Validation of CFD modelling of LH2 spread and evaporation against large-scale spill experiments

Hydrogen is widely recognized as an attractive energy carrier due to its low-level air pollution and its high mass-related energy density. However, the safety characteristics of hydrogen are a concern, primarily due to its wide flammability range and high burning velocity. A significant fraction of hydrogen is stored and transported as a cryogenic liquid. Therefore, loss of hydrogen containments may lead to the formation of a pool on the ground. In general, very large spills will give a pool, whereas moderate sized spills may evaporate immediately. Accurate hazard assessments of storage systems require a proper prediction of the liquid hydrogen pool evaporation and spreading when conditions are conducive to the formation of a pool.A pool model handling the spread and the evaporation of liquid spills on different surfaces has recently been implemented in the 3D-Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool FLACS [1], [2], [3] and [4]. As the influence of geometry on the liquid spread is taken into account in the pool model, realistic industrial scenarios can be investigated. The model has been extensively validated for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) spills [5] and [6]. The model has previously been tested for LH₂ release in the framework of the EU-sponsored Network of Excellence HySafe where experiments carried out by BAM were modelled. In the large-scale BAM experiments [7], 280 kg of liquid hydrogen was spilled in 6 tests adjacent to buildings. In these tests, the pool spreading, the evaporation, and the cloud formation were investigated. Simulations of these tests are found to compare reasonably well with the experimental results.In the present work, the liquid hydrogen spill experiments carried out by NASA are simulated with the pool model. The large-scale NASA experiments [8] and [9] consisted of 7 releases of liquefied hydrogen at White Sand, New Mexico. The release test 6 is used. During these experiments, cloud concentrations were measured at several distances downwind of the spill point. With the new pool model feature, the FLACS tool is shown to be an efficient and accurate tool for the investigation of complex and realistic accidental release scenarios of cryogenic liquids.     

Validation of a 3D multiphase-multicomponent CFD model for accidental liquid and gaseous hydrogen releases

As hydrogen-air mixtures are flammable in a wide range of concentrations and the minimum ignition energy is low compared to hydrocarbon fuels, the safe handling of hydrogen is of utmost importance. Additional hazards may arise with the accidental spill of liquid hydrogen. Such a release of LH2 leads to a formation of a cryogenic pool, a dynamic vaporization process, and consequently a dispersion of gaseous hydrogen into the environment. Several LH2 release experiments as well as modeling approaches address this phenomenology. In contrast to existing approaches a new CFD model capable of simulating liquid and gaseous distribution was developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich. It is validated against existing experiments and yields no substantial lacks in the physical model and reveals a qualitatively consistent prediction. Nevertheless, the deviation between experiment and simulation raises questions on the completeness of the database, in particular with regard to the boundary conditions and available measurements.     

Effect of UV irradiation on PC membrane and use of Pd nanoparticles with/without PVP for H2 selectivity enhancement over CO2 and N2 gases

The hydrogen-based economy is one of the possible approaches toward to eliminate the problem of global warming, which are increases because of the gathering of greenhouse gases. Palladium (Pd) is well-known material having a strong affinity to the hydrogen absorbing property and thus appropriate material to embed in the membrane for the improvement of selective permeation of hydrogen gas. In present work, we have functionalized polycarbonate (PC) membranes with the help of UV irradiation to embed the Pd nanoparticles in pores as well as on the surface of the PC membrane. Use of Pd Nanoparticles is helpful to enhance the H₂ selectivity over other gases (CO₂, N_2, etc.). Also, the UV based modification of membrane increases the attachment of Pd Nanoparticles. Further to enhance the Pd nanoparticles attachment, we used PVP binder with Pd nanoparticles solution. Gas permeability measurements of functionalized PC membranes have been carried out, and better selectivity of hydrogen has been found in the functionalized and Pd nanoparticle binded membrane. PC membrane with 48 h UV irradiated and Pd NPs with PVP have been found to have maximum selectivity and permeability for H₂ gas. All the samples being characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy for their morphological and structural investigation.     

Tuning the alloy degree for Pd-M/Al2O3 (M=Co/ Ni /Cu) bimetallic catalysts to enhance the activity and selectivity of dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole dehydrogenation

Hydrogen is a promising candidate to substitute the fossil fuels. However, the efficient hydrogen storage technologies restrict the commercial applications. Developing new catalysts with high activity and selectivity is important for the dehydrogenation reaction in N-ethylcarbazole/dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole (NECZ/12H-NECZ) hydrogen storage system. In this work, a series of Pd-M/Al₂O₃ (M = Co, Ni and Cu) bimetallic catalysts are synthesized successfully and show good performance in the dehydrogenation reaction of 12H-NECZ than the commercial Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The Pd₁Co₁/Al₂O₃ catalyst (Practical Pd content = 2.4136 wt%) showed the highest catalytic performance with 95.34% H₂ release amount, TOF of 230.5 min⁻¹ and 85.4% selectivity of NECZ. Combined with the characterization analysis, it can be proposed that the dehydrogenation performance of 12H-NECZ is dependent on the alloy phases, reasonable electronic structures and nanoparticle size of catalysts. The fine-tuned alloy degree and appropriate nanoparticle size of Pd₁Co₁/Al₂O₃ bring the 17.7% increase of H₂ release amount and 99.5% increase of NECZ selectivity than those of Pd/Al₂O₃. For the bimetallic catalysts, the enhancement of selectivity of NECZ is mainly from the increase of the kinetic constant of rate-limiting step.     

Aqueous hydrazine borane N2H4BH3 and nickel-based catalyst: An effective couple for the release of hydrogen in near-ambient conditions

Nickel-based bimetallic catalysts were screened using the sodium borohydride NaBH₄ hydrolysis and the aqueous hydrazine borane N₂H₄BH₃ dehydrogenation. A total of 22 bimetallic catalysts were synthesized according to an easy process while focusing on metals like Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt and Au. In the end, the bimetallic candidate Ni_87.5Pt_12.5 showed to be the most active and the most selective for the dehydrogenation of N₂H₄BH₃. At 70?°C, it is able to decompose N₂H₄BH₃ into 5.8 equivalents of H₂+N₂ in less than 12?min such as: N₂H₄BH₃?+?3H₂O?→?0.95 N₂?+?0.1 NH₃?+?B(OH)₃?+?4.85H₂. Durability and stability tests were also performed. In our conditions, Ni_87.5Pt_12.5 was found to suffer from small loss of performance because of an electronic evolution of the catalytic surface leading to modified sorption properties of the catalytic sites. Our main results are reported and discussed herein.     

Erratum to “Validation of the use of heat transfer models in liquid/solid fluidized beds for ice slurry generation” [International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 46 (2003) 3683-3695]

In the concerned paper, tube dimensions have been taken from the experimental set-up drawings. Recently, during Wilson plot calibration tests, after extension of the operating range of the set-up, came to light that the tube sizes used were slightly different from what was stated in the drawings. Consequently, published experimental fluidized bed heat transfer coefficients are up to 40% too low and some conclusions had to be adapted. The new, correct experimental heat transfer results show a much better agreement with heat transfer models in literature. The authors of the subjected paper deeply regret the errors. Corrected versions of Sections 4 and 5 of the paper are presented here.