A Transport Plan for Hydrogen Refueling Stations
Hydrogen fuel stations are in operation and under construction in the USA for light-duty vehicles (passenger vehicles), heavy-duty vehicles (trucks and buses), and material handling equipment.
In California, virtually the only state with hydrogen cars on the road, about 47 active fueling stations serve a trickle of early hydrogen adopters who mostly cruise around Los Angeles and the Bay Area. These hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles aren’t anywhere near as popular as electric cars, but that isn’t stopping California from spending millions of dollars to support them.
Hydrogen is a non-toxic, environmentally benign natural element has been safely used in manufacturing for more than 90 years. It is a very small, diffusive molecule that is 14 times lighter than air. Like all fuels, hydrogen is highly flammable and safety systems at the station and in the vehicle are designed for hydrogen’s properties.
Stations dispense hydrogen as a compressed gas at pressures of 10,000 psi (H70) for light-duty vehicles and 5,000 psi (H35) for all other vehicles.
All stations generally have the same equipment, but station employs different designs depending on how the hydrogen is produced, delivered, stored and dispensed.
Each station includes, at minimum:
- Above-ground hydrogen storage equipment – based on the station’s location and capacity, hydrogen can be stored as a liquid, a low-pressure gas, or a high-pressure gas. Storage tanks follow ASME standards.
- At least one compressor – Hydrogen is compressed to reduce volume and increase pressure. Typically, a compressor is used to replenish the buffer storage. Liquid and low-pressure storage tanks may use multiple compressors.
- Chiller – Hydrogen is cooled as to not exceed the temperature threshold of the industry standard fueling protocol. (Stations for heavy-duty vehicles and material handling equipment may not use chillers.)
- At least one dispenser – Dispensers look similar to gasoline dispensers. They may sit on the same island as other fuel dispensers, or sit on their own island. Dispensers for material handling equipment are usually inside the warehouse.
Industrial gas merchants in North America produce more than 15 million kilograms of hydrogen a day, mostly for oil refineries and manufacturing, and deliver it by pipeline, truck, rail, and barge. Hydrogen can also be produced from a variety of renewable sources. Hydrogen stations have a choice of having hydrogen delivered as a liquid, delivered as a gas, or making hydrogen on site.
At hydrogen stations with liquid storage, a tanker truck pumps hydrogen into an above-ground tank where it’s held at a cryogenic temperature. Liquid hydrogen is vaporized, compressed, and stored in above-ground cylinders for dispensing. As customers fuel their vehicles, the gaseous hydrogen cylinders are refilled. Liquid storage generally requires more space than gaseous storage.
Hydrogen can be delivered as a gas at pressures up to 7,200 psi. Cylinders are mounted into a trailer and the truck driver “refills” the storage by swapping a trailer of full cylinders for a trailer of almost-empty cylinders inside a walled storage area.
Stations can also make hydrogen onsite by electrolysis of water and reforming natural gas or biomethane. At some locations, a station could use hydrogen from an existing pipeline.
All three methods result in gaseous hydrogen that must be compressed and stored, and all require more equipment and space than either option for delivered hydrogen.
Hydrogen stations have standardized safety systems that include grounding, breakaway hoses, and fire sensors that are common for all fueling stations, plus sensors that measure pressure, temperature, and leakage of gaseous hydrogen.
Stations are designed to safely vent hydrogen in case of an extreme emergency, such as a gasoline fire that increases the temperature of the stored hydrogen. Although the illustration shows a passenger vehicle, stations for heavy-duty and material handling vehicles use the same safety standards and systems.
Hydrogen stations are designed to be self-service and operate similarly to fueling with compressed natural gas. Stations for cars are designed for consumer retail sales (accept credit cards, adhere to state standards for measurement and fuel quality). Stations for heavy-duty vehicles and material handling equipment may use a PIN or key to identify the person fueling.
When a vehicle operator activates the dispenser, hydrogen flows from the storage tanks to the dispenser and through the nozzle into the vehicle in a closed system. Initial safety checks ensure the integrity of the system before fueling starts.
During the fill, the dispenser is designed to pause periodically for several seconds to conduct additional integrity checks, according to code and/or fuel protocol, and then resume filling.
Most vehicles have a standardized communication system that sends parameters from the vehicle’s fuel storage system to the dispenser, which are used to calculate the pressure to stop the fill at a “full” tank. A car can fill up in less than five minutes.
See more here: h2stationmaps.com
Header image: ISO
Editor’s note: This information is from the California Fuel Cell Partnership.
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Howdy
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Another pointless exercize, just like other petrol alternatives. You get less ‘bang’ from it as a fuel, you’ll get worse fuel economy.
“Hydrogen is a non-toxic, environmentally benign natural element has been safely used in manufacturing for more than 90 years.”
But like most other things, processes to get it are invasive, not environmentally benign. and hidden from the text. Thus, the technology never delivers on it’s promises.
“in case of an extreme emergency, such as a gasoline fire that increases the temperature of the stored hydrogen.”
That was a a sneaky one.
Have a look, see what YOU think:
Engineering Explained: 5 Reasons Why Hydrogen Cars Are Stupid
https://www.carthrottle.com/post/engineering-explained-5-reasons-why-hydrogen-cars-are-stupid/
Why Hydrogen Engines Are A Bad Idea (Technical 2018)
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Charles Higley
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What are these tanks made of? At 460 atm (7200 psi), hydrogen gas is surely going to penetrate the tanks walls and any metal will be converted to hydride which weakens to wall, leading to failure and BOOM. Plastics are not dense enough to hold hydrogen, I do not know about glasses, but they are also inherently brittle.
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Wisenox
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Water powered car in 1974:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/GrPpiS1SMTPn/
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Howdy
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Unfortunately, the video does not explain how the water is broken down so the Hydrogen component can be used.
Uunless a suitable amount of initial stored Hydrogen is provided by the manufacturer or dealer, an onboard power source is required to initially start the reaction, thus not clean, nor instant. Or a Hydrogen kick-start, such as a mini compressed cylinder.
Never mind, found out it’s nothing more than electrolysis, as is used by believers of the tech today. Remarkable that the energy output was claimed to be higher than the input. i guess that’s why it failed, despite conspiracy theories…
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T. C. Clark
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Metallic hydrogen…that’s the stuff needed…no, wait…that new bat tech…lithium titanium oxide….no, that new liquid metal bat…that’s the one…no, again….it’s that old made new zinc battery tech that will do the job…..maybe.
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