Chinese state-owned oil and gas firm Sinopec has completed a seawater hydrogen production research project at its Qingdao Refinery.
Said to be the first project of its kind in China, the project directly electrolysed seawater to produce green hydrogen, claiming to achieve an output of 20m3 per hour.
Adopting a “factory-based” operation model, the electrolyser was powered by part of the renewable energy from the refinery’s floating solar PV power station.
Hydrogen produced by the project was fed into the refinery’s pipeline network for use in refining processes and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Being able to reduce dependency on freshwater resources and eliminating the need for desalination processes, producing green hydrogen directly from seawater has been on the minds of many researchers.
However, due to its salt content and other impurities, seawater can cause a wide range of damage and degradation to traditional electrolyser systems.
Sinopec says it overcame such challenges through a collaboration with the Dalian Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals with “specialised equipment innovations and unique process designs.”
These included chlorine-resistant electrode technology, high-performance electrode plate design and a seawater circulation system.
Although there have been several seawater-to-green hydrogen trials carried out globally, including a floating offshore platform in China’s Fuijan Province in 2023, this is the first known trial in an industrial setting.
Read more: Hydrogen produced from seawater at Chinese offshore project
Sinopec now looks set to take the process further. In a statement, the company said, “Seawater hydrogen production is expected to achieve large-scale industrial applications in the future.”
It could prove particularly significant for China, which has been facing increasing challenges with its freshwater resources.
Due to overexploitation for domestic, agricultural and industrial use, China’s groundwater resources have been declining rapidly, which has dried up rivers and wetlands and even seen cities subside.
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