据世界能源网8月27日消息称，世界最大的工业气体生产商负责人表示，随着该地区的炼油厂使用天然气生产低硫燃料以满足新的环境法规，亚洲的氢气需求将会增加。

林德公司首席执行官Steve Angel在新加坡裕廊岛举行的林德14亿美元天然气项目的奠基仪式之前告诉路透社：“多年来，氢气需求稳步增长，增速远快于GDP增速。"

“氢的两个驱动因素是(炼油厂的)含硫原油原料加工和环境法规。”

该项目是林德在全球范围内最大的投资项目，其新加坡的天然气产能将翻两番。该工厂将于2023年投产，届时将把埃克森美孚的重残渣燃料转化为氢气和其他气体。埃克森美孚随后将利用氢气降低炼油厂生产的燃料的硫含量。

Angel表示，林德与埃克森公司签订了长期合同，确保了该项目的商业可行性。

过去几年，亚洲国家通过减少允许的硫含量来加强燃料标准，促使炼油厂升级设施以生产合规的柴油和汽油供应。

最新的变化是根据国际海事组织的授权做出的。从2020年起，船舶要么安装污染消除装置，要么使用含硫量从目前的3.5%降至0.5%的船用燃料。

因此，低硫燃料油或船用汽油需求预计将大幅上升，并已促使埃克森美孚等新加坡炼油商投资数十亿美元建设新设备，使它们能够灵活处理价格较低的重质含硫原油。

Angel表示：“将会有一些项目，其中很多在东南亚，炼油商将把桶底的渣油，通过气化过程生产氢气，然后用氢气脱硫并使硫颗粒。这就是他们将如何应对2020年国际海事组织。”

他补充称，这还允许炼油商根据原材料价格，在加工低硫原油和高硫原油之间做出选择。

Angel表示：“他们(炼油商)希望根据原料选择的成本差异，灵活使用他们想使用的任何原料。如果你要使用含硫原油原料，你就需要氢。”

曹海斌 摘译自 世界能源网

原文如下：

Asia's demand for low-sulfur fuel drives hydrogen gas consumption

Asia's hydrogen gas demand will rise as the region's oil refineries use the gas to produce low-sulfur fuel to meet new environmental regulations, the head of the world's largest industrial gas producer said.

"The demand for hydrogen has grown steadily over the years at a much faster rate than GDP growth," Linde Plc's Chief Executive Officer Steve Angel told Reuters ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony for Linde's $1.4-billion gas project on Singapore's Jurong Island.

"The twin drivers of hydrogen have been sour crude feedstock processing (at refineries) and environmental regulations."

The project is Linde's biggest investment globally and will quadruple its gas capacity in Singapore. The facility will turn Exxon Mobil Corp's heavy residue fuel into hydrogen and other gases when it starts operations in 2023. Exxon will then use the hydrogen to reduce the sulfur content of fuel produced at its refinery.

Linde has a long-term contract with Exxon that ensures the commercial viability of this project, Angel said.

Asian countries have tightened their fuel standards in the past few years by reducing the amount of sulfur allowed, pushing refiners to upgrade facilities to produce compliant diesel and gasoline supplies.

The latest change follows a mandate from the International Maritime Organization. Ships will have to either install pollution-removing devices or burn marine fuel with 0.5% sulfur, down from 3.5% currently, from 2020.

As a result, low-sulfur fuel oil or marine gasoil demand is expected to surge and has prompted refiners such as Exxon in Singapore to invest billions of dollars in new units that will give them the flexibility to process cheaper heavy sour crude.

"There are going to be some projects, many of which in southeast Asia, whereby refiners will be looking to take bottom of the barrel, residue products, and put them through a gasification process to produce hydrogen which can then be used to desulphurize the sulfur particulates. That's how they are going to address IMO 2020," Angel said.

This also allows refiners to choose between processing low- or high-sulfur crude, depending on prices of the raw materials, he added.

"They (refiners) want to have the flexibility to use whatever feedstock they want to use based on the cost differential of their feedstock choices. If you're going to use sour crude feedstocks you need hydrogen," Angel said.