Advanced Hydrogen Liquefaction Process
The project identified and quantified ways to reduce the cost of hydrogen liquefaction, and reduce the cost of hydrogen distribution. The goal was to reduce the power consumption by 20% and then to reduce the capital cost. Optimizing the process, improving process equipment, and improving ortho-para conversion significantly reduced the power consumption of liquefaction, but by less than 20%. Because the efficiency improvement was less than the target, the program was stopped before the capital cost was addressed. These efficiency improvements could provide a benefit to the public to improve the design of future hydrogen liquefiers. The project increased the understanding of hydrogen liquefaction by modeling different processes and thoroughly examining ortho-para separation and conversion. The process modeling provided a benefit to the public because the project incorporated para hydrogen into the process modeling software, so liquefaction processes can be modeled more accurately than using only normal hydrogen. Adding catalyst to the first heat exchanger, a simple method to reduce liquefaction power, was identified, analyzed, and quantified. The demonstrated performance of ortho-para separation is sufficient for at least one identified process concept to show reduced power cost when compared to hydrogen liquefaction processes using conventional ortho-para conversion. The impact of improved ortho-para conversion can be significant because ortho para conversion uses about 20-25% of the total liquefaction power, but performance improvement is necessary to realize a substantial benefit. Most of the energy used in liquefaction is for gas compression. Improvements in hydrogen compression will have a significant impact on overall liquefier efficiency. Improvements to turbines, heat exchangers, and other process equipment will have less impact.
- Research Organization:
- Praxair, Inc., Danbury, CT (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG36-08GO18063
- OSTI ID:
- 1025591
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/GO/18063-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Enabling Staged Pressurized Oxy-Combustion: Improving Flexibility and Performance at Reduced Cost
Hydrogen production and delivery analysis in US markets : cost, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.