[0039] Another example of the organic hydride production apparatus 22 is an electrolytic reduction apparatus that hydrogenates an organic hydride raw material by an electrochemical reduction reaction. The electrolytic reduction apparatus includes an electrolyte membrane, a cathode, and an anode. The electrolyte membrane is disposed between the cathode and the anode, and moves protons from the anode side to the cathode side. The electrolyte membrane is made of, for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane having proton conductivity. The cathode has a cathode catalyst layer. The cathode catalyst layer hydrogenates the organic hydride raw material with protons to generate an organic hydride. The cathode catalyst layer has platinum, ruthenium, or the like as a cathode catalyst. The anode oxidizes water to generate protons. The anode has, for example, a metal such as iridium, ruthenium, or platinum, or an oxide of these metals, as an anode catalyst.

[0040] The reaction that occurs in an electrolytic reduction device when toluene (TL) is used as an example of an organic hydride raw material is as follows. <Electrode reaction at the anode> 3H2O→3 / 2O2+6H + +6e - <Electrode reaction at the cathode> TL+6H + +6e - →MCH

[0041] The electrode reactions at the cathode and the anode proceed in parallel. Protons produced by the electrolysis of water at the anode are supplied to the cathode catalyst layer via the electrolyte membrane. Electrons produced by the electrolysis of water are supplied to the cathode catalyst layer via an external circuit. The protons and electrons supplied to the cathode catalyst layer are used to hydrogenate toluene in the cathode catalyst layer. As a result, methylcyclohexane (MCH) is produced.

[0042] The power source of the organic hydride production apparatus 22 is preferably renewable energy obtained from solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal power, etc. By producing organic hydride with electricity derived from renewable energy, carbon dioxide emissions during the hydrogen production process can be suppressed. In other words, so-called CO2-free hydrogen can be produced. Note that the amount of power generated by renewable energy power generation varies depending on weather conditions, so it may generate more power than the power demand. Therefore, the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be used in an operation form that effectively utilizes surplus power, such as operating only when surplus power is generated from such a power plant. Even if renewable energy is not used, it is expected that the carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by combining carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to capture and store carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production. Therefore, hydrogen produced in combination with CCS or EOR may be used. Enhanced oil recovery is a method of recovering the remaining crude oil from an oil field that has stopped flowing or has an increased water content by injecting carbon dioxide into the field.

[0043] The installation location of the organic hydride production apparatus 22 is not limited. When renewable energy is used, the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be installed near a power plant installed in a place where the generation efficiency of renewable energy is high. When by-product hydrogen is used or CCS and EOR are combined, the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be installed near such facilities. Therefore, the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be installed in a remote location from the plant 1. The organic hydride produced in the organic hydride production apparatus 22 in a remote location may be transported to the plant 1 by marine transportation or the like. In this case, the combination of the plant 1 and the organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be regarded as a hydrogen production system. The power source of the organic hydride production apparatus 22 is not limited to renewable energy. The organic hydride production apparatus 22 may be installed in the plant 1.

[0044] As described above, the plant 1 according to this embodiment includes the reformer feedstock tank 8 for storing reformed feedstock, the organic hydride tank 16 for storing organic hydride, and the catalytic reforming device 10 to which the reformer feedstock in the reformer feedstock tank 8 and the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank 16 are directly or indirectly supplied and which produces a reformate, a dehydrogenated organic hydride, and hydrogen from the reformer feedstock and the organic hydride through a catalytic reaction.

[0045] In this way, a new hydrogen production technology that allows for effective use of existing facilities can be provided by producing hydrogen from organic hydrides using the existing catalytic reformer 10. In addition, since there is no need to install a dedicated dehydrogenation reaction device, it is possible to reduce the hydrogen production costs and production facilities.

[0046] In particular, when a situation occurs in which the operating rate of the catalytic reformer 10 of the refinery falls due to a decline in oil demand, the operating rate of the catalytic reformer 10 can be improved. In other words, the surplus processing capacity of the refinery can be effectively utilized. In addition, since the dehydrogenation reaction of the organic hydride is carried out while the catalytic reforming reaction of the reforming feedstock is carried out to produce gasoline base stocks and chemical raw materials, it is possible to increase hydrogen production without significantly affecting the operation plan of the entire refinery. Furthermore, the increase in the amount of hydrogen produced in the catalytic reformer 10 makes it possible to reduce the scale of the hydrogen production unit 14 or to omit it. As a result, the competitiveness of the refinery can be improved.

[0047] Furthermore, when organic hydrides are produced using electricity derived from renewable energy sources or in combination with CCS or EOR, it is possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with hydrogen production. In addition, when the scale of the hydrogen production unit 14 is reduced or the hydrogen production unit 14 is omitted, the consumption of fuel and raw materials in the hydrogen production unit 14 can be reduced, and further reductions in carbon dioxide emissions can be expected.

[0048] The plant 1 of this embodiment also includes a raw material tank 20 for storing the organic hydride raw material recovered from the catalytic reformer 10 and used for producing an organic hydride. This allows the organic hydride to be repeatedly used as a hydrogen carrier.

[0049] The above describes the embodiments of the present invention in detail. The above-mentioned embodiments merely show specific examples of implementing the present invention. The contents of the embodiments do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and many design changes such as changes, additions, and deletions of components are possible within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. A new embodiment with design changes has the effects of the combined embodiments and modifications. In the above-mentioned embodiments, the contents for which such design changes are possible are emphasized by adding notations such as "in this embodiment" and "in this embodiment", but design changes are permitted even in contents without such notations. Any combination of the above-mentioned components is also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

[0050] (Modification) This modified example has a common configuration with the first embodiment except for the connection mode of the organic hydride tank 16. Hereinafter, the modified example will be described focusing on the configuration different from the first embodiment, and the common configuration will not be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a plant 1 according to the modified example. In the plant 1 according to the modified example, an organic hydride line extending from the organic hydride tank 16 is connected to a crude oil tank 2. Therefore, the organic hydride is mixed with the crude oil in the crude oil tank 2 by a tank blending method.

[0051] When a mixture of crude oil and organic hydride is supplied to the atmospheric distillation unit 4, a mixed fraction of naphtha and organic hydride is obtained by the atmospheric distillation unit 4. This mixed fraction is stored in the reforming feedstock tank 8 and used as the reforming feedstock. Therefore, in this modification, the organic hydride is supplied indirectly to the catalytic reforming unit 10, that is, via the crude oil tank 2, the atmospheric distillation unit 4, the hydrodesulfurization unit 6, and the reforming feedstock tank 8. After the mixed fraction is supplied to the catalytic reforming unit 10, a reformate, a dehydrogenated product of the organic hydride, and hydrogen are produced in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In addition, a part of the product is recovered in the raw material tank 20.

[0052] By supplying the organic hydride to the crude oil tank 2, even if the organic hydride contains a large amount of oxygen, this oxygen can be separated from the organic hydride in the atmospheric distillation unit 4. Therefore, according to this modification, even if the amount of oxygen contained in the organic hydride exceeds the allowable amount, the O2 stripper 18 can be omitted. The organic hydride line may be connected to a line connecting the crude oil tank 2 and the atmospheric distillation unit 4.

[0053] The embodiment may be specified by the items described below. [Item 1] Supplying an organic hydride directly or indirectly to a catalytic reforming unit (10) of the reforming feedstock; A method for producing hydrogen, comprising: producing hydrogen by dehydrogenating an organic hydride through a catalytic reaction in a catalytic reformer (10). [Item 2] 2. The method for producing hydrogen according to claim 1, comprising recovering an organic hydride feedstock from a catalytic reformer (10) for use in the production of an organic hydride. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1. Plant, 8. Reforming feedstock oil tank, 10. Catalytic reforming unit, 16. Organic hydride tank, 20. Feedstock tank, 22. Organic hydride production unit.

Claims

1. a reforming feedstock tank for storing the reforming feedstock; an organic hydride tank for storing an organic hydride; a catalytic reforming device to which the reformate feedstock oil in the reformate feedstock tank and the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank are directly or indirectly supplied, and which generates a reformate, a dehydrogenated product of the organic hydride, and hydrogen from the reformate feedstock oil and the organic hydride through a catalytic reaction; a raw material tank for storing an organic hydride raw material recovered from the catalytic reforming device and used for producing an organic hydride; The plant is provided with:

2. 2. The plant of claim 1, wherein the catalytic reformer comprises a catalyst selected from a platinum-alumina catalyst and a bimetallic alumina catalyst having platinum doped with a second metal.

3. a hydrogen utilization device to which hydrogen generated in the catalytic reformer is supplied; 3. The plant according to claim 1, wherein the hydrogen utilization device includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a hydrorefining device, a hydrocracking device, a hydrogen power generation device, and a hydrogen station.

4. 4. The plant of claim 1, wherein the reformate feedstock comprises at least one of heavy naphtha and catalytic cracking gasoline.

5. 5. The plant according to claim 1, wherein the catalytic reformer is indirectly supplied with the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank.

6. 6. The plant according to claim 5, wherein the organic hydride in said organic hydride tank is supplied to said organic hydride tank from outside the plant.

7. The plant according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising an O2 stripper interposed between the organic hydride tank and the catalytic reformer, which removes oxygen from the organic hydride stored in the organic hydride tank and supplies the oxygen-removed organic hydride to the catalytic reformer.

8. A crude oil tank for storing crude oil; an atmospheric distillation unit that separates at least naphtha from the crude oil supplied from the crude oil tank; a hydrodesulfurization unit that desulfurizes the naphtha supplied from the atmospheric distillation unit and supplies the desulfurized naphtha to the reforming feedstock tank as a reforming feedstock; The plant according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the organic hydride in the organic hydride tank is supplied to the feedstock oil tank and then supplied to the catalytic reforming unit via the crude oil tank, the atmospheric distillation unit, the hydrodesulfurization unit and the reformed feedstock oil tank.

9. Supplying an organic hydride directly or indirectly to a catalytic reforming unit of the reforming feedstock; producing hydrogen by dehydrogenating an organic hydride through a catalytic reaction in the catalytic reformer; A method for producing hydrogen comprising recovering an organic hydride feedstock from said catalytic reformer for use in the production of an organic hydride.

10. The method for producing hydrogen according to claim 9, further comprising removing oxygen from the organic hydride stored in the organic hydride tank by an O2 stripper provided between the organic hydride tank and the catalytic reformer, and supplying the oxygen-removed organic hydride to the catalytic reformer.

11. 11. The method for producing hydrogen according to claim 9, further comprising: supplying the organic hydride raw material recovered from the catalytic reformer to an organic hydride production apparatus; and producing an organic hydride in the organic hydride production apparatus.

12. The method for producing hydrogen according to claim 11, further comprising supplying an organic hydride produced in the organic hydride production unit to the catalytic reformer.

13. 13. The hydrogen production method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the organic hydride production apparatus includes at least one of an apparatus for producing an organic hydride by hydrogenating an organic hydride raw material with hydrogen produced by water electrolysis, and an electrolytic reduction apparatus for hydrogenating the organic hydride raw material by an electrochemical reduction reaction.

14. The method for producing hydrogen according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the organic hydride producing apparatus produces organic hydride using electricity derived from renewable energy.

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