State-of-the-art review of targeting and design methodologies for hydrogen network synthesis

The synthesis of hydrogen distribution networks has been an active area of research over the last two decades. The concept of hydrogen management based on an economic cost-driven analysis appeared late in the 1990s and was followed up by numerous insight-based and mathematical optimisation approaches in the 2000s. More recently, several superstructure-based optimisation methods have been proposed to accommodate pressure restrictions, additional equipment and other practical constraints when finding the optimal flowsheet configuration. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review of different process integration technologies adopted for the assessment of hydrogen resources in refineries and petrochemical plants, published from late in the 1990s to the present time. Both targeting and design methods are reviewed. An effective hydrogen management strategy can only be achieved by combining different insight-based approaches with detailed mathematical programming.