HiiROC’s Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE) technology, a new proprietary process for affordable low emission hydrogen, has completed a proof of concept study that produced hydrogen and carbon black from flare gas compositions in partnership with Capricorn Energy and its joint venture partner, Cheiron Energy. HiiROC’s unit tested a range of gas compositions, with promising results. In conjunction with this study, all parties completed a commercial screening study to identify favourable plant schemes and potential value chain off-takers within the Egyptian market.
The flare mitigation schemes under consideration include power generation from produced hydrogen and the development of a hydrogen hub. If rolled out, these pathways could lead the way to scaling the use of this new technology across multiple flare sites eliminating CO₂ emissions whilst producing hydrogen and carbon black. HiiROC’s proprietary technology has demonstrated a clear route to mitigating flare gas to produce affordable hydrogen and a universal commercial product in carbon black and we are excited to work with Cheiron and Capricorn to further develop this opportunity.
TPE holds the potential to offer a promising route to decarbonise oil and gas operations by splitting methane (a potent greenhouse gas) into hydrogen and inert carbon black. These processes are typically low emission, producing low-carbon hydrogen and carbon black. The carbon black has many existing industrial applications such as concrete, soil enhancement and water purification. Deployment of these processes could reduce flare gas emissions and in addition reduce consumption of sales gas through the utilisation of hydrogen for power generation, providing significant opportunities to reduce operational emissions. HiiROC is deploying its hydrogen technology across multiple sectors ranging from energy generation to industrial decarbonisation to transportation; flare gas emission mitigation represents one key application.