Effect of hydraulic oil compressibility on the volumetric efficiency of a diaphragm compressor for hydrogen refueling stations

The low volumetric efficiency of the diaphragm compressor under hydrogen refueling process, which hereby results in poor energy efficiency and high cost of hydrogen applications, should be paid attention to. This paper presents theoretical analysis and experimental investigation of the factors affecting the volumetric efficiency of the diaphragm compressor for hydrogen refueling process, focusing on the influence of hydraulic oil compressibility. A mathematical model was established to estimate the volumetric efficiency of diaphragm compressors, in which the effects of clearance volume, superheating of suction gas and pressure loss were taken into account and the emphasis was focused on the compressibility of hydraulic oil. A test rig was built to validate the theoretical model and further experimental investigations were carried out to identify the factors influencing the oil compressibility and hereby the volumetric efficiency. The volumetric efficiency was measured and compared under varied oil compressibility conditions by varying elastic modulus, oil overflow pressure and oil volume. The results indicated that the measured volumetric efficiency agrees well with the calculated value. The compression and expansion of hydraulic oil have a dominant influence on the volumetric efficiency, resulting in a loss of 37% of volumetric efficiency as compared to 2.4%, 18% and 1%, respectively for losses associated with clearance volume, superheating of suction gas and pressure loss, for a diagram compressor under refueling conditions with suction pressure of 30 MPa and discharge pressure of 90 MPa. The volumetric efficiency reduced rapidly with the increased oil overflow pressure, at a rate of 5% decrease with every 10 MPa rise in oil overflow pressure. As the oil volume increased by 100% of the stroke volume, the volumetric efficiency droped by 5.5%.     

Modelling of metal hydride hydrogen compressors from thermodynamics of hydrogen – Metal interactions viewpoint: Part II. Assessment of the performance of metal hydride compressors

Performance of the thermally-driven metal hydride hydrogen compressor (MHHC) is defined by (a) its H₂ compression ratio and maximum output H₂ pressure; (b) throughput productivity/average output flow rate; (c) specific thermal energy consumption which determines H₂ compression efficiency. In earlier studies, the focus of the R&D efforts was on the optimisation of the design of the MH containers and heat and mass transfer in the MH storage and compression system aimed at shortening the time of the H₂ compression cycle. This work considers an important but insufficiently studied aspect of the development of the industrial-scale thermally driven MHHC's – selection of the materials and optimisation of the materials performance. Further to the operation in the specified pressure/temperature ranges, materials selection should be based on the estimation of the productivity of the compression cycle, and specific heat consumption required for the H₂ compression, which together determine the process efficiency.The current work presents a model to determine productivity and heat consumption for a single- and multi-stage MHHC's which is based on use of Pressure – Composition – Temperature (PCT) diagrams of the utilized metal hydrides at defined operating conditions – temperatures and hydrogen pressures – and main operational features of the MHHC (number of stages, amounts of the MH materials used, cycle time). In Part I of this work [Lototskyy, Yartys, et al., Int J Hydrogen Energy, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.10.090], we showed that the calculated cycle productivities significantly vary for the different materials. Analysis of the system performance carried out in this work (Part II) shows that the throughput productivity and efficiency of a multi-stage MHHC also depends on the types and amounts of the used MH materials in the multi-stage compressor layout. This has been analysed for a number of the most practically important AB₅ and Laves type AB₂ hydrogen storage alloys integrated into the MHHC's.A comparison of experimentally measured performances of single-, two- and three-stage industrial-scale MHHC's developed by the authors earlier shows their satisfactory agreement with the modelling results thus demonstrating a high value of the presented method for the proper materials selection during development of the MHHC. As an important future development, the work presents a performance evaluation of a two-stage MHHC for H₂ compression operating in the pressure range from 30 to 500 atm at operating temperatures between 20 and 150 °C.     

High-pressure gaseous hydrogen permeation test method -property of polymeric materials for high-pressure hydrogen devices (1)-

Polymeric materials are widely used in hydrogen energy system such as FCEV and hydrogen refueling stations under high-pressure condition. The permeation property (coefficients of permeation, diffusion and solubility) of polymers under high-pressure hydrogen condition should be discussed as parameters to develop those devices. Also the property should be determined to understand influence of the compression by the pressure on polymer materials. A device which can measure gas permeation property of polymer materials accurately in equilibrium state under high-pressure environment is developed, and the reliability of the measurements is ensured. High-pressure hydrogen gas permeability characteristics up to 100 MPa are measured for high-density polyethylene. An advantage of the method is discussed comparing with the non-equilibrium state method, focusing on the hydrostatic pressure effect. Deterioration of hydrogen permeability is observed along with the decrease of diffusion coefficient, which is supposedly affected by hydrostatic compression effect with the increase of environment pressure.     

Demonstration of a single-stage metal hydride hydrogen compressor composed of BCC V40TiCr alloy

In this study, demonstration of a one-stage metal hydride hydrogen compressor (MH compressor) by using a BCC alloy was performed. It was estimated that V₄₀Ti₂₂Cr₃₈ could compress approximately 1.6 wt% of hydrogen from 1.0 to 10 MPa in 20–140 °C temperature range from equilibrium theory via pressure-composition-isotherm measurements. For demonstration of an actual MH compressor, a kg-scale experimental system was set up; V₄₀Ti₂₂Cr₃₈ (1.4 kg) was introduced into a 1-inch cylindrical vessel with a heat-medium flow tube outside. As a result, 1.0 MPa of hydrogen can be compressed into the hydrogen cylinder at >10 MPa by hydrogen absorption at 10 °C and desorption at 160 °C for 30 min each (1 cycle/h) to achieve a compression rate of 0.23 Nm³/h and indicate the potential of the practical MH compressors by using BCC alloy.     

Cryo-hydride high-pressure hydrogen compressor

An original compressor for generating hydrogen high pressures (up to 4 kbar) in a 30 cm³ volume at room temperature is described. The construction has no moving mechanical components and consists of two different parts. The first one is a metal-hydride thermo-sorptive compression module based on the hydride-forming material MmNi₅. Inlet pressure of the module is 1.5 MPa; discharge pressure is about 40 MPa. The second, cryogenic, part of the compressor consists of two cryo-stages that are designed as high-pressure containers of volume 60 and 30 cm³ respectively. The cryogenic stages may be cooled to a temperature of 78 K and warmed to room temperature. At the lower temperature level in the cryo-stages, a hydrogen pressure of 40 MPa is generated by the hydride part of the compressor. Then, under consecutive heating-off of these two cryo-stages, the latter generates a pressure up to 400 MPa. A cycle period for generation of the maximal pressure is about 90 min. A combined construction of the compressor makes it possible to speed up significantly the process of hydrogen compression, to afford its high purity and at the same time to receive high pressure level in closed systems providing recovery of the working medium (hydrogen, deuterium, tritium) without any losses of the latter.     

Performance investigation of a two-stage sorption hydrogen compressor

Metal hydrides (MH) are widely investigated for several thermodynamic applications; sorption hydrogen compressor (SHC) is one among them. In this study, the thermodynamic performance and heat – mass transfer behaviour of a two-stage sorption hydrogen compressor (TSSHC) are investigated with the employment of La_0·9Ce_0·1Ni₅ and MmNi_4.8Al_0.2 alloys in series. The hydrogen supply and the discharge temperatures are chosen as 20 °C and 80 °C, respectively. The thermodynamic performance data, i.e. compressor work and efficiency, are evaluated using the experimentally measured pressure-concentration-isotherm (PCI) and thermodynamic properties. In contrast, the heat and mass transfer behaviour is predicted by solving governing equations through the finite volume method (FVM). The numerical model is validated with experimental PCIs, and the results are in close agreement. The predicted cycle time is 75 min, comprising hydrogen supply, sensible heating and cooling, and hydrogen delivery. The TSSHC possessed a compression ratio of 9.5 and a cycle efficiency of 11.4% in which the hydrogen supply pressure is 9 bar using 0.5 kg of each alloy. Later, the influence of mass transfer on overall compressor work, heat input and efficiency is also presented.     

Performance investigation of a multi-stage sorption hydrogen compressor

Among several thermodynamic applications of metal hydrides, sorption hydrogen compressor (SHC) is more attractive for real-time application due to ease of construction and operation. In the present study, a four-stage sorption hydrogen compressor is proposed with detailed working principle for the compression output of >500 bar pressure. By adopting the screening methodology, four metal hydrides, i.e. La_0.9Ce_0.1Ni₅, Ti_0.99Zr_0.01V_0.43Fe_0.99Cr_0.05Mn_1.5, MmNi₅ and TiCrMn are selected for stages – 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively with the supply temperature of 298 K and discharge temperatures of 373 K. The performance of sorption hydrogen compressor is estimated through finite volume approach and thermodynamic simulation in terms of variations in metal hydride bed pressure, temperature, hydrogen transmission, compressor work and efficiency. The numerical model is validated with experimentally measured metal hydride bed temperature and hydrogen concentration for single-stage hydrogen compressor, which are observed to be in good agreement. The cycle time of multi-stage SHC is predicted to be ~100 min with the maximum compression ratio of 73 with an overall efficiency of 10.62% employing 0.5 kg of each alloy and supply pressure of 9.5 bar. It is also observed that the discharge temperature greatly influences system performance. The dynamic performance of the system is also estimated with the implementation of simulation generated property data and observed that the performance parameters increased with the progression of hydrogen transmission.     

Assessment of thermal performance improvement of GT-MHR by waste heat utilization in power generation and hydrogen production

The Gas Turbine Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR) uses two compression stages to compress the helium and a pre-cooler and an intercooler to reduce the compressors inlet temperature, that dissipate around 308.36 MW_th at the design operational conditions. This dissipated thermal energy can be used as an energy source to produce hydrogen. An energy analysis is conducted for a proposed system that includes GT-MHR combined with Organic Rankine Cycle (GT-MHR/ORC) and a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer (GT-MHR/ORC-PEM) for hydrogen production. The optimum operating parameters values of the new cycle are obtained using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. Thermal efficiency has been improved from 48.6% for the simple GT-MHR cycle to 49.8% for the new combined (GT-MHR/ORC-PEM) cycle including hydrogen production at a rate of 0.0644 kg/s at the same operating conditions. However, the thermal efficiency for the combined GT-MHR/ORC was higher and reaches 50.68%. Moreover, a parametric study is carried out over a wide range of some operating conditions such as turbine inlet temperature, Compressor pressure ratio and compressor inlet temperature to investigate their effect on the new cycle performance. Results revealed that increasing the low-pressure compressor inlet temperature increases the amount of hydrogen produced while decreasing thermal efficiencies for the three cycles. Furthermore, increasing compressor pressure ratio reduces the mass flow rate of hydrogen produced util it reaches a minimum value then it starts to increase slightly, on the contrary, an opposite relationship is observed between thermal efficiencies and compressor pressure ratio. Moreover, at low compressor pressure ratio, the rate of hydrogen produced increases with increasing turbine inlet temperature; however, it decreases by increasing the turbine inlet temperature at high compressor pressure ratio. Nevertheless, a direct correlation is noticed between thermal efficiencies and turbine inlet temperature.     

基于天然气管网压力能回收的联合循环构思

随着天然气大量应用及其相关技术的不断发展,天然气管网的输送压力也越来越高,蕴含巨大的压力能。本文提出一种回收天然气管网压力能的燃气蒸汽联合循环系统：高压天然气通过在膨胀机内膨胀回收一部分能量,承担部分压气机消耗功,膨胀后的低温天然气用来依次冷却压气机进气和蒸汽轮机排气,然后回收部分排烟余热。本文定性分析了该系统流程相关部分给联合循环带来的收益,显示出提高联合循环效率和能源综合利用率的潜力。     

Numerical investigation on the wave transformation in the ionic liquid compressor for the application in hydrogen refuelling stations

The ionic liquid compressor exhibits excellent advantages in hydrogen refuelling stations due to the specific design based on the hydraulic system and the ionic liquid piston. The application of the ionic liquid column results in a complex two-phase flow issue inside the compression chamber. This two-phase flow behaviour is critical for the compressor design as it influences the wave dynamics during the compression, but it is absent in the open literature. In this paper, transit numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the wave transformation during a compression cycle by the volume of fluid (VOF) method under different heights of the ionic liquid piston. The effect of liquid height on the wave transformation, discharged quantity of ionic liquid and hydrogen gas, and the turbulence kinetic energy was analysed. The minimum crest value of the turbulent kinetic energy was observed as 0.54 kJ in the cases of 30 and 40 mm. The optimal height of the ionic liquid piston was recommended 40 mm under the presented design condition based on the simulation results.     

Numerical study on unsteady characteristics of high-pressure hydrogen jet ejected from a pinhole

The aim of this study was to delineate the unsteady fluid dynamics of the high-pressure hydrogen jet to clarify the relationship between the forced ignition position and the flame development characteristics in a high-pressure hydrogen jet leaking from a pinhole. The Navier–Stokes equation for a compressible multi-component gas was used to simulate a high-pressure (82 MPa stagnation pressure) unsteady hydrogen jet ejected into the atmosphere through a pinhole (diameter = 0.2 mm). The results indicated that the flapping jet at the base of the jet formed a cloud of highly concentrated hydrogen that flowed downstream. A correlation was observed between the spatio-temporal distribution of hydrogen concentration and velocity was observed. The unsteady high-pressure hydrogen jet obtained by simulation will be used in subsequent studies focusing on flame development under forced ignition.     

耦合有机朗肯循环的液化空气储能系统性能研究

为解决液化空气储能系统(LAES)压缩热利用不完全的问题,构建了耦合有机朗肯循环的液化空气储能系统(ORC-LAES)。对ORC-LAES系统建立热力学性能计算模型,在设计参数下分析压缩机出口压力、膨胀机入口压力、加压水初温、加压水流量比及膨胀机级数对ORC-LAES系统性能的影响。结果表明,当压缩机出口压力由6 MPa上升到16 MPa、加压水初温从293 K上升到323 K时,系统的循环效率、火用效率和液化率均下降;当膨胀机入口压力由8 MPa上升到18 MPa时,系统循环效率和火用效率均增加;当加压水流量比由0.51上升到0.96时,系统循环效率和火用效率先增加再减少,流量比为0.71时,系统的循环效率和火用效率达到最大;在压缩热利用上耦合有机朗肯循环要优于增加膨胀机级数;ORC-LAES系统与LAES系统相比,循环效率提高4.8%,火用效率提升5.1%。     

隔膜特性对氢气电化学压缩能耗的影响

文章选取Nafion 211和Nafion 117膜作为电化学压缩隔膜,通过仿真建模方法研究了隔膜特性对电化学压缩机压缩性能的影响。研究结果表明:隔膜欧姆阻抗对电压效率影响显著,隔膜气密性对电流效率影响显著;与Nafion 117膜相比,将Nafion 211膜应用于电化学压缩机时,电化学压缩机能够获得更高的能量效率,当工作电流为0.5 A/cm^2,压缩比为3时,等温压缩效率最高可达到50%。将以Nafion 211膜为隔膜,工作电流为2 A/cm^2的电化学压缩机用于制氢厂的管束车充装,当气源压力为2 MPa,管束车压力由5 MPa充装至20 MPa时,平均能量效率为35%,综合平均电耗为2 kW·h/kg,比目前常用的机械往复式压缩机的电耗降低了30%以上。     

Description and characterization of an electrochemical hydrogen compressor/concentrator based on solid polymer electrolyte technology

Proton-exchange membrane (PEM) technology is commonly used for manufacturing water electrolysers, H₂/O₂ fuel cells and unitized regenerative fuel cells. It can also be used to develop electrochemical compressors, for the purpose of concentrating and/or pressurizing gaseous hydrogen. The aim of the work reported here was to evaluate the main operating characteristics of a laboratory scale (≈10 N liter/h) monocell compressor. The role of various operating parameters (current density, temperature of electrochemical cell, water vapor partial pressure in the hydrogen feed gas, anodic gas composition, etc.) has been evaluated and is discussed. It is shown that the relative humidity of hydrogen oxidized at the anode of the compressor should be adapted to the current density during operation to avoid mass transfer limitations or electrode flooding. A cell voltage of 140 mV is required at 0.2 A cm⁻² to compress hydrogen in one step from atmospheric pressure up to 48 bar, corresponding to an energy consumption of ca. 0.3 kW h/Nm³. Experiments have been performed up to 130 bar. Series connection of several compressors is recommended to reach output pressures higher than 50 bar. To reduce gas cross-permeation effects which can negatively impact the efficiency of the compressor, additional experiments have been made using Nafion membrane modified by addition of zirconyl phosphate. Finally, data related to the extraction of hydrogen from H₂-N₂ gas mixtures are also reported and discussed.     

Flow characteristics of hydrogen gas through a critical nozzle

Critical nozzles are widely used in the flow measurement and can be used for mass flow-rate measurement of hydrogen gas. The effect of real gas state equation on discharge coefficient of hydrogen gas flow through a critical nozzle was investigated. The real gas critical flow factor was introduced which considers the effect of the real gas on discharge coefficient. An analytic solution of real gas critical flow factor of hydrogen gas calculated from the modern equations of state based on Helmholtz energy, over a wider range of temperature 150–600 K and pressure up to 100 MPa was presented. An accurate empirical equation for real gas critical flow factor was determined by the nonlinear regression analysis. The equation was in good agreement with the high-pressure hydrogen gas experimental data by Morioka and CFD solutions by Nagao and Kim. Using this equation, the discharge coefficient can be directly and accurately calculated. It indicates that the discharge coefficient of hydrogen gas should be comprehensively taken into consideration with stagnation temperature, stagnation pressure and nozzle throat diameter. A lot of detailed results about the effect of real gas state equation were obtained.     

Researching and adjusting the modes of joint operation of a photoelectric converter and a high pressure electrolyzer

The article describes the experimental studies of hydrogen (oxygen) generation processes by the electrolysis method that were fulfilled with the use of the energy plant model involving a solar energy photovoltaic converter (working surface area is of S = 1.5 m²) and a membrane-less high-pressure electrolyzer (capacity is of 0.002 m³ of hydrogen per hour with an operating pressure of 0.3 MPa). Under experimental studies we have adjusted the modes of joint operating the photoelectric converter and the membrane-less high pressure electrolyzer depending on the changes of solar insolation. We have determined the ways to increase the electrolyzer efficiency. It was found that the level of current density, which determines the electrolyzer efficiency by hydrogen, depends on the solar insolation level. The obtained experimental data, as to adapting an electrolyzer to be feed from a photoelectric converter, give the possibility to develop the algorithms of automatic control of the electrolyzer when it operates in composition of an autonomous energy plant.     

Potential of regenerative gas-turbine systems with high fogging compression

The study of evaporatively-cooled cycles is of interest because of the prospect of enhanced efficiencies and conceptual simplicity that can lead to low capital costs. This work focuses on a cycle that relies on continuous cooling of the air under compression, followed by recuperation of residual exhaust heat, combustion and expansion. Ideal gases are modeled, with realistic values of efficiencies, air-to-fuel ratios and turbine-inlet temperatures. As the amount of water injected in the compressor increases, the efficiency of the cycle peaks at progressively higher pressure-ratios. The pressure ratio and the recuperator effectiveness are important parameters for cycle efficiency. Compared to a dry cycle with no recuperation with a pressure ratio of 25, the efficiency can increase from 45% to 51.5% and the specific work from 410 kJ/kg to 680 kJ/kg when compression cooling and recuperation are implemented.     

Development of Ti1.02Cr2-x-yFexMny (0.6≤x≤0.75, y=0.25, 0.3) alloys for high hydrogen pressure metal hydride system

To save compressor investment and promote operation efficiency of hydrogen refueling station, the hydrogen storage alloys for high-pressure hydrogen metal hydride tank is developed. Ti_1.02Cr_2-x-yFe_xMn_y (0.6 ≤ x ≤ 0.75, y = 0.25, 0.3) alloys with main structure of C14 type Laves phase and low dehydrogenation enthalpy were prepared by plasma arc melting and heat treatment. Pressure-composition-temperature measurements show that hydrogen desorption plateau pressures increase with Cr substituted by Fe increasing. The maximum and reversible hydrogen storage capacities are more than 1.85 and 1.65 wt% at 201 K respectively. The hydrogen desorption plateau slopes are all less than 0.5. The symmetry weakening of 2a sites may deteriorate the plateau slop characteristic. Ti_1.02Cr_0.95Fe_0.75Mn_0.3 and Ti_1.02Cr_1.0Fe_0.75Mn_0.25 alloys are suitable for high pressure hybrid tank which can supply the effective hydrogen (more than 70 MPa) about 40.0, 44.2, 46.9 kg/m³ with 45, 70, 90 MPa compressor, respectively.     

Isentropic analysis and numerical investigation on high-pressure hydrogen jets with real gas effects

The present work performs the isentropic analysis and numerical simulation of high-pressure hydrogen jets to study the hydrogen leakage. The exit parameters and the flow characteristics are studied with the ideal gas assumption and real gas effects. The jet exit parameters calculated by the real gas thermodynamic model are different from the results obtained by the ideal gas assumption at high initial pressure based on the isentropic analysis. The ideal gas and the real gas equation of state results in the differences of Mach disk parameters at high initial pressures. The ideal gas assumption underestimates the Mach disk distance by 8% and overestimates the Mach disk diameter by 15% at the initial pressure of 50 MPa. The exit mass flow rates computed from the isentropic expansion assumption agree well with the numerical simulations. The results show that it is reasonable to evaluate mass flow rates of high-pressure hydrogen jets by the isentropic expansion assumption.