H2Tech - Q3 2021 - 44

MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION
How H2 production technology will enable
the transition to a green economy
B. BROMBEREK, Emerson Automation Solutions, Denver, Colorado
The promise of safe and reliable hydrogen
generation and distribution can
be both exciting and daunting. On one
hand, H2
is a sustainable answer to growproduction
is
a stable
ing energy demands across the globe.
On the other hand, clean H2
is still limited, mainly due to high costs
and the need for more advanced technologies
in the production chain. Looking
to the future where H2
and renewable fuel source, the first step
will be developing and improving existing
processes, tools and infrastructure
to handle this challenging application.
Only then will it be possible to embrace
an H2
-fueled world.
H2 is dispensed at extremely high pressures
compared to other fuels. The main
design criteria when creating instruments
and equipment for H2
fuel is to be able to
withstand these incredibly high-pressure
ratings. If existing infrastructure can be
updated to accommodate these challenges,
then the industry will be better
equipped to safely produce, store, move
and use H2
in a cost-effective way. Investments
in these technologies made today
will be critical in shaping opportunities
for a smooth transition to alternative fuels
in the future.
Unique challenges of H2
. H2 fuel is
comparable to fossil fuels but three times
as powerful and useful as gasoline. Internal
combustion engines that use H2
operate
at higher efficiency levels, too-80%
compared to 25% of most other combustion
engines. Energy-efficient hybrid
vehicles today could travel twice the distance
on a full tank of fuel vs. a regular
passenger vehicle. This begs the question:
Why is H2
not already being used as
a primary fuel source?
H2
must be kept compressed under
high pressures to be useable as an efficient
energy source. This makes transportation,
storage and distribution especially
difficult. Not only will the existing
infrastructure need to be overhauled
to accommodate it, but also dispensing
compressed H2
at the fuel pump can be
a safety hazard if special equipment to
withstand the high pressure is not used.
Refineries already use large amounts
of H2
cessing. For example, H2
as part of their hydrocarbon prois
necessary
for the process of removing sulfur from
crude oil. Refineries, therefore, have
much experience producing H2
from
natural gas. From this experience, we
know much about manufacturing what
is known as blue H2
. These experiences
have aided the development of sophisticated
tools and technologies that can
withstand these higher levels of pressure,
like high-pressure Coriolis flowmeters
and non-invasive, wireless monitoring
solutions that will aid the journey to fully
embracing H2
fuel.
The path to zero emissions is paved
with various colors in H2
(FIG. 1). Green H2
is the norm. In the
value chains
is ideal, as it is created
using renewable energy instead of fossil
fuels. It will take some time to get to the
point where green H2
meantime, adaptions to existing infrastructures
with the technologies developed
for the production of blue H2
Generating H2 from electrolysis. Sustainable
H2
, ready
and available today, will bring that reality
closer to being realized.
production begins with electrolysis,
a zero-emissions process using
an electric current to split water into H2
and oxygen. Electrolyzers are the systems
that producers use to perform electrolysis
to create H2
on a large scale. Proton
exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers
are the frontrunner for industrialized
electrolysis because implementation is
simple, there is no corrosion factor and
maintenance is more straightforward.
However, to be considered fully
FIG. 1. A graphic overview of the H2
44 Q3 2021 | H2-Tech.com
value chain.
" green, " the energy used to drive the
electrolysis process must come from
renewable sources. This requirement
drives up the cost of PEM electrolysis
and the costs of logistics when that en
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