About Element Fuels
Previously Jupiter, Centurion, and ARX
Who or what is Element Fuels and what do they plan on doing?
According to their website, they are planning a hydrogen powered fossil fuel refinery. They call their fossil fuels clean because of their hydrogen power used for production, despite the pollution that results from the use of fossil fuels they produce.
As of June 2024, Save RGV has not found major changes to infrastructure and operations indicated in official regulatory filings from their initial proposal in 2015 (including the changes to use hydrogen power). However, in recent press release such as Reuters, Element plans to build an on-site power plant, with 165 megawatt capacity, powered by hydrogen produced by the refinery, in a later phase in operations. An air permit has not been filed with TCEQ for the power plant. More details about Element can be found in these article from the Rio Grande Guardian and the Houston Business Journal
Proposal under previous filings:
In 2017, air permit applications with TCEQ were for approval of a heavy condensate upgrader facility that included a condensate tower, a gas plant with debutanizer and depropanizer, a naphtha hydrotreater, an isomerization unit, a continuous catalytic reformer, and a diesel hydrotreater. The Facility would include storage tanks, marine loading operations, marine vapor combustion units, truck loading operations, pressurized truck loading and unloading operations, emergency engines, process flares, heaters and boilers, process vents, a cooling tower, and wastewater collection and treatment facilities.
Brief History
In short, the project has undergone different names under the same CEO. In 2015, Centurion Midstream Group leased 55 acres at the Port of Brownsville for a processing and storage facility named Jupiter MLP. Nothing happened until March of 2017 when Centurion leased an additional 185 acres. In July, 2017, Jupiter bought all of Centurion’s Port of Brownsville assets. Centurion and Jupiter shared executives. After legal troubles and bankruptcy, a new company name emerged (same CEO), ARX Energy. More financial troubles followed, and thus giving birth to the new name/company Element Energy.
Infrastructure and Operations
Disclaimer: The following information is from initial Jupiter MLP filings in 2017, from company websites, or company press releases. As of Element Fuel media announcements in June, 2024 to construct a hydrogen powered refinery, no updates and changes to infrastructure and operations (e.g. hydrogen power) have not been flied with TCEQ or been made public to the knowledge of Save RGV.
Off Shore Loading Dock
The very large crude carrier (VLCC) offshore facility is planned to be built 6 miles offshore. VLCC tankers can move more than 2 million barrels of crude oil per load. VLCC tankers ships require 82 feet of draft. As a result, they must be transloaded by smaller tankers in deeper water or serviced via pipelines at offshore terminals. The offshore VLCC project will require permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Three new marine loading berths for marine loading of ships, 65,000dwt Panamax sized at 30,000 barrels per hour and barges. Panamax sized ships are the largest classification of ships allowed through the Panama Canal.
Refinery and 2 Flare Stacks
A 170,000 barrels per day (b/d) processing facility designed to process light US shale crude into on-spec US gasoline and ultralow sulfur/ diesel. Jupiter MLP anticipates having the capacity to load/unload up to one million barrels of crude/products per day. The proposed condensate upgrader refinery facility will produce approximately 85,200 bpd of ultra-low sulfur gasoline (ULSG) and 61,320 bpd of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), an additional bottoms product of approximately 12,840 will also be produced. Other petroleum gasses such as propane may also be produced. The refinery will consist of two flares. 5% of the fuel gas generated will be combusted in the large flare at the east end of the facility.
Pipeline
Originating in the Permian Basin near Crane and Gardendale/Three Rivers and ending in Brownsville, TX, the Jupiter Pipeline is a 650 mile, 36-in diameter, 500,000 barrels per day, crude oil pipeline.
Tanks (27 total)
- 48 feet high and up to 224 feet wide.
- six 250,000 barrel Internal Floating Roof (IFR) storage tanks.
- twelve 150,000 barrel IFR storage tanks.
- nine 100,000 barrel IFR storage tanks.
- Jupiter has received approval for a total storage of 2.5 million barrels of hydrocarbons.
- additional permits on file could increase total storage to 10 million barrels of storage capacity.
Trains
Juptier anticipates shipping 400,000 barrels per month from Pecos to St. James, Louisiana. The amount shipped could increase, depending on the number of train slots available each month.
Early numbers indicated 240 train cars ( 2 trains with 120 cars) per day going through communities. These will likely be DOT 11 tank cars, non-affectionally known as “bomb cars” for their tendency to ignite and explode during rail accidents.
Hydrogen Power
Hydrogen is an element. However, it is only found in compound forms such as water (H2O, 2 hydrogen atoms with 1 oxygen) and methane (CH4, 1 carbon atom and 4 hydrogen atoms). To use hydrogen for power, it must be separated from other elements. As of Element Fuels' press announcements in June 2024, Element Fuels indicates they will build a hydrogen power plant in a later stage of operations. No air permit applications have been submitted to TCEQ for the power plant as of June, 2024 to the knowledge of Save RGV.
Methods To Separate Hydrogen For Power
1) A thermal process of gas reforming (most common)
Natural gas (CH4) is used. Hydrogen is separated from carbon. Carbon is captured and stored.
2) Electrolysis
Water (H2O) is used, hydrogen is separated from water.
3) Other methods include solar-driven and biological processes.
Colors are used to refer to various methods and byproducts of hydrogen power generation (grey, blue, green, pink, red, purple, turquoise, brown, black. This article provides a brief description of the types of hydrogen power; "What's up with hydrogen"
Documents (Jupiter/Centurion/ARX Energy/Element Energy)
Air Quality Permit Application Nos. 147681, PSDTX1522, GHGPSDTX172
Save RGV Air Permit Comment to TCEQ