The hydrogen compressor is defined as follow:
A hydrogen compressor is a device that compresses or liquidizes hydrogen by reducing the volume of hydrogen to increase the pressure.
What does a hydrogen compressor do?
Hydrogen compressors move gas from point A to point B. They also increase the pressure of the gas, elevating it to levels required by the application.
Is compressed hydrogen a risky chemical to handle?
Hydrogen is flammable, so the compressors that handle it must be leak-free. Inhaling pure hydrogen might result in asphyxiation due to the lack of oxygen. In addition, because of its excellent compressibility, liquid hydrogen is extremely cold. If it escapes its tank and comes into contact with human flesh, it can cause severe frostbite.
Types of Hydrogen compressors:
Compressors with reciprocating pistons
Reciprocal piston compressors have been around for a long time and are a tried and tested method of compressing hydrogen. They are essential in the purification of crude oil and are commonly utilized in refineries. Oil-lubricated or non-lubricated reciprocating piston compressors are prevalent; non-lubricated compressors are favored at high pressure (350-700 bar) to minimize oil contamination of the hydrogen. The drive power is often in the millions of watts range (2-15MW). Due to an excellent understanding of piston sealing and packing rings, reciprocating compressors can beat rival technologies in terms of MTBO (Mean Time Between Overhaul).
Compressor with ionic liquid pistons
An ionic liquid piston compressor, like a piston-metal diaphragm compressor, is a hydrogen compressor with an ionic liquid piston rather than a metal piston.
Compressor for hydride
In a hydride compressor, the thermal and pressure properties are exploited to absorb low-pressure hydrogen gas at ambient temperatures and release high-pressure hydrogen gas at higher temperatures; Hot water or an electric coil are used to heat the hydride bed.
Compressor with a piston-metal diaphragm
The compressed gas is cooled between stages because compression generates heat, decreasing less adiabatic and more isothermal. For hydrogen distribution, piston-metal diaphragm compressors are stationary high-pressure compressors with four sets of water cooling, 11–15 kW, 30–50 Nm3/h 40 MPa. The baseline assumption for diaphragm hydrogen compressors is a 70 percent adiabatic efficiency.
Compressor with a guided rotor
The guided rotor compressor (GRC) is a rotary compressor that uses an involute trochoid geometry and a parallel trochoid curve to define its essential compression volume. Its adiabatic efficiency is between 80 and 85 percent.
The linear compressor
Dynamic counterbalancing is used in the single-piston linear compressor. Other mechanical springs flexibly attach an auxiliary mobile mass to a moveable piston assembly and the stationary compressor casing, resulting in zero vibration export while consuming the least amount of electrical power and current.
