Apparatus and method for pre-liquefaction fluid treatment for improved liquefaction operations

Abstract

An apparatus and method for pre-liquefying a fluid (e.g., hydrogen) may reduce investment costs and may also improve flexibility of operational efficiency. Embodiments may be configured to account for a large change in feed to be provided for liquefaction, and also to reduce the capital cost associated with the pre-liquefaction process, and thus may greatly reduce the total capital cost for liquefaction while also providing improved operational flexibility. For example, embodiments may be configured to treat a fluid with one or more common pre-liquefaction treatment elements to pre-cool the fluid to a preselected liquefaction feed temperature.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to systems, apparatus and methods for providing a pre-liquefaction process for a fluid (eg, hydrogen) to cool the fluid to a pre-selected pre-liquefaction temperature suitable for undergoing liquefaction through a liquefier. Background Art

[0002] Hydrogen can be produced by using one or more electrolyzers. The electrolyzer can generate hydrogen from water by electrolysis. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2022 / 0290309 and 2022 / 0033983 disclose an example of producing hydrogen by one or more electrolyzers, in which the generated hydrogen can be hydrogen that can be liquefied by cryogenic cooling. Examples of hydrogen liquefaction can be found in U.S. Patents Nos. 7,559,213, 4,765,813, and 3,095,274. Hydrogen production that relies on renewable energy to power the operation of various production units can be considered green hydrogen manufacturing. Summary of the invention

[0003] We determined that a new method and apparatus for liquefying hydrogen gas could be expected to provide improved operational flexibility to account for the large variations in hydrogen production that can occur in green hydrogen production due to inconsistent availability of electricity to power the operation of the hydrogen production process (e.g., due to lack of availability of renewable electricity from renewable sources such as, for example, solar, wind, etc.). For example, we determined that the liquefaction of hydrogen gas could be significantly improved to reduce investment costs associated with cryogenic cooling and liquefaction of the gas, thereby significantly improving operating efficiency, which could also significantly reduce power consumption. Reduced power consumption can enable higher hydrogen production rates and / or lower cost production processes for a given power supply, which can provide a more economical and energy-efficient process. This type of improvement can further increase the utilization of renewable energy sources, which can help avoid or minimize carbon-based energy systems that power the operation of the hydrogen production facility.

[0004] For example, a conventional liquefaction device or liquefier may include multiple elements including a cooling medium compression section, a refrigerant storage, a refrigerant phase separation section, a feed fluid compression section, an initial cold box for cooling the fluid, and a liquefier for liquefying the cooling fluid output from the cold box, and a liquefaction cooler for further cooling the cooling fluid output from the cold box to liquefy the fluid. The liquefaction cooler may include multiple expanders, heat exchangers, at least one phase separator, and multiple orthohydrogen to parahydrogen converters. We determined that such a device can be adjusted so that the liquefaction device may include only some of these elements for liquefaction, while other elements may be provided upstream for feeding pre-cooling fluid to one or more liquefiers in a train of liquefiers. We surprisingly found that shared pre-cooling elements can be used to better address inconsistent hydrogen production rates and provide more efficient and flexible liquefaction processing options.

[0005] For example, in some embodiments, each liquefier in a train of liquefiers may receive pre-cooled feed from an upstream cold box heat exchanger. However, the cooling medium reservoir, cooling medium phase separation section, cooling medium compressor, and / or hydrogen feed compressor for feeding cooling medium and hydrogen to the upstream cold box heat exchanger may be positioned so that different cold box heat exchangers receive cooling medium and / or hydrogen feed from the same set of common cooling medium compressors and / or hydrogen feed compressors.

[0006] As another example, a common pre-treatment device (e.g., a common pre-purification unit, or PPU) may also be provided for pre-treating the hydrogen feed before the hydrogen undergoes pre-cooling. As yet another example, a train of liquefiers or a subset of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers may receive cooling fluid from the same upstream cold box heat exchanger, which may also receive cooling medium and feed from a common cooling medium compressor and / or hydrogen feed compressor. As described above, a common upstream pre-treatment device may also be utilized in such an embodiment.

[0007] Embodiments may be provided to achieve greater operational flexibility, which may enable liquefaction by multiple liquefiers to receive feed from a common set of pre-liquefaction processing units, such that the hydrogen liquefier feed is at a liquefaction feed temperature suitable for undergoing liquefaction, while also being able to more efficiently utilize those common units and liquefiers. In some embodiments, it has been surprisingly found that energy efficiency improvements of 2% to 10% may be provided, which may provide significant improvements. For example, for embodiments included in a facility that may require 100MW of power, this type of improvement may be equivalent to 2MW to 10MW, which may provide improvements in operating efficiency, which may be equivalent to millions of dollars in value in terms of increased hydrogen production efficiency and / or reduced energy use, while also providing improvements in operational flexibility.

[0008] In a first aspect, an apparatus for liquefying hydrogen may include a preliquefaction processing system positioned to receive at least one feed stream comprising hydrogen to cool the at least one feed stream to form at least one precooled feed stream at a temperature within a preselected liquefaction feed temperature range for feeding the at least one precooled feed stream to a plurality of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers. The preliquefaction processing system may include a cooling medium unit (CMU) positioned upstream of at least one heat exchanger to feed a cooling medium to the at least one heat exchanger for cooling the at least one feed stream to form the at least one precooled feed stream. The at least one heat exchanger may be positioned between the liquefier and a feed source to receive the at least one feed stream for cooling the at least one feed stream by the cooling medium.

[0009] The hydrogen feed may be substantially hydrogen. For example, the feed may include at least 98 volume percent (vol %) hydrogen or at least 98 mole percent (mol %) hydrogen (e.g., between 98 volume % and 100 volume % hydrogen or between 98 mole % hydrogen and 100 mole % hydrogen). Other embodiments may utilize other feeds consisting primarily of hydrogen (e.g., between 95 volume % and 100 volume % hydrogen, etc.).

[0010] In some embodiments, the preselected liquefaction feed temperature range may be a temperature between -170° C. and -200° C., and the temperature within this range may be, for example, -170° C., -180° C., -190° C., or -200° C. Other embodiments may utilize another suitable preselected liquefaction feed temperature range.

[0011] In some embodiments, the cooling medium may include nitrogen or other suitable cooling medium (eg, cryogenic fluid, refrigerant, etc.).

[0012] In a second aspect, the apparatus can be configured such that the at least one pre-cooling feed stream consists entirely of gas or consists of at least 95 volume percent (vol %) gas and no more than 5 vol % liquid.

[0013] In a third aspect, the at least one heat exchanger of the apparatus may include a first heat exchanger, and the at least one pre-cooled feed stream may include a first pre-cooled feed stream output from the first heat exchanger.

[0014] In a fourth aspect, the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers may include a first liquefier and a second liquefier, and a first heat exchanger of the at least one heat exchanger may be connected to the first liquefier and the second liquefier so that a first portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the first liquefier, and a second portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the second liquefier.

[0015] In the fifth aspect, the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers may include a first liquefier, a second liquefier and a third liquefier, and the first heat exchanger of the at least one heat exchanger may be connected to the first liquefier, the second liquefier and the third liquefier, so that a first portion of the first precooling feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the first liquefier, a second portion of the first precooling feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the second liquefier, and a third portion of the first precooling feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the third liquefier.

[0016] In a sixth aspect, the at least one heat exchanger of the apparatus may include a plurality of heat exchangers, the plurality of heat exchangers including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger may be positioned to receive a first portion of the at least one feed stream, and the second heat exchanger may be positioned to receive a second portion of the at least one feed stream. The at least one pre-cooled feed stream may include a first pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the first heat exchanger and a second pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the second heat exchanger.

[0017] The CMU may be positioned to feed the cooling medium to the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger. The first heat exchanger may be connected to a first liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the first pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the first heat exchanger to the first liquefier. The second heat exchanger may be connected to a second liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the second pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the second heat exchanger to the second liquefier.

[0018] In a seventh aspect, wherein the at least one heat exchanger may include a third heat exchanger positioned to receive a third portion of the at least one feed stream, and the at least one pre-cooled feed stream may further include a third pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the third heat exchanger. The CMU may be positioned to feed the cooling medium to the third heat exchanger, and the third heat exchanger may be connected to a third liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the third pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the third heat exchanger to the third liquefier.

[0019] In an eighth aspect, the pre-liquefaction processing system may further include a pre-purification unit (PPU) and / or a feed compression system, wherein the pre-purification unit is positioned upstream of the at least one heat exchanger to purify the at least one feed stream, and the feed compression system is positioned upstream of the at least one heat exchanger to compress the at least one feed stream to a pressure within a preselected feed pressure range. For example, in some embodiments, the pre-liquefaction processing system may include the feed compression system and the PPU. As another example, in some embodiments, the pre-liquefaction processing system may include only the feed compression system or only the PPU.

[0020] In a ninth aspect, the apparatus may further include other elements. For example, the apparatus may include at least one feed source. The at least one feed source may include a first feed source, the first feed source including a hydrogen production facility that produces hydrogen through renewable energy. In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include the train of liquefiers.

[0021] In the tenth aspect, the device of the first aspect may be combined with one or more features of any of the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect, the sixth aspect, the seventh aspect, the eighth aspect and / or the ninth aspect to form yet other embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that other embodiments of the device may include other features or elements, which may include the exemplary features of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.

[0022] In an eleventh aspect, a method for precooling at least one feed stream comprising hydrogen to provide precooled hydrogen for liquefying the hydrogen is provided. Embodiments of our apparatus may be configured to implement an embodiment of our method. An example of a method for precooling at least one feed stream comprising hydrogen to provide precooled hydrogen for liquefying the hydrogen may include: supplying a cooling medium from a common cooling medium unit (CMU) to at least one preliquefaction cooling device for cooling the feed comprising hydrogen through the at least one preliquefaction cooling device; and cooling the hydrogen through the at least one preliquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide a precooled feed comprising hydrogen at a preselected liquefier feed temperature.

[0023] As described above, the hydrogen feed in embodiments of our methods may be substantially hydrogen in some embodiments. For example, the feed may include at least 98 volume percent (vol%) hydrogen or at least 98 mole percent (mol%) hydrogen (e.g., between 98 volume % and 100 volume % hydrogen or between 98 mole % hydrogen and 100 mole % hydrogen). Other embodiments may utilize other feeds consisting primarily of hydrogen (e.g., between 95 volume % and 100 volume % hydrogen, etc.).

[0024] In some embodiments of our method, the preselected liquefaction feed temperature range may be a temperature between -170°C and -200°C, and the temperature within this range may be, for example, -170°C, -180°C, -190°C, or -200°C. Other embodiments may utilize another suitable preselected liquefaction feed temperature range.

[0025] In some embodiments of our methods, the cooling medium may include nitrogen or other suitable cooling medium (eg, cryogenic fluid, refrigerant, etc.).

[0026] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of our method may further include feeding the pre-cooled feed to a plurality of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers for liquefying hydrogen gas to form liquid hydrogen.

[0027] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of our method may be configured for implementations wherein the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device comprises a first heat exchanger. For example, embodiments of our method may be configured such that cooling the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen gas at a preselected liquefier feed temperature comprises cooling at least a portion of the at least one feed stream in the first heat exchanger by the cooling medium supplied from the CMU.

[0028] In addition, feeding the precooled feed to the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen to form liquid hydrogen may include feeding a first portion of the precooled feed from the first heat exchanger to a first liquefier among the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers and feeding a second portion of the precooled feed from the first heat exchanger to a second liquefier among the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers.

[0029] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of our method may further include a specific implementation in which the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device includes a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger. The cooling of the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen at a preselected liquefier feed temperature may include cooling a first portion of the at least one feed stream in the first heat exchanger by the cooling medium supplied from the CMU and cooling a second portion of the at least one feed stream in the second heat exchanger by the cooling medium supplied from the CMU.

[0030] In addition, feeding the precooled feed to the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen to form liquid hydrogen may include feeding the first precooled feed stream output from the first heat exchanger to a first liquefier among the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers and feeding the second precooled feed stream output from the second heat exchanger to a second liquefier among the multiple liquefiers in the row of liquefiers.

[0031] In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of our method may also be implemented in embodiments in which the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device further comprises a third heat exchanger. The cooling of the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed containing hydrogen at a preselected liquefier feed temperature may include cooling a third portion of the at least one feed stream in the third heat exchanger by the cooling medium supplied from the CMU. In addition, the feeding of the pre-cooled feed to the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen gas to form liquid hydrogen may include feeding a third pre-cooled feed stream output from the third heat exchanger to a third liquefier among the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers.

[0032] In a sixteenth aspect, the method may be configured for implementation wherein the CMU and the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device are included in a pre-liquefaction processing system positioned upstream of a train of liquefiers.

[0033] In some embodiments, the pre-liquefaction processing system may include other components. For example, the pre-liquefaction processing system may further include a PPU and / or a feed compression system.

[0034] In a seventeenth aspect, the method may include compressing the hydrogen before it is fed to the at least one pre-liquefaction cooler and / or purifying the hydrogen before it is fed to the at least one pre-liquefaction cooler.

[0035] In an eighteenth aspect, the method may be configured such that the hydrogen of the at least one feed stream is between 95 volume percent (volume %) of the at least one feed stream and 100 volume % of the at least one feed stream, and the hydrogen is provided by at least one hydrogen production facility, which forms the hydrogen by at least one renewable energy source.

[0036] In a nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of our apparatus may be configured to implement an embodiment of our method.

[0037] In the twentieth aspect, the method of the eleventh aspect may be combined with one or more features of any of the twelfth aspect, the thirteenth aspect, the fourteenth aspect, the fifteenth aspect, the sixteenth aspect, the seventeenth aspect, the eighteenth aspect, and / or the nineteenth aspect to form yet other embodiments. Therefore, it should be understood that other embodiments of our method may include other features or elements, which may include the exemplary features of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.

[0038] It should be understood that embodiments of the method for pre-liquefaction treatment and the apparatus for pre-liquefaction treatment may utilize various conduit arrangements and process control elements. For example, embodiments may utilize sensors (e.g., pressure sensors, temperature sensors, flow rate sensors, concentration sensors, etc.), controllers, valves, pipelines, and other process control elements. As another example, some embodiments may utilize automated process control systems and / or distributed control systems (DCS). Various different conduit arrangements and process control systems may be utilized to meet a specific set of design criteria.

[0039] Other details, objects, and advantages of our methods for preliquefaction processing, systems for hydrogen liquefaction, systems for fluid liquefaction, and methods of making and using the same will become apparent as the following description of certain exemplary embodiments thereof proceeds. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] Exemplary embodiments of the method for pre-liquefaction treatment, the apparatus for pre-liquefaction treatment, the system for hydrogen liquefaction, the system for fluid liquefaction, and the method of making and using the same of the present invention are shown in the drawings included herein. It should be understood that the same reference characters used in the drawings can identify similar components.

[0041] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a first exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including a first exemplary embodiment of a pre-liquefaction process system.

[0042] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a second exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including a second exemplary embodiment of a preliquefaction process system.

[0043] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a second exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including a first exemplary implementation of a first exemplary embodiment of a pre-liquefaction process system.

[0044] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a second exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including a second exemplary implementation of the first exemplary embodiment of a preliquefaction process system.

[0045] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a second exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including a third exemplary implementation of the first exemplary embodiment of a pre-liquefaction process system.

[0046] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a second exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen that includes a fourth exemplary implementation of the first exemplary embodiment of a pre-liquefaction process system.

[0047] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a third exemplary apparatus for liquefying hydrogen including an exemplary embodiment of a pre-liquefaction process system.

[0048] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a first exemplary embodiment of a method for pre-liquefaction of hydrogen gas, the method being used to feed hydrogen fluid to a train of liquefiers for liquefaction. Embodiments of a pre-liquefaction processing system and embodiments of an apparatus for liquefying hydrogen may utilize embodiments of this method. For example, Figures 1 to 7 The embodiment shown in can implement an embodiment of this method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] refer to Figures 1 to 7, an apparatus 1 for liquefying hydrogen may include a pre-liquefaction treatment system 4, which may be configured to facilitate pre-cooling of at least one feed stream 2f output from at least one source of feed 2. In some embodiments, feed 2 may be hydrogen or include hydrogen provided by one or more electrolyzers of a hydrogen production facility, or may be hydrogen from a storage unit that receives hydrogen from such a hydrogen production facility and stores the hydrogen in one or more containers of the storage unit to provide for liquefaction as feed 2. The hydrogen production facility that may provide feed 2 may be configured to generate hydrogen by electrolyzing water, which is powered by at least one renewable energy source (e.g., solar energy, hydroelectric energy, wind energy, etc.).

[0050] Feed 2 may be provided by a source that utilizes only renewable energy (e.g., zero carbon hydrogen feed 2) or may be a very low carbon feed source (e.g., hydrogen feed 2 provided by a carbon capture based hydrogen production facility, a substantially renewable powered hydrogen production facility, etc.). Such a source of feed 2 may include large variations in feed supply due to inconsistent power availability (e.g., changes from high wind to low wind conditions for wind power generation, changes from cloudy to non-cloudy conditions for solar power generation, etc.).

[0051] In some embodiments, the hydrogen gas may be greater than 95 volume percent (vol %) hydrogen (e.g., at least 95 volume % hydrogen, between 97 volume % and 99.999 volume % hydrogen, etc.). In some configurations, the hydrogen gas may also include other elements or impurities, such as water or oxygen. For example, there may be greater than 0 volume % water and less than 2 volume % water in the feed, and there may also be less than 2 volume % oxygen and greater than 0 volume % oxygen.

[0052] Feed 2 may be provided by a source that utilizes only renewable energy (e.g., zero carbon hydrogen feed 2) or may be a very low carbon feed source (e.g., hydrogen feed 2 provided by a carbon capture based hydrogen production facility, a substantially renewable powered hydrogen production facility, etc.). Such a source of feed 2 may include large variations in feed supply due to inconsistent power availability (e.g., changes from high wind to low wind conditions for wind power generation, changes from cloudy to non-cloudy conditions for solar power generation, etc.).

[0053] A hydrogen gas stream may be provided as at least one feed stream 2f to undergo pre-liquefaction cooling or pre-cooling, which may occur upstream of a train of liquefiers positioned to liquefy the feed (e.g., liquefy the feed to form a completely liquid stream). Pre-cooling may be provided by at least one heat exchanger located between a liquefier of a train of liquefiers 5 and a source of feed 2. The at least one heat exchanger may include a heat exchanger (e.g., heat exchanger HX1 of a common pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 or a plurality of heat exchangers 4HX, which may each receive a cooling medium input stream (CMI) to cool the feed through a common cooling medium unit CMU, which provides cooling medium to each of the heat exchangers. The cooling medium may be considered a refrigerant. Each pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 may be arranged and configured to accommodate large variations in feed availability for providing a cooling medium stream to the heat exchanger 4HX.

[0054] One or more heat exchangers 4HX upstream of the train of liquefiers 5 can cool the feed stream 2f to a pre-liquefaction temperature within a pre-selected liquefaction feed temperature range, and output the pre-cooled feed at the pre-liquefaction temperature as at least one pre-cooled feed stream 5f. For example, a suitable pre-liquefaction temperature may be within a pre-selected liquefaction feed temperature range between -110°C and -200°C or between -170°C and -200°C. In an embodiment in which there are multiple heat exchangers 4HX, each heat exchanger may receive a portion of the feed to pre-cool it to a suitable pre-liquefaction temperature, and then output a pre-cooled feed stream 5f to feed the liquefier of the train of liquefiers 5. The pre-liquefaction temperature may be a temperature defined so that each feed stream 5f is mainly gas or entirely gas. In some embodiments, each stream may be entirely gas, at least 95 volume percent (vol %) gas and no more than 5 volume % liquid, between 100 volume % gas and 90 volume % gas and between 0 volume % liquid and 10 volume % liquid, or between 80 volume % gas and 100 volume % gas and between 20 volume % liquid and 0 volume % liquid.

[0055] For example, the first heat exchanger HX4a can receive a first portion of the feed stream 2f to cool the first portion and output a first pre-cooled feed stream 5f1 to feed the first liquefier 5a, and the second heat exchanger HX4b can receive a second portion of the feed stream 2f to cool the second portion and output a second pre-cooled feed stream 5f2 to feed the second liquefier 5b. These pre-cooled feed streams 5f can be completely gaseous or substantially gaseous (e.g., at least 80% by volume of gas and no more than 20% by volume of liquid, 100% by volume of gas, etc.). For example, Figure 1 An embodiment with such a configuration is shown. There can also be more than two heat exchangers in this arrangement. For example (and as Figure 1There may be a third heat exchanger HX4c (shown in dashed lines) positioned to receive a third portion of the feed stream 2f to cool the third portion and output a third pre-cooled feed stream 5f3 to the third liquefier 5c.

[0056] Each heat exchanger 4HX can receive a cooling medium input stream CMI from a cooling medium unit CMU, which processes a cooling medium stream 10 (e.g., nitrogen from an air separation unit, another type of refrigerant, etc.) received from a plant process or other device. The cooling medium stream 10 may include a stream of nitrogen or other types of industrial gases (e.g., natural gas, etc.), which may be processed by the cooling medium unit CMU to appropriately cool the gas to the cooling medium input temperature, thereby providing the desired cooling level at one or more heat exchangers. The cooling medium unit CMU may include, for example, a compressor and expander, a compression expander (e.g., a device including an expander interconnected with at least one compressor stage to help expand the gas provided by the expander for power compression), a cooling medium storage container, and / or a cooling medium phase separator. Each of these elements or a combination of these elements may be provided to process the received cooling medium stream 10 so that the cooling medium stream is cooled to a desired temperature and / or the cooling medium is retained for cooling operations at one or more heat exchangers.

[0057] The cooling medium input stream CMI output from the cooling medium unit CMU for feeding to one or more heat exchangers may be warmed by the cooling provided by this stream in the heat exchanger to cool the hydrogen therein. The warmed cooling medium may be output from each heat exchanger as a warmed cooling medium output stream CMO. The temperature of each warmed cooling medium output stream CMO may be higher than the temperature of the cooling medium input stream CMI. The cooling medium output stream CMO may be discharged through an exhaust conduit CMV shown in dashed lines, or recirculated to the cooling medium unit CMU for cooling and / or storage through a suitable recirculation conduit arrangement CMR positioned between the heat exchanger and the cooling medium unit CMU.

[0058] Each liquefier of the row of liquefiers 5 may further cool and / or process a portion of the pre-cooled feed stream 5f received by it to form a liquefied stream 6. For example, the first liquefier 5a may output a first liquefied hydrogen stream 6a, the second liquefier may output a second liquefied hydrogen stream 6b, and the third liquefier 5c may output a third liquefied hydrogen stream 6c. Each liquefied hydrogen stream 6 may include liquid hydrogen or may be liquid hydrogen. The liquid hydrogen of each liquefied hydrogen stream 6 may be at least 99.99% by volume of hydrogen or between 99.99% by volume of hydrogen and 100% by volume of hydrogen. The liquefied hydrogen stream 6 may contain trace amounts of other elements (e.g., trace amounts of oxygen, argon, water, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and / or carbon dioxide).

[0059] Each liquefier of the train of liquefiers may include a hydrogen liquefaction element. The hydrogen liquefaction element may include one or more expanders, one or more orthohydrogen to parahydrogen converters, and at least one liquefaction heat exchanger for cooling hydrogen to a temperature equal to or below its phase transition temperature to form liquid hydrogen. For example, each liquefied hydrogen stream 6 may be cooled to a temperature below -252.8°C, -253°C, a temperature between -240°C and -260°C, or other preselected liquefaction temperatures within a preselected liquefaction temperature range (e.g., a temperature between -240°C and -260°C or other suitable liquefaction temperature range).

[0060] In some embodiments, the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 may further include at least one pre-cooling treatment device 2p (pre-cooling), which is positioned between the source of the feed 2 and the pre-cooling heat exchanger (e.g., heat exchanger HX1 or a corresponding heat exchanger 4HX array, etc.). The at least one pre-cooling treatment device 2p may include a pre-purification unit (PPU) and / or a feed compression system.

[0061] For example, the feed compression system FC of the pre-cooling treatment device 2p may include one or more compressors configured to compress the hydrogen of the feed stream 2f to a desired feed pressure.

[0062] The PPU of the pre-cooling treatment device 2p may include one or more adsorbers, which may include one or more beds of adsorbent material for removing impurities from the feed stream 2f. For example, the PPU may be configured to remove water, oxygen and / or hydrocarbons from the feed so that the feed has a higher concentration of hydrogen output from the PPU before the feed stream is fed to the one or more heat exchangers.

[0063] An exemplary arrangement in which the pre-liquefaction processing system 4 includes a PPU and a feed compression system FC can be obtained from Figure 2 and Figure 4 In an alternative arrangement, the feed 2 from the feed source may already be at a desired feed pressure and / or have undergone pre-purification to have a suitable purity level for feeding to the heat exchanger of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4. For example, Figure 3 An exemplary embodiment is shown in which the source of feed 2 can utilize a PPU and a compressor system (Comp) so that the feed provided to the pre-liquefaction processing system 4 has a desired hydrogen purity level and a preselected pressure within a preselected feed pressure range (e.g., a pressure of 1.1 bar to 40 bar, a pressure not exceeding 50 bar, etc.). As another example, Figure 5An exemplary arrangement is shown in which a feed 2 from a feed source may have undergone pre-purification to have a suitable purity level for feeding to a heat exchanger of a pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 through a PPU, and the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 (Pre-Liq) includes a feed compressor system FC to increase the feed pressure to a preselected pressure within a preselected feed pressure range.

[0064] As discussed herein, embodiments of our apparatus, systems, and methods can provide significant improvements in operational flexibility, significantly improve profitability by reducing the capital costs associated with hydrogen liquefaction, and also provide maintenance and safety benefits associated with implementation and operation. For example, feeds from hydrogen production facilities based on renewable energy may have significant variations in the flow rate of hydrogen that can be generated. Productivity can vary greatly over a wide range of production capacities. Therefore, the liquefaction process may need to consider relatively low production levels and also be able to accommodate higher levels of production that occur intermittently in various unpredictable cycles, which may be affected by weather or other factors (e.g., cloudy days, lack of sufficient wind, etc.). We surprisingly found that the use of one or more shared pre-liquefaction processing systems 4 can enable multiple liquefiers of a column of liquefiers to operate more efficiently and effectively at a given preselected minimum operating level, which may be desired to avoid having to shut down the liquefier and then restart the liquefier (which may be a very expensive and time-consuming operation, which can result in significant processing delays and hydrogen losses). Operational flexibility may be provided by allowing the pre-liquefaction process to be performed by common equipment that may be sized to account for large production variability, while also allowing pre-cooled hydrogen to be provided to multiple liquefiers by a method that allows each liquefier to continue operating at a preselected minimum operating level (e.g., 20% operating capacity, 25% operating capacity, 30% operating capacity, etc.) up to a maximum operating level (e.g., 100% operating capacity or close to 100% operating capacity, such as within 3%-5% of full operating capacity, etc.). Furthermore, it has been surprisingly discovered that this type of operational flexibility enables the use of smaller sized liquefier equipment and also enables the liquefaction equipment to operate more efficiently, which is believed to help drive the surprisingly significant efficiency gains that we have discovered can be provided by embodiments of our apparatus and methods.

[0065] To help further illustrate the different types of operational flexibility and improved efficient performance that may be provided, a more detailed discussion of various exemplary embodiments and exemplary implementations of the exemplary embodiments are discussed further herein.

[0066] refer to Figure 1, a device 1 for liquefying hydrogen may include a source of feed 2, which may provide hydrogen feed 2f to one or more precooling heat exchangers 4HX of a preliquefaction treatment system 4. The precooling heat exchangers 4HX may each be configured as a plate fin heat exchanger, a shell and tube heat exchanger, a coiled tube heat exchanger, a kettle heat exchanger or other suitable types of heat exchangers. In some embodiments, the preliquefaction treatment system 4 may also include at least one precooling treatment device 2p (precooling). The precooling treatment device may include feed precooling treatment equipment, which may compress the feed to a suitable feed pressure and / or one or more purification devices to purify the feed, thereby increasing the hydrogen concentration of the feed to a desired hydrogen content, which may be within the preselected hydrogen content range as described above. For example, a feed compression system (FC) and / or a PPU may be present for pretreating the feed before the feed 2f is fed to the precooling heat exchanger 4HX.

[0067] Each pre-cooling heat exchanger 4HX may receive a cooling medium input stream CMI from a cooling medium unit CMU. The cooling medium unit CMU may be arranged and configured to process a refrigerant stream or other type of cooling medium stream 10 (e.g., a nitrogen stream from an air separation unit (ASU) or a liquid natural gas stream from a natural gas processing unit, etc.) that it may receive from a plant process. The cooling medium unit CMU may include a common arrangement of cooling medium compressors, compressors, storage vessels, and / or phase separators, which are positioned to appropriately cool the cooling medium to a desired cooling medium input temperature range to provide a desired cooling level to the feed stream 2f fed to each of the pre-cooling heat exchangers 4HX. The cooling medium may be output from the cooling medium unit CMU as a cooling medium input stream CMI, so that portions of the cooling medium input stream CMI are fed to different pre-cooling heat exchangers 4HX, which may be arranged to pre-cool portions of the feed 2f to feed to different liquefiers of a train of liquefiers 5.

[0068] For example, a first portion of the cooling medium input stream CMI can be fed to the first heat exchanger HX4a of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4, so as to cool the first portion of the hydrogen feed 2f to a suitable liquefaction feed temperature, so as to be output as a first pre-cooled feed stream 5f1 containing hydrogen, so as to be fed to the first liquefier 5a to form a first liquefied hydrogen stream 6a. A second portion of the cooling medium input stream CMI can be fed to the second heat exchanger HX4b of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4, so as to cool the second portion of the hydrogen feed 2f to a suitable liquefaction feed temperature, so as to be output as a second pre-cooled feed stream 5f2 containing hydrogen, so as to be fed to the second liquefier 5b to form a second liquefied hydrogen stream 6b. As yet another example, a third portion of the cooling medium input stream CMI may be fed to the third heat exchanger HX4c of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 for use in cooling the third portion of the hydrogen feed 2f to a suitable liquefaction feed temperature for output as a third pre-cooled feed stream 5f3 comprising hydrogen, for feeding to the third liquefier 5c to form a third liquefied hydrogen stream 6c.

[0069] It should be understood that the cooling medium unit CMU can be arranged to provide cooling medium flow to more than three pre-liquefaction pre-cooling heat exchangers of the pre-liquefaction processing system 4, or can be arranged to provide cooling medium to only two such heat exchangers. In some other embodiments, the pre-liquefaction processing system 4 may include multiple cooling medium units CMU, each of which can also provide cooling medium input flow to multiple different corresponding heat exchangers 4HX.

[0070] As described above, each of the heat exchangers 4HX can output warmed cooling medium as a warmed cooling medium output stream CMO, which can be recycled back to the cooling medium unit CMU via a recirculation conduit arrangement CMR positioned between the heat exchanger 4HX and the cooling medium unit CMU, or can be discharged to the atmosphere via a warmed cooling medium output conduit CMV or otherwise provided to other plant processing elements (for example, as regeneration gas for an adsorber before discharge, used as a heating or cooling medium for another heat exchanger, etc.).

[0071] The use of a common cooling medium unit CMU can provide improved operating efficiency and performance by allowing the cooling medium flow to be processed by a common element, which is used to provide a cooling medium flow to a plurality of different pre-liquefaction heat exchangers 4HX, which are located upstream of the liquefier for feeding the fluid to be liquefied to the corresponding liquefier. Embodiments can provide operational flexibility, which can achieve improved operating performance and feed flow routing to help provide higher efficiency in liquefier operation, thereby providing improved performance. In addition, when the liquefier ages or requires maintenance, the common cooling medium unit CMU can enable a stable supply of cooling medium to other heat exchangers 4HX for more flexible operation (which can accommodate these problems without impairing the use of these elements), and can achieve a reduction in total investment cost by minimizing the number of elements that may be required for the liquefaction arrangement for liquefying hydrogen feed.

[0072] refer to Figure 2 , another embodiment of the apparatus 1 for liquefying hydrogen can be provided, which can include many different specific implementation options, including providing a common cooling medium unit CMU and other common pre-liquefaction processing system components for pre-cooling the hydrogen feed to a suitable liquefaction feed temperature. Figures 3 to 6 It can also be understood Figure 2 An example of a specific implementation identified in .

[0073] from Figures 2 to 6 It can be seen that the apparatus may include a source of feed 2 comprising hydrogen as described above. The source of hydrogen may include, for example, a plurality of electrolyzers that generate hydrogen by electrolyzing water, powered by renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, and / or hydroelectric energy, etc.). In some embodiments, there may be a plurality of sources of feed 2, such as Figure 2 The dashed line and Figure 3 For example, different electrolyser rooms of a plant or different hydrogen production facilities may be the source of feed 2.

[0074] At least one feed stream 2f may be provided by a source of feed 2. For example, a first feed stream 2a may be output from a source of first feed 2 to provide hydrogen to a first pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 for precooling to a suitable preselected liquefaction feed temperature before being fed to a train of liquefiers 5. The first feed stream 2a may be fed to a heat exchanger 4HX of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4. The first heat exchanger HX1 of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 may receive the first feed stream 2a directly from the source of feed 2, or may receive the hydrogen feed after the hydrogen feed has undergone pre-purification and / or compression through a PPU and a feed compressor FC of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4. For example, the feed stream may be fed directly from the source of feed 2 to the heat exchanger HX1 via a feed conduit, or the first feed stream 2a may be conveyed from the source of feed 2 to the PPU of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 (Pre-Liq), and then compressed by a feed compression system (FC) before the feed is fed to the first heat exchanger HX1. A PPU output conduit 4p may be positioned between the PPU and the feed compression system FC and / or between the PPU and the first heat exchanger HX1 to feed the purified feed to the compression system FC to undergo compression and / or the first heat exchanger HX1 to undergo precooling. There may also (or alternatively) be a feed compression system conduit 4f positioned between the feed compression system FC and the first heat exchanger HX1 for feeding the compressed feed to the first heat exchanger HX1 so as to undergo precooling after the feed is compressed to the preselected feed pressure as described above.

[0075] The pre-liquefaction processing system 4 may also include a cooling medium unit CMU, which may receive a cooling medium stream 10 from a plant process (e.g., ASU, etc.) for compression, storage, and / or phase separation, thereby being used to cool the cooling medium stream 10 and / or store the cooling medium stream for use in providing sufficient cooling medium input stream CMI to the first heat exchanger HX1 at a preselected cooling medium inlet temperature, thereby being used to cool the hydrogen feed to a preselected liquefaction feed temperature. The warmed cooling medium stream CMO output from the heat exchanger may be recycled back to the cooling medium unit CMU via a recirculation conduit CMR, or may be discharged via a warmed cooling medium output conduit CMV connected to the first heat exchanger HX1 or otherwise used as described above.

[0076] The first heat exchanger HX1 can output the first precooled feed stream 5f at a suitable preselected liquefaction feed temperature for feeding to a plurality of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers 5. For example, the first precooled feed stream 5f can be output at a suitable preliquefaction temperature, which can be within a preselected liquefaction feed temperature range between -110°C and -170°C, within a preselected liquefaction feed temperature range between -130°C and -160°C, or within other suitable temperature ranges, and different portions of this stream can be fed to different liquefiers in a train of liquefiers 5.

[0077] For example, a first portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen output from the first heat exchanger HX1 can be fed to the first liquefier 5a through a first liquefier feed conduit 4a positioned between the first heat exchanger HX1 and the first liquefier 5a. A second portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen output from the first heat exchanger HX1 can be fed to the second liquefier 5b through a second liquefier feed conduit 4b positioned between the first heat exchanger HX1 and the second liquefier 5b. Additional liquefiers can also receive portions of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen output from the first heat exchanger HX1. For example, a third portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen output from the first heat exchanger HX1 can be fed to the third liquefier 5c through a third liquefier feed conduit 4c positioned between the first heat exchanger HX1 and the third liquefier 5c. The first liquefier feed conduit 4a, the second liquefier feed conduit 4b and the third liquefier feed conduit 4c may be arranged to branch from the first heat exchanger output conduit or may be connected to different heat exchanger outlets or output conduits.

[0078] Each liquefier can receive a portion of the precooled feed stream 5f received from the first heat exchanger HX1, and liquefy the portion of hydrogen to form a liquid hydrogen stream 6 for providing to a storage container and / or conduit to store and / or supply liquid hydrogen. For example, the first liquefier 5a can process a first portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen to form a first liquid hydrogen stream 6a, the second liquefier 5b can process a second portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen to form a second liquid hydrogen stream 6b, and (if present) the third liquefier 5c can process a third portion of the first precooled feed stream 5f of hydrogen to form a third liquid hydrogen stream 6c. These liquid hydrogen streams 6 can be combined and subsequently fed to a storage unit, each fed to a different storage unit, and / or fed to another plant process using liquid hydrogen.

[0079] from Figure 3 It is understood that some specific implementations may include a pre-liquefaction processing system 4, wherein the pre-liquefaction processing system does not include a compression system and does not include a PPU. For example, the source of feed 2 of each feed source may include a respective compression system (Comp) and a pre-purification unit (PPU) for providing the purified feed stream 2a to the pre-liquefaction processing system 4 to undergo cooling through the first heat exchanger HX1. In this arrangement, each feed stream of purified hydrogen 2a may be fed to the first heat exchanger HX1 to undergo cooling therein by a cooling medium provided by the cooling medium unit CMU as described above. The pre-cooled feed may be output from the first heat exchanger HX1 as a pre-cooled feed stream 5f for feeding to different liquefiers of a train of liquefiers as described above.

[0080] Figure 4 Shows Figure 2 An exemplary implementation of an embodiment of the present invention is provided, wherein the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 (Pre-Liq) includes a PPU and a feed compression system FC. The feed stream 2f output from the source of feed 2 as described above can be fed to the PPU of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 to undergo purification, and then fed to the feed compression system FC through the PPU output conduit 4p to undergo compression through the feed compression system FC. The compressed feed can be output from the feed compression system and fed to the first heat exchanger through the first heat exchanger feed conduit 4f connected between the feed compression system FC and the first heat exchanger HX1. As described above, the first heat exchanger HX1 can receive a cooling medium input flow CMI from a common cooling medium unit CMU for cooling the compressed and purified feed flow. The pre-cooled feed can be output from the first heat exchanger HX1 as a pre-cooled feed flow 5f containing hydrogen for feeding to different liquefiers in a train of liquefiers as described above.

[0081] Figure 5 Shows Figure 2 An exemplary implementation of an embodiment of the invention, wherein the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 (Pre-Liq) includes a feed compression system FC. As described above, the feed stream 2f output from the source of feed 2 may be fed to the PPU of the feed source for purification, and then fed to the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 to undergo compression through the feed compression system FC and then be cooled through the first heat exchanger HX1. For example, the purified feed may be fed to the compression system FC through a compression system feed conduit positioned between the PPU of the source of feed 2 and the compression system FC. The compressed feed may be output from the feed compression system FC and fed to the first heat exchanger HX1 through a first heat exchanger feed conduit 4f connected between the feed compression system FC and the first heat exchanger HX1. As described above, the first heat exchanger HX1 may receive a cooling medium input flow CMI from the common cooling medium unit CMU for cooling the compressed and purified feed stream. The pre-cooled feed may be output from the first heat exchanger HX1 as pre-cooled feed stream 5f comprising hydrogen for feeding to a different liquefier of a train of liquefiers as described above.

[0082] Figure 6 Shows Figure 2An exemplary implementation of an embodiment of, wherein the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 (Pre-Liq) includes a PPU. The feed stream 2f output from the source of feed 2 as described above can be fed to the compression system (Comp) of the source of feed 2, and then fed to the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 to undergo purification by the PPU of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4. The purified feed output from the PPU can be fed to the first heat exchanger through a first heat exchanger feed conduit 4f connected between the PPU of the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 and the first heat exchanger HX1. As described above, the first heat exchanger HX1 can receive a cooling medium input flow CMI from a common cooling medium unit CMU for cooling the purified feed stream. The pre-cooled feed can be output from the first heat exchanger HX1 as a pre-cooled feed stream 5f containing hydrogen for feeding to different liquefiers in a train of liquefiers as described above.

[0083] The use of a common cooling medium unit CMU and a common first heat exchanger and the optional use of a common feed compression system FC and / or a common PPU of the preliquefaction treatment system 4 can provide improved operating efficiency and performance by allowing the cooling medium flow to be processed by a common element, which is used to provide a cooling medium flow to the preliquefaction heat exchanger 4HX, which is located upstream of a row of liquefiers 5 for feeding the fluid to be liquefied to the corresponding liquefier. The embodiment can provide operational flexibility, which can achieve improved operating performance and feed flow routing to help provide higher efficiency in liquefier operation, thereby providing improved performance. In addition, when the liquefier ages or requires maintenance, the common precooling treatment element (and optional precooling compression and purification element) of the preliquefaction treatment system 4 can enable a stable supply of at least one precooling feed stream 5f to the liquefier for more flexible operation (which can adapt to these problems without impairing the use of these elements), and can achieve a reduction in total investment cost by minimizing the number of elements that may be required for the liquefaction arrangement for liquefying hydrogen feed.

[0084] As described herein, embodiments of a pre-liquefaction processing system 4 (Pre-Liq) may be provided to support different liquefier groups of a train of liquefiers. Figure 7An embodiment of a preliquefaction treatment system 4 is shown, which can provide a precooled feed stream 5f to a plurality of different liquefiers of a train of liquefiers 5. The source of the feed 2 can be one or more hydrogen production facilities having one or more electrolyzer chambers that provide hydrogen formed by electrolysis powered by one or more renewable energy sources. The feed stream 2f can be fed to different preliquefaction treatment systems 4, which can be arranged to primarily output the precooled feed stream 5f for use in the corresponding liquefiers of a train of liquefiers to form liquid hydrogen. For example, a first preliquefaction treatment system 4 can form a first precooled feed stream 5f for providing a first portion of this stream to a first liquefier 5a, thereby forming a first liquid hydrogen stream 6a through a first liquefier feed conduit 4a, and providing a second portion of this stream to a second liquefier 5b, thereby forming a second liquid hydrogen stream 6b through a second liquefier feed conduit 4b. The first liquefier feed conduit 4a may be connected between the first heat exchanger HX1 of the first pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 and the first liquefier 5a, and the second liquefier feed conduit 4b may be connected between the first heat exchanger HX1 of the first pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 and the second liquefier 5b.

[0085] The second pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 may form a second pre-cooled feed stream 5f for providing a first portion of this stream to the third liquefier 5c, thereby forming a third liquid hydrogen stream 6c through the third liquefier feed conduit 4c, and providing a second portion of this stream to the fourth liquefier 5d, thereby forming a fourth liquid hydrogen stream 6d through the fourth liquefier feed conduit 4d. The third liquefier feed conduit 4c may be connected between the first heat exchanger HX1 of the second pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 and the third liquefier 5c, and the fourth liquefier feed conduit 4d may be connected between the first heat exchanger HX1 of the second pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 and the fourth liquefier 5d. The first liquefier, the second liquefier, the third liquefier, and the fourth liquefier may liquefy the hydrogen received from the pre-liquefaction treatment system 4 to form a liquid hydrogen stream 6 for feeding to storage containers and / or other plant processes.

[0086] There may also be a redundant feed conduit 4s positioned between the preliquefaction treatment system 4 and the liquefiers of a column of liquefiers. The redundant feed conduit 4s may be positioned so that the first preliquefaction treatment system 4 can provide a precooled feed stream 5f to the third liquefier 5c and / or the fourth liquefier 5d. The redundant feed conduit 4s may also be positioned so that the second preliquefaction treatment system 4 can provide a precooled feed stream 5f to the first liquefier 5a and / or the second liquefier 5b. This type of redundant conduit 4 may provide additional processing flexibility to address preliquefaction treatment system maintenance issues and / or address a reduction in hydrogen production levels from one or more feed sources, so that different preliquefaction treatment system elements and liquefiers can adjust their operations to operate more efficiently and flexibly, thereby addressing hydrogen supply and / or maintenance type issues that may arise during operation.

[0087] Embodiments may be provided in which one or more CMUs may be utilized to provide cooling medium to multiple pre-liquefaction system 4 heat exchangers to pre-cool the stream of feed 2. In embodiments in which multiple CMUs may be present (where there are also fewer total CMUs than the pre-liquefaction system heat exchanger 4HX), embodiments may be configured to utilize a common header to help distribute the cooling medium streams fed to different heat exchangers. For example, in embodiments in which two CMUs and three or more heat exchangers 4HX may be present, a common header conduit may be positioned to receive cooling medium streams output from different CMUs for feeding cooling medium input streams (CMI) to different heat exchangers. The common header conduit may be positioned and configured to mix different cooling medium input streams output by different CMUs to form a mixed stream, which may then be split to feed to different heat exchangers 4HX. For example, the header conduit may be arranged and positioned to split the mixed cooling medium stream into a plurality of different streams to feed to the three or more heat exchangers 4HX. The common header conduit may be connected between different CMUs and different pre-liquefaction system heat exchangers 4HX. In some embodiments, the common cooling medium header conduit may include at least one mixing device (e.g., an inline mixer, a mixing vessel, etc.) for mixing cooling medium flows output from different CMUs to form a mixed cooling medium input flow (CMI) for feeding to different heat exchangers 4HX.

[0088] Embodiments of our pre-liquefaction processing system 4 and apparatus for hydrogen liquefaction 1 can be configured to implement an embodiment of our method for pre-liquefaction of hydrogen, an exemplary embodiment of which is described in Figure 8As shown in the figure. For example, in the first step S1, the hydrogen feed can be provided to at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device (e.g., heat exchanger 4HX, etc.). In the second step S2, the cooling medium from the common cooling medium unit CMU can be supplied to one or more pre-liquefaction heat exchangers (e.g., the first heat exchanger HX1 or the first heat exchanger HX4a, the second heat exchanger HX4b and / or the third heat exchanger HX4c, etc.). Optionally, before the feed undergoes cooling through one or more pre-liquefaction heat exchangers, the feed can be compressed by a common compression system (e.g., pre-liquefaction treatment system feed compression system FC) and / or purified by a pre-purification unit (e.g., PPU of the pre-liquefaction treatment system).

[0089] In a third step S3, the precooled feed at the preselected liquefier feed temperature output from the one or more heat exchangers may be fed to a liquefier of a train of liquefiers. For example, in the case where there are multiple preliquefaction heat exchangers, as described above, each heat exchanger may feed the precooled feed stream to a corresponding one or more liquefiers. As another example, the heat exchangers of the preliquefaction treatment system 4 may output the precooled feed for feeding portions of the precooled feed to different liquefiers as described above.

[0090] Embodiments of our methods may also include other steps. For example, embodiments may include modifying an existing facility to include an embodiment of our preliquefaction processing system 4 and / or apparatus 1 for liquefying hydrogen. As another example, embodiments may include installing an embodiment of our preliquefaction processing system 4 and / or apparatus 1 for liquefying hydrogen, and then operating the installed system or apparatus to facilitate precooling of hydrogen feed for subsequent liquefaction through a train of liquefiers. Embodiments of our methods may also include other steps or features, as can be understood from the above discussion of exemplary embodiments of our preliquefaction processing system 4 and apparatus 1 for liquefying hydrogen.

[0091] For example, embodiments of the method may further include providing cooling medium input flows (CMI) from multiple CMUs to provide cooling medium to multiple pre-liquefaction system 4 heat exchangers 4HX for pre-cooling the flow of feed 2. In embodiments where multiple CMUs may be present (where there are also fewer total CMUs than pre-liquefaction system heat exchangers 4HX), embodiments of the method may include feeding cooling medium input flows output from different CMUs to a common header to help distribute the cooling medium flows fed to different heat exchangers 4HX. For example, in embodiments where two CMUs and three or more heat exchangers 4HX may be present, embodiments of the method may include feeding different cooling medium flows from the CMUs to a common header conduit positioned between the CMUs and different heat exchangers. The common header conduit may be positioned and configured such that the method also includes mixing different cooling medium input flows output by different CMUs to form a mixed cooling medium flow, which may then be split to feed to different heat exchangers 4HX for pre-cooling the feed. The mixing of different cooling medium flows can be provided by at least one mixing device (e.g., an in-line mixer, a mixing vessel, etc.) of a common header duct for mixing the cooling medium flows output from different CMUs to form a mixed cooling medium input flow (CMI), which is then split to feed different heat exchangers 4HX.

[0092] As discussed herein, utilizing a common cooling medium unit CMU and other common pre-liquefaction processing elements can provide improved operating efficiency and performance by allowing the cooling medium flow and feed to be processed by a common element, which is used to pre-cool the feed to a suitable temperature and / or pressure and / or purity level to undergo liquefaction. Embodiments can provide operational flexibility, which can achieve improved operating performance and feed flow routing to help provide higher efficiency in liquefier operation, thereby providing improved performance. In addition, when the liquefier ages or requires maintenance, the common pre-cooling processing elements of the pre-liquefaction processing system can enable a stable supply of cooling medium and / or pre-cooling feed for more flexible operation (which can accommodate these problems without impairing the use of these elements), and can achieve a reduction in total investment cost by minimizing the number of elements that may be required for the liquefaction arrangement for liquefying hydrogen feed.

[0093] In some embodiments, it has surprisingly been found that a 2% to 10% improvement in energy efficiency can be provided, which can provide significant improvements. For example, for embodiments included in a facility that may require 100 MW of power, this type of improvement can be equivalent to 2 MW to 10 MW, which can provide improvements in operating efficiency, which can be equivalent to millions of dollars in value in terms of increased hydrogen production efficiency and / or reduced energy use, while also providing improvements in operating flexibility. For example, embodiments can be provided so that the energy savings that can be achieved can be provided for improved hydrogen production and / or reduced operating costs and improved use of renewable energy through feed sources, while also providing a reduction in capital costs, which can make the use of renewable electricity for hydrogen production more cost-effective, thereby more widely utilizing renewable energy.

[0094] It should be understood that the embodiments clearly shown and discussed herein can be modified to meet a set of specific design goals or a set of specific design standards. For example, the arrangement of valves, pipelines and other conduit elements (for example, conduit connection mechanisms, pipelines, seals, etc.) for interconnecting the different units of a factory for the fluid flow between different elements (for example, pumps, conduits, valves, etc.) can be arranged to meet a specific factory layout design, which takes into account the available area of ​​the factory, the size design equipment and other design considerations of the factory. As another example, the flow rate, pressure and temperature of the fluid through various equipment or system elements can change, to consider different design configurations and other design standards.

[0095] Embodiments of a plant, an apparatus for pre-liquefaction processing, a method for pre-liquefaction processing, a system for hydrogen liquefaction and / or a system for fluid liquefaction may each be configured to include process control elements positioned and configured to monitor and control operations (e.g., temperature and pressure sensors, flow sensors, an automated process control system having at least one workstation including a processor, a non-transitory storage device and at least one transceiver for communicating with sensor elements, valves and controllers, which is used to provide a user interface for an automated process control system that may be run at the workstation and / or another computer device in the plant, etc.).

[0096] As another example, it is contemplated that a particular feature described alone or as part of an embodiment may be combined with other individually described features or parts of other embodiments. Thus, the elements and actions of the various embodiments described herein may be combined to provide further embodiments. Thus, although certain exemplary embodiments of the method, apparatus, system, and methods of making and using the same have been shown and described above, it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously implemented and practiced within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for liquefying hydrogen, comprising: A preliquefaction processing system, the preliquefaction processing system is positioned to receive at least one feed stream comprising hydrogen to cool the at least one feed stream to form at least one precooled feed stream at a temperature within a preselected liquefaction feed temperature range for feeding the at least one precooled feed stream to a plurality of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers; the preliquefaction processing system includes a cooling medium unit (CMU) positioned upstream of at least one heat exchanger to feed a cooling medium to the at least one heat exchanger for cooling the at least one feed stream to form the at least one precooled feed stream, the at least one heat exchanger being positioned between the liquefier and a feed source to receive the at least one feed stream for cooling the at least one feed stream by the cooling medium.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one precooling feed stream consists entirely of gas, or consists of at least 95 volume percent (vol %) gas and not more than 5 volume % liquid.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one heat exchanger comprises a first heat exchanger and the at least one pre-cooled feed stream comprises a first pre-cooled feed stream output from the first heat exchanger.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of liquefiers in the row of liquefiers include a first liquefier and a second liquefier, and the first heat exchanger is connected to the first liquefier and the second liquefier so that a first portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the first liquefier, and a second portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the second liquefier.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of liquefiers in the row of liquefiers include a first liquefier, a second liquefier and a third liquefier, and the first heat exchanger is connected to the first liquefier, the second liquefier and the third liquefier so that a first portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the first liquefier, a second portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the second liquefier, and a third portion of the first precooled feed stream that can be output from the first heat exchanger can be fed to the third liquefier.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one heat exchanger comprises a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger being positioned to receive a first portion of the at least one feed stream and the second heat exchanger being positioned to receive a second portion of the at least one feed stream, and the at least one pre-cooled feed stream comprises a first pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the first heat exchanger and a second pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the second heat exchanger; wherein the CMU is positioned to feed the cooling medium to the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger; the first heat exchanger is connected to a first liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the first precooled feed stream outputtable from the first heat exchanger to the first liquefier; and The second heat exchanger is connected to a second liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the second pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the second heat exchanger to the second liquefier.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one heat exchanger further comprises a third heat exchanger positioned to receive a third portion of the at least one feed stream, and the at least one pre-cooled feed stream comprises a third pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the third heat exchanger; wherein the CMU is positioned to feed the cooling medium to the third heat exchanger; and The third heat exchanger is connected to a third liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers to feed the third pre-cooled feed stream outputtable from the third heat exchanger to the third liquefier.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pre-liquefaction treatment system further comprises: a pre-purification unit (PPU) and / or a feed compression system, wherein the pre-purification unit is positioned upstream of the at least one heat exchanger to purify the at least one feed stream, and the feed compression system is positioned upstream of the at least one heat exchanger to compress the at least one feed stream to a pressure within a preselected feed pressure range.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the pre-liquefaction processing system comprises the feed compression system and the PPU.

10. The device according to claim 8, comprising: a feed source, the feed source comprising a hydrogen production facility that produces hydrogen from renewable energy; and The array of liquefiers.

11. A method for precooling at least one feed stream comprising hydrogen to provide precooled hydrogen for liquefying the hydrogen, the method comprising: supplying a cooling medium from a common cooling medium unit (CMU) to at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device for cooling a feed comprising hydrogen through the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device; as well as The hydrogen is cooled by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide a pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen at a preselected liquefier feed temperature.

12. The method according to claim 11, comprising: The pre-cooled feed is fed to a plurality of liquefiers in a train of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen gas to form liquid hydrogen.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device comprises a first heat exchanger; wherein cooling the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen gas at a preselected liquefier feed temperature comprises: cooling at least a portion of the at least one feed stream in the first heat exchanger with the cooling medium supplied from the CMU; and wherein feeding the pre-cooled feed to the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen to form liquid hydrogen comprises: A first portion of the precooled feed is fed from the first heat exchanger to a first liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers, and a second portion of the precooled feed is fed from the first heat exchanger to a second liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device comprises a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger; wherein cooling the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen gas at a preselected liquefier feed temperature comprises: cooling a first portion of the at least one feed stream in the first heat exchanger with the cooling medium supplied from the CMU; as well as cooling a second portion of the at least one feed stream in the second heat exchanger with the cooling medium supplied from the CMU; and wherein feeding the pre-cooled feed to the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen to form liquid hydrogen comprises: A first precooled feed stream output from the first heat exchanger is fed to a first liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers, and a second precooled feed stream output from the second heat exchanger is fed to a second liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device comprises a third heat exchanger; wherein cooling the hydrogen gas by the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device using the cooling medium supplied by the CMU to provide the pre-cooled feed comprising hydrogen gas at a preselected liquefier feed temperature comprises: cooling a third portion of the at least one feed stream in the third heat exchanger with the cooling medium supplied from the CMU; and wherein feeding the pre-cooled feed to the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers for liquefying the hydrogen to form liquid hydrogen comprises: A third pre-cooled feed stream output from the third heat exchanger is fed to a third liquefier of the plurality of liquefiers in the train of liquefiers.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the CMU and the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device are included in a pre-liquefaction processing system positioned upstream of a train of liquefiers.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the pre-liquefaction processing system further comprises a PPU and / or a feed compression system.

18. The method according to claim 17, comprising: The hydrogen is compressed before being fed to the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device.

19. The method according to claim 18, comprising: The hydrogen is purified before being fed to the at least one pre-liquefaction cooling device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the hydrogen of the at least one feed stream is between 95 volume percent (vol %) of the at least one feed stream and 100 vol % of the at least one feed stream, and the hydrogen is provided by at least one hydrogen production facility, wherein the at least one hydrogen production facility forms the hydrogen by at least one renewable energy source.

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