1909:

Construction of the First Plant for the Production of Pure Hydrogen

From 1905, Carl von Linde, along with Prof. Adolf Frank and Heinrich Caro, concerned himself with the separation of water gas into its component parts, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen and methane. After a long research period, they finally succeeded in producing pure hydrogen. Linde secured the marketing rights to this “Linde-Frank-Caro Process”.

The first plant with an hourly output of 2,000 cubic meters of hydrogen and 700 cubic meters of nitrogen was purchased by BASF, the Badische Anilin- und Sodafabrik, in 1909 for the synthetic production of ammonia. Further plants were built for margarine factories. They used the hydrogen to harden the fat.

Hydrogen plant in Leuna, Germany

Today, Linde designs and constructs complete plants for the production of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and mixtures of these two gases (synthesis gas). Linde is the only company world-wide to manufacture, own and operate hydrogen and synthesis gas plants using its own technology. Thanks to this, experience from the company’s own plant operations flows time and again into the design of new plants.

Hydrogen in large quantities is mostly used in refineries  to transform heavy oil into benzene. In addition, hydrogen and nitrogen are combined to manufacture ammonia, from which, in turn, such products as synthetic fertilizer are produced. Some 60 per cent of the world’s harvest is dependent upon synthetic nitrogen fertilizer.

Hydrogen plant in Voikkaa, Finland