An industrial gas company that produces atmospheric, process and specialty gases for a wide range of industries with heat treat capabilities recently announced it has received authorization to begin construction on a world-scale hydrogen plant in Louisiana that will be the one of the largest in the U.S.
Praxair Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Linde plc, secured the plan under a long-term contract with a major refinery in the area, integrating the new plant with the company’s already extensive Louisiana production network via its Mississippi River Corridor hydrogen pipeline system. Praxair will build, own and operate the steam methane reformer (SMR), which will have a capacity in excess of 170 million standard cubic feet per day of high-purity hydrogen. The new plant, which is planned to start up in 2021, will be one of the largest hydrogen production units in the U.S., along with the SMR recently announced by Praxair in Texas.
Linde Engineering has been selected to provide a state-of-the-art process design and to fabricate the core components and modules of the plant. Once complete, this project will increase Praxair’s U.S. Gulf Coast hydrogen capacity to more than 1.7 billion standard cubic feet per day.
“Praxair is committed to be the preferred hydrogen supplier in the U.S. Gulf Coast and this investment further reinforces our strategy to support industrial growth in this vibrant region,” said Dan Yankowski, president, Global Hydrogen. “We understand that hydrogen is a critical requirement for our customers and are committed to providing long-term reliability.”
Photo Credit: The Advocate, Baton Rouge
