Treatment of compressed gaseous hydrogen
The present invention relates to a system for treating gaseous hydrogen, comprising an inlet ( 10 a ) for supplying gaseous hydrogen, a drying unit ( 30 ) with an active drying material for removing moisture from the supplied hydrogen, an adsorption unit ( 50 ) with an active adsorption material for adsorbing impurities from the dried hydrogen, and an outlet ( 10 b ) for drawing off treated hydrogen. According to the invention, the mass ratio between the active drying material and the active adsorption material is in the range of 1.5:1 to 50:1. The invention further relates to a plant comprising such a system for providing compressed treated gaseous hydrogen and a method for treating gaseous hydrogen.
1 . A system for treating gaseous hydrogen, comprising:
an inlet for supplying gaseous hydrogen,
a drying unit with an active drying material for removing moisture from the supplied hydrogen to produce dried hydrogen,
an adsorption unit with an active adsorbent material for adsorbing impurities from the dried hydrogen to produce treated hydrogen, and
an outlet for drawing off the treated hydrogen,
wherein a mass ratio between the active drying material and the active adsorption material is in a range of 1.5:1 to 50:1.
2 . The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the active drying material comprises a molecular sieve.
3 . The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the adsorption unit comprises activated carbon as the active adsorption material.
4 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one pressure dew point sensor disposed downstream of the drying unit.
5 . The system according to claim 4 ,
further comprising a control unit that is coupled to the at least one pressure dew point sensor to receive the said sensor data and is adapted to trigger a predefined action when a predefined pressure dew point threshold is exceeded.
6 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one further pressure dew point sensor disposed upstream of the drying unit.
7 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a micro-separation unit disposed upstream or downstream of the drying unit, and/or
a post-drying unit disposed downstream of the adsorption unit, and/or
a particle filter disposed downstream of the adsorption unit and, if applicable, the post-drying unit, and/or
a minimum pressure valve disposed downstream of the adsorption unit and, if applicable, the post-drying unit and/or the particle filter, and/or
a pressure relief unit disposed upstream of the outlet.
8 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the active drying material comprises a silica gel.
9 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein, with the mass ratio between the active drying material and the active adsorption material in the range of 1.5:1 to 50:1, the system is configured to be continuously operated up to a saturation limit of the active drying material without reaching a saturation limit of the active adsorption material.
10 . A plant for providing compressed treated gaseous hydrogen, the plant comprising:
a compressor for compressing supplied gaseous hydrogen, and
the system for treating the compressed gaseous hydrogen according to claim 1 ,
wherein the compressor is disposed upstream or downstream of the drying unit.
11 . The plant according to claim 10 , wherein at least one heat exchanger is assigned to the compressor.
12 . The plant according to claim 10 , wherein the compressor is of multi-stage design.
13 . The plant according to claim 12 , wherein a heat exchanger is placed downstream of each stage of the compressor, and/or a separator unit is provided for separating liquid aerosol components in the gas flow after heat exchangers.
14 . The plant according to claim 10 , further comprising a system control unit which is adapted to switch off the compressor when it is detected that the predefined pressure dew point threshold value has been exceeded.
15 . A method of treating gaseous hydrogen by means of a system for treating compressed gaseous hydrogen, the method comprising:
supplying the gaseous hydrogen at an inlet of the system,
removing moisture from the supplied hydrogen in a drying unit of the system to produce dried hydrogen,
adsorbing impurities from the dried hydrogen in an adsorption unit of the system to produce treated hydrogen, and
drawing off the treated hydrogen at an outlet of the system,
wherein a mass ratio between the active drying material and the active adsorption material is in a range of 1.5:1 to 50:1.
16 . The method according to claim 15 ,
further comprising triggering of a predefined action when at least one predefined pressure dew point threshold is exceeded.
17 . The method according to claim 16 ,
wherein a warning is issued when a first predefined pressure dew point threshold value is exceeded, and a shutdown of the system is initiated when a second predefined pressure dew point threshold value is exceeded.
18 . The method according to claim 15 ,
wherein the treated hydrogen satisfies the requirements of DIN EN 17124 or ISO 14687.
19 . The method according to claim 15 ,
comprising compressing hydrogen to a pressure of up to 350 bar or higher.
20 . The method according to claim 15 , further comprising continuously operating the system up to a saturation limit of the active drying material without reaching a saturation limit of the active adsorption material.