Yajnavalkya Nookala (M.Tech, Dept. of Energy Sc & Engg., IIT Bombay;B.Engg., Chemical Engineering, University of Mumbai) is currently working as a Process Engineer with TATA Consulting Engineers Ltd.,a leading engineering consultancy in India.Process Engineering, Heat Exchanger Design and HAZOP are other areas that interest the author

Many refineries around the world today are experiencing tight Hydrogen balances. This is primarily due to new and stricter environmental legislations, and in particular, the reduction of sulphur in fuels (gasoline, diesel etc.). Moreover, market trends around the world are also placing pressure on the refining industry to change. Consequentially oil refiners are pushed to increase hydroracking and hydro treating capacity, and as a direct result, more hydrogen is needed within a refinery. In addition, low aromatics gasoline reduces the scope for hydrogen production as by-product of catalytic reforming. This is an effort to address the problem of hydrogen management in oil refineries. In order for refineries to cope with the resulting increase in hydrogen consumption and limited or even decreased generation, an immediately appealing approach would be either to invest in new processing capacity or start importing more expensive crude oils. However, by better hydrogen management within a refinery, expensive capital expenditures can be avoided.