Linyi chemical firm wins Yellow River basin project for hydrogen from waste gas

Shikefeng Chemical Co in Yihe New Area, Linyi, East China's Shandong province, has won a 2026 Yellow River basin collaborative science and technology innovation project for its technology to extract fuel-cell-grade hydrogen from industrial waste gas, the only project approved in the new area.

The company's ammonia synthesis process generates tail gas containing about 50 percent hydrogen, which used to be burned as boiler fuel. The project, "key technology research on producing fuel cell hydrogen from low-grade hydrogen-containing industrial tail gas", works with Sichuan University on adsorption materials and purification, with Shikefeng handling industrial verification and demonstration.

The process refines hydrogen to 99.999 percent purity, meeting fuel cell requirements. A demonstration unit producing 2,000 cubic meters of high-purity hydrogen per hour has been completed.

Over the project period, the technology is expected to produce 15 million cubic meters of high-purity hydrogen, adding 22 million yuan ($3.1 million) in annual revenue, saving 800 tons of standard coal and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2,100 tons a year.

Hydrogen from industrial by-product gas costs 8 to 10 yuan per kilogram, against 15 to 20 yuan for electrolysis powered by wind or solar, making it the most practical near-term source, said Wang Huaili, deputy general manager for technology.

Only three projects citywide were selected, said Wang Yichen, head of the economic development service center of Yihe New Area, adding that the area will provide full-cycle services to help enterprises complete the chain from research to commercialization.

Editor：韩蒙蒙