A hydrogen compressor system and control method

Through the optimized design of multi-stage compression units and purification devices, the problem of incomplete hydrogen purification in existing hydrogen compressor systems has been solved, achieving efficient and economical deep drying and cleanliness of hydrogen, reducing system costs and risks, and making it suitable for the fuel cell and semiconductor manufacturing industries.

CN121243956BActive Publication Date: 2026-03-06ZIGONG DONGFANG GENERAL COMPRESSOR CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202511804842.7
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-12-03
Publication Date
2026-03-06
Estimated Expiration
2045-12-03

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing hydrogen compressor systems struggle to meet the requirements for high purity and cleanliness during the preparation of pressurized hydrogen, especially in the fuel cell and semiconductor manufacturing industries. The unreasonable setup of hydrogen purification devices in existing technologies leads to shortened molecular sieve life, increased costs, and safety risks.

Method used

It adopts a multi-stage compression unit design, with a refrigerated dryer and a molecular sieve purifier connected in series. Energy recovery and utilization are achieved through circulation pipelines and regeneration gas feedback pipelines. The purification unit is set between the pre-compression section and the post-compression section, using the hydrogen after pre-compression for deep drying and heat recovery. The molecular sieve purifier adopts a dual-tower alternating working mode, and automatic switching is achieved through the control unit.

Benefits of technology

This method achieves efficient and deep drying and purification of hydrogen, reduces the size and cost of purification equipment, extends the service life of molecular sieves, avoids hydrogen loss and safety risks, and improves the economic efficiency and reliability of the system.

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Abstract

This invention discloses a hydrogen compressor system and control method, belonging to the field of compressor technology. The hydrogen compressor system includes a multi-stage compression unit, comprising a pre-compression stage and a post-compression stage. A purification device is provided between the pre-compression stage and the post-compression stage. The purification device includes a refrigerated dryer, a molecular sieve purifier, and a dust filter. The molecular sieve purifier is equipped with a regeneration heat exchanger, and a circulation pipeline is provided between the pre-compression stage and the regeneration heat exchanger. The molecular sieve purifier is also equipped with a regeneration gas feedback pipeline. The control method described herein is for the hydrogen compressor system. This solution not only ensures good purity of the product gas but also achieves efficient utilization of energy and hydrogen during the preparation process.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of compressor technology, specifically to a hydrogen compressor system and control method. Background Technology

[0002] As hydrogen energy application technologies mature and global pressure to address climate change intensifies, the hydrogen energy industry is gaining increasing attention. As a crucial innovative technology for achieving low-carbon and environmentally friendly development, hydrogen energy technology is meeting the demands of rapid growth.

[0003] Currently, the main methods and sources of industrial hydrogen production are: 1. Hydrogen production through water electrolysis; 2. Hydrogen production through fossil fuel reforming; 3. Industrial by-products, etc. In the demanding hydrogen energy technology chain, water is a critical factor that needs to be strictly controlled. The hydrogen produced by the above methods may not meet the direct needs of some users in terms of dryness or purity. For example, for fuel cells, the water in the feedstock hydrogen must be strictly controlled below the dew point requirement (usually requiring a dew point temperature below -40°C, or even below -70°C at atmospheric pressure) to ensure that it exists in a controllable gaseous form and avoid any form of liquid water accumulation. In the semiconductor manufacturing industry, high-purity hydrogen is used as a reducing protective gas or carrier gas. Water vapor can cause oxidation on the surface of materials such as silicon wafers during high-temperature processes, resulting in defects.

[0004] Regarding the preparation of pressurized hydrogen, for medium- and low-pressure or high-flow applications, the mainstream equipment developed in the current technology includes skid-mounted reciprocating compressors. Depending on the pressure level of hydrogen storage and transportation and the application scenario, this compressor adopts a step-by-step pressurization method to pressurize the raw hydrogen to, for example, 20MPa~30MPa. If further pressure is required, such as reaching 70MPa and above, the mainstream compressor in the later stage is mostly a diaphragm compressor. At the same time, in order to facilitate the economy of hydrogen pressurization, the front-stage compression still uses a reciprocating compressor (for example, if the raw hydrogen is compressed to 20MPa, a reciprocating compressor is used; if it is compressed from 20MPa to 70MPa, a diaphragm compressor is used). In the prior art, a patent application entitled "A System for Processing Gaseous Hydrogen" (application number: CN202311350966.3) provides a technical solution in which a drying unit is set on the inlet side of a compressor, and a micro-separation unit, an adsorption unit, a post-drying unit, and a particulate filter are sequentially arranged on the outlet side of the compressor. In this solution, the drying unit removes moisture from the hydrogen through an active drying material disposed thereon, thereby preventing the compression of insufficiently purified hydrogen. The micro-separation unit, adsorption unit, post-drying unit, and particulate filter are used to treat aerosols, moisture, and other impurities in the compressed gas. The patent application also discloses that the compressor is a multi-stage compressor.

[0005] In the process of producing pressurized hydrogen, reciprocating compressors play an indispensable role. Further optimization of related technologies will undoubtedly further promote the development of hydrogen energy application technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned issues regarding the optimization of reciprocating compressors, this invention provides a hydrogen compressor system and control method. The structural design provided by this solution not only ensures the product gas has good cleanliness but also achieves efficient utilization of energy and hydrogen during the preparation process.

[0007] The objective of this invention is mainly achieved through the following technical solution: a hydrogen compressor system, comprising a multi-stage compression unit connected in series, wherein the multi-stage compression unit includes a pre-stage compression section at the beginning of the compression process and a post-stage compression section at the end; a purification device for purifying hydrogen is provided between the pre-stage compression section and the post-stage compression section; in the direction of hydrogen flow, the purification device includes a refrigerated dryer, a molecular sieve purifier, and a dust filter connected in series.

[0008] The molecular sieve purifier is equipped with a regeneration heat exchanger for providing regeneration heat to its molecular sieves. A circulation pipeline is provided between the pre-compression section and the regeneration heat exchanger. The circulation pipeline is configured to: introduce hydrogen gas that has been pressurized by the pre-compression section and has not been cooled by the cooler into the regeneration heat exchanger, and inject the hydrogen gas that has been heated by the regeneration heat exchanger into the pre-compression section.

[0009] The molecular sieve purifier is equipped with a regeneration gas feedback pipeline, which is used to introduce the regeneration gas generated during the regeneration process of the molecular sieve purifier into the pre-compression section.

[0010] In this scheme, a multi-stage compression unit connected in series is used to pressurize the raw material gas in multiple stages, gradually increasing the pressure to the set product gas pressure. The pre-compression stage and the post-compression stage are hydrogen pressurization stages at different levels during the gradual pressurization process. The purification device is used to clean the medium flowing through it. Specifically, a refrigerated dryer is used for freeze-drying hydrogen, a molecular sieve purifier is used for molecular sieve adsorption drying of the freeze-dryed hydrogen, a dust filter is used for dust filtration of the molecular sieve adsorption dried hydrogen, and a regeneration heat exchanger is used for... In the molecular sieve purifier, the regeneration fluid provides heat during the molecular sieve regeneration process. The circulation pipeline is used to introduce hydrogen from the pre-compression section as a hot fluid into the regeneration heat exchanger, so that the regeneration fluid absorbs heat from the hydrogen as it flows through the regeneration heat exchanger. The circulation pipeline is also used to reinject the hydrogen that has exchanged heat with the regeneration fluid in the regeneration heat exchanger back into the pre-compression section. The regeneration gas feedback pipeline is used to introduce the regeneration gas generated during the regeneration process into the pre-compression section. Preferably, the regeneration fluid uses hydrogen that has been dried by the molecular sieve purifier of this system, or it can use dried finished hydrogen.

[0011] Unlike existing technologies, this solution is based on a multi-stage compression hydrogen compressor system. The purification device is located between the pre-compression section and the post-compression section. The purification process involves first freeze-drying followed by molecular sieve adsorption drying. Energy recovery and utilization are achieved through a circulation pipeline, and hydrogen recovery is also achieved through the circulation pipeline and regeneration gas feedback pipeline. The aim is to achieve the following objectives:

[0012] Firstly, regarding the setup of the purification device, the hydrogen is first dried and purified using a refrigerated dryer, and then further purified using a molecular sieve purifier. The aim is to utilize the refrigerated dryer to separate water vapor from the hydrogen at low temperatures, such as an outlet temperature of 2℃~3℃. This allows most of the water in the hydrogen to be removed by condensing into liquid water and being discharged through the separator. This avoids the high water content hydrogen entering the molecular sieve purifier, which would have a shortened lifespan due to frequent molecular sieve regeneration (unlike the refrigerated dryer, which can operate continuously, the molecular sieve has a limited capacity), thus reducing system operating costs. Furthermore, due to its limited freezing point, the refrigerated dryer cannot meet the requirements for deep dehydration purification. When the hydrogen enters the molecular sieve, the molecular sieve, compared to the refrigerated dryer, utilizes its lower freezing point to further purify the hydrogen. The molecular sieve exhibits strong selective adsorption (it can dry hydrogen to a dew point of -70°C or even lower at atmospheric pressure), further removing trace amounts of water vapor and achieving deep drying. The method of first freeze-drying followed by molecular sieve adsorption drying allows the hydrogen from the freeze dryer to have a lower temperature (e.g., 2°C~3°C). This lower inlet temperature effectively enhances the adsorption capacity of the molecular sieve, improving the removal of trace moisture and increasing the amount of moisture adsorbed. A dust filter further purifies the hydrogen, removing abrasive particles or other impurities from the molecular sieve, ensuring that the hydrogen supplied to the subsequent compression stage is dry and has higher particulate cleanliness.

[0013] Secondly, compared to existing technologies that place the purification device on the inlet or outlet side of a multi-stage compression unit, this solution employs purification between compression stages. The hydrogen being processed, having undergone compression in the pre-compression stage, benefits from the significant reduction in gas volume after compression, effectively reducing the size of the purification device (especially the molecular sieve purifier) ​​and the volume of packing materials (molecular sieves in the molecular sieve purifier and sintered metals used in the dust filter), thus reducing the size of the compression stage system and installation costs. Using the pre-pressurized gas as the treated gas in the purification device, and utilizing gas pressure as the driving force for increasing the drying depth, significantly improves the drying effect of the purification device. Compared to directly freeze-drying the raw hydrogen in the same way, at the same cooling temperature, the location of the purification device in this solution allows for a significantly lower atmospheric dew point for the freeze-dried hydrogen (for example, if the hydrogen pressure output from the pre-compression stage is 1.2 MPa, and the outlet temperature of the freeze dryer is 4.5°C, the dried hydrogen can reach approximately...). The hydrogen gas has a dew point of -17℃ at atmospheric pressure, and the uncompressed atmospheric pressure hydrogen gas is directly freeze-dried. When the outlet temperature of the freeze dryer is 4.5℃, the dried hydrogen gas has a dew point of 4.5℃ at atmospheric pressure. Meanwhile, common multi-stage hydrogen pressurization requires pressurizing the hydrogen gas to 20MPa or higher. If the purification device is set on the outlet side of the multi-stage compression unit, the higher pressure will not only increase the installation cost and volume of the purification device, but also, since molecular sieve purifiers have the characteristic of requiring regeneration, when switching the exhaust molecular sieve purifier for molecular sieve adsorption drying, the higher replenishment pressure will cause a severe impact on the molecular sieve (higher pressure hydrogen gas is instantly injected into a purification tower at low or atmospheric pressure), thereby damaging the molecular sieve (causing abrasive wear and pulverization of molecular sieve particles, and damage to the internal structural components of the purification tower). This solution sets the purification device between the pre-stage compression section and the post-stage compression section, which can effectively reduce the pressure difference during the above switching, thereby reducing or avoiding the adverse effects of the replenishment pressure on the molecular sieve.

[0014] Finally, this solution utilizes hydrogen gas, pressurized by the pre-compression stage and uncooled, to provide regeneration heat for the molecular sieve, aiming to recover and utilize the waste heat generated in the compression stage. Specifically, in existing hydrogen pressurization processes, the outlet temperature at the cylinder assembly of the compression unit is generally controlled to be approximately 135°C, depending on the compression ratio. To improve the efficiency of subsequent compression units, the hydrogen needs to be cooled to a set temperature, such as 40°C, before being introduced into the subsequent stage. Therefore, in existing technologies, the compression heat of the cylinder assembly is wasted. In this solution, the pressurized hydrogen gas serves as a heat source and is transported to the regeneration heat exchanger through a circulation pipeline. The heat exchange between the hot and cold fluids in the regeneration heat exchanger allows some of the heat to be used to heat the airflow required for molecular sieve regeneration (preferably, the system passes through the molecular sieve). Dry hydrogen gas can be used. To achieve efficient regeneration, after the above heat exchange, the regeneration gas flow can be further heated to a final temperature (e.g., between 200°C and 300°C) using an electric heating module. This can effectively reduce the electrical energy consumed by the electric heating module. Furthermore, as someone skilled in the art, when the molecular sieve is regenerated using micro-heating, the molecular sieve can be regenerated solely based on the heat from the hydrogen gas. Simultaneously, the hydrogen gas used to heat the gas flow and the hydrogen gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process are introduced into the pre-compression section through a circulation pipeline and a regeneration gas feedback pipeline, respectively, to construct a zero-emission hydrogen recovery system. This avoids hydrogen loss during the system's operation, maximizing hydrogen utilization while also avoiding hydrogen emission disposal measures and the safety risks associated with hydrogen emissions.

[0015] A further technical solution for the hydrogen compressor system is as follows:

[0016] The molecular sieve purifier includes a first purification tower and a second purification tower connected in parallel, and a regeneration gas pipeline is provided between the first purification tower and the second purification tower to enable communication between the two.

[0017] The regenerative heat exchanger is connected in series with the regenerative gas pipeline, and the regenerative gas pipeline enables the connection between the two through the cold fluid flow of the regenerative heat exchanger.

[0018] The hydrogen flow in the circulation pipeline passes through the hot fluid flow of the regenerator heat exchanger.

[0019] The regenerative heat exchanger is also equipped with an electric heating module for heating the medium from the cold fluid process.

[0020] It also includes piping components for alternating connection between the freeze dryer and the first and second purification towers;

[0021] The regenerated gas pipeline is equipped with a control valve for controlling the on / off state of the regenerated gas pipeline.

[0022] The above describes a method for implementing a molecular sieve purifier with two towers (a first purification tower and a second purification tower) operating in parallel and alternately to ensure the continuous operation of the compressor system. Specifically, through the pipeline components and control valves, the hydrogen gas after refrigeration and dehydration in the refrigerated dryer is controlled to always enter one of the towers (e.g., the first purification tower) for adsorption and drying, while the other tower (e.g., the second purification tower) is isolated from the main gas path of the system and enters the regeneration stage. After the tower undergoing adsorption and drying reaches saturation, the two towers switch roles, achieving continuous system operation. The regeneration gas pipeline connects the two towers, forming the flow path for the molecular sieve regeneration gas flow. A regeneration heat exchanger is connected in series on this pipeline. Its cold fluid flow is used to circulate the regeneration gas flow, and its hot fluid flow is used to circulate the hydrogen gas from the pre-compression stage that has not been cooled by the cooler. The electric heating module is integrated into the regeneration heat exchanger. The regeneration heat exchanger is configured with a staged heating system that uses hydrogen preheating and electric heating for further temperature increase. Preferably, the regeneration heat exchanger is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, with electric heating modules at both ends of the heat exchange tubes. When the regeneration heat exchanger is working, the electric heating module on one side is selected to operate according to the direction of the regeneration gas flow inside, so as to electrically heat the regeneration gas flow that has been preheated by hydrogen. More specifically, the high-temperature hydrogen introduced by the circulation pipeline flows through the regeneration heat exchanger as a hot fluid flow, so as to preheat the regeneration gas flow in the cold fluid flow, thereby achieving the purpose of recovering the waste heat of compression. The preheated regeneration gas flow is then precisely and finally heated by the electric heating module to reach the regeneration gas flow temperature required by the molecular sieve (such as 200℃~300℃). This scheme can effectively reduce the energy consumption of molecular sieve regeneration.

[0023] It also includes a control unit, which is configured to:

[0024] The pipeline assembly is controlled so that the gas from the refrigerated dryer selectively enters one of the two purification towers, the first purification tower and the second purification tower, for adsorption and drying.

[0025] Control the control valve on the regeneration gas pipeline to regenerate another purification tower. The regeneration is as follows: the gas in the purification tower that is undergoing adsorption and drying is introduced into another purification tower through the regeneration gas pipeline to perform thermal purging regeneration on the molecular sieve in the other purification tower. The gas flows sequentially through the cold fluid flow of the regeneration heat exchanger and the electric heating module.

[0026] The pipeline assembly is controlled to switch between the adsorption-drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers based on any one or both of the following criteria:

[0027] Method 1: Humidity detection results of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying;

[0028] Method 2: The duration of operation of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of gas flow processed.

[0029] The above provides an automated control scheme for the alternating operation of two purification towers in a molecular sieve purifier. Specifically, the control unit, as a controller, automatically controls the pipeline components and control valves according to preset logic to achieve precise switching between the adsorption and regeneration states of the first and second purification towers in the molecular sieve purifier. In this scheme, the control uses one or a combination of the above methods to determine whether the purification tower in the adsorption state is saturated. The first method is to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower undergoing adsorption and drying, directly obtaining the drying effect of the molecular sieve purifier on the airflow flowing through it. It is easy to understand that when the detection result indicates that the airflow humidity exceeds the set response threshold, it means that the molecular sieve adsorption capacity is insufficient, and the purification tower needs to be switched immediately. The second method is to indirectly predict whether the purification tower currently undergoing adsorption and drying is saturated by accumulating the working duration or the total amount of airflow processed by the purification tower undergoing adsorption and drying. This is a low-cost purification tower state switching scheme. For those skilled in the art, the corresponding thresholds used for comparison with the working duration or the total amount of airflow processed by the purification tower can be obtained by those skilled in the art based on historical data, experimental calculations, and other means.

[0030] As those skilled in the art, in the above method one, the outlet airflow humidity detection result can be direct humidity data, or it can be the atmospheric dew point temperature directly related to humidity, such as the dew point temperature obtained based on an online humidity sensor or a direct humidity result (such as a volume fraction value). Preferably, regarding the above method one, when the online humidity sensor detects that the speed increase threshold exceeds the set response threshold, the detection frequency can be increased to promptly obtain the information that the purification tower has reached the adsorption saturation state. In addition, it should be noted that Method 1 above is a method of directly measuring airflow humidity as a basis for judgment, while Method 2 above is a method of indirectly predicting whether adsorption saturation is used as a basis for judgment. The reason is that for the product requirements of ultra-high purity hydrogen (such as requiring a normal pressure dew point temperature below -70℃), the requirements for the online humidity sensor used in Method 1 are very high. The cost of a high-precision sensor may be dozens of times that of an ordinary sensor. In addition, since the water molecule concentration in the hydrogen at the outlet is extremely low, in an ultra-low humidity environment, the physical adsorption equilibrium process of the sensing element in the sensor is relatively slow, unlike that of conventional humidity detection sensors. An accurate measurement may take several minutes. During the waiting period for the sensor to perform a measurement, the gas with insufficient humidity may enter the subsequent compression stage, causing a decrease in the quality of the system's product gas. High-precision sensors are not only expensive, but their accuracy and stability are also very easily affected by contamination, poisoning of the sensing element, and damage, leading to result failure or drift. Therefore, relying solely on Method 1 for judgment has a high risk of uncontrollability and high implementation cost. Unlike Method 1, although Method 2 is an inferential judgment criterion, it offers a fast response time, low implementation cost, and high reliability. Combining Method 1 and Method 2 has the following advantages: While humidity detection directly reflects the adsorption and drying status of the purification tower, it has limitations such as slow response, expensive equipment, and frequent maintenance requirements when measuring extremely low moisture content. Relying solely on humidity detection may result in the product gas quality exceeding the standard during the sensor's response period. However, the working duration / total processed gas flow rate, as an indirect, proactive, and highly reliable predictive criterion, effectively compensates for the lag in direct measurement. The combination of Method 1 and Method 2 enables precise switching based on real-time adsorption and drying quality and provides reliable safety assurance when Method 1 fails or is delayed. For example, Method 1 can be used only to verify the first threshold for comparison with Method 2, and Method 2 can be used solely as the switching judgment criterion. In this application, switching control can be achieved more economically in most cases, thereby improving the system's economic efficiency while ensuring reliable product gas purity.

[0031] As a parallel solution to the above combined utilization scheme of method one and method two, the control unit is configured to: use method one and method two together as the judgment criteria to control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0032] When the control unit determines that the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of processed airflow has reached a first preset value, it triggers the humidity sensor to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying. If the humidity detection result of the airflow at the outlet is less than a second preset value, the humidity sensor will increase the humidity detection frequency to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet. When the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected to reach or exceed the second preset value, the control unit will switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0033] Before the purification tower for adsorption drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached a first preset value, the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is periodically collected by a humidity sensor. When the gas flow humidity reaches or exceeds a second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0034] The above solution provides a control method for precise switching of purification towers based on adaptive detection frequency. Specifically, when the control unit determines that the purification tower undergoing adsorption drying is saturated according to mode two, it does not immediately switch the working state of the purification tower. Instead, it uses the first predicted value as an early warning signal to trigger further confirmation using mode one. When the detection result shows that the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet reaches or exceeds the second preset value, switching is triggered. When the detection result shows that the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet does not reach the second preset value, it indicates that the purification tower can still meet the adsorption drying requirements. By increasing the humidity detection frequency and through intensive data acquisition, it ensures that switching can be performed as soon as the humidity does not meet the standard. This implementation method can not only effectively extend the actual working time or actual gas throughput of each purification tower in a single adsorption cycle, thereby fully utilizing the molecular sieve adsorption capacity and reducing the regeneration frequency of the purification tower to extend the service life of the molecular sieve, but also effectively ensure the quality of the product gas. Meanwhile, before the purification tower for adsorption and drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached the first preset value, based on method one, a periodic humidity detection method is used to determine whether the humidity of the gas flow has reached the second preset value. When it has, a switch is immediately executed, which is a switching control strategy that prioritizes the quality of the product gas.

[0035] The control unit is configured to dynamically correct the first preset value based on the actual value of the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the actual value of the total amount of airflow processed, when the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is detected by the humidity sensor to reach or exceed the second preset value.

[0036] The dynamic correction is as follows: the first preset value is corrected to the weighted average of the historical first preset value and the current actual value, wherein the weighted average is calculated by using the method that the weight of the historical first preset value is greater than the weight of the current actual value.

[0037] The above solution provides a technical approach based on Method 1 to correct the first preset value, enabling the system to adapt well to changes in the system itself and operating conditions. Specifically, the first preset value in the control unit is a dynamic value based on correction. The correction method uses weighted calculation, and the weighted calculation rule aims to achieve the following: In the initial stage of system operation, the first preset value can be obtained based on experiments or calculations. After the system stabilizes (after each purification tower has completed one saturation adsorption), the allocation of the above weights can effectively resist the fluctuation of the first preset value caused by a single fluctuation in the humidity of the raw material gas, thereby achieving the goal of maintaining stable system parameters. By adopting the above strategy, the control unit can continuously and accurately predict the switching timing through self-adjustment, thereby maximizing the extension of each adsorption cycle and reducing the regeneration frequency while ensuring the quality of the product gas, thus saving energy and molecular sieve consumption.

[0038] Both the pre-compression stage and the post-compression stage include multiple sets of cylinder assemblies connected in series.

[0039] Along the direction of hydrogen flow, the cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section includes an intake damper, a cylinder, an exhaust damper, a cooler, and a separator connected in series.

[0040] In the direction of hydrogen flow, the cylinder assembly of the subsequent compression stage includes an intake damper, a cylinder, an exhaust damper, and a cooler connected in series.

[0041] The intake buffer and exhaust buffer serve as airflow buffering mechanisms at the intake and exhaust ends of the cylinder, respectively. The cylinder serves as a pressurizing mechanism for pressurizing hydrogen in the cylinder assembly. The cooler serves as a cooling mechanism for cooling the pressurized hydrogen. The separator serves as a gas-liquid separation mechanism for separating the cooled fluid.

[0042] The circulation pipeline is configured such that both the inlet and outlet ends of the circulation pipeline are connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section, and the regeneration heat exchanger is connected in series between the exhaust buffer and the cooler.

[0043] The regenerated gas feedback pipeline is configured such that: the inlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline is connected to the molecular sieve purifier, the outlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline is connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section, and the specific connection position of the outlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline is located on the inlet side of the inlet buffer.

[0044] The above describes a specific implementation of the pre-stage and post-stage compression sections. Specifically, the pre-stage compression section does not use a purification device to treat the gas; therefore, a cooler and separator are used to ensure interstage compression efficiency and achieve preliminary hydrogen drying. Since the inlet gas in the post-stage compression section has already undergone deep drying through a purification device, only compression and cooling are required, gradually increasing the hydrogen pressure while ensuring interstage compression efficiency. The above-described circulation pipeline configuration aims to achieve the following: the circulation pipeline is specifically defined as drawing hydrogen from after the exhaust buffer of the first-stage cylinder assembly and before the cooler. The hydrogen temperature at this location is relatively high (in multi-stage compression, the exhaust temperature of the first-stage cylinder is generally the highest), and the heat quality is good. This allows for heating the molecular sieve regeneration gas flow at a higher hot fluid temperature in the regeneration heat exchanger. The hydrogen discharged from the cylinder enters the circulation after passing through the exhaust buffer. The pipeline provides a stable airflow to the regenerator, ensuring its stable and reliable operation. Connecting the circulation pipeline to the first-stage cylinder assembly allows the hydrogen entering the regenerator to have a relatively low pressure. For example, the hot fluid flow in the regenerator can be in the shell side, while the regeneration gas flow is in the tube side (the regeneration gas pressure is higher, making this method safer). This approach allows for a thinner-walled regenerator shell, facilitating features such as circulation pipeline setup and reduced wall thickness design for the heat exchange tubes within the regenerator. The above regeneration gas feedback pipeline configuration aims to introduce the regeneration gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process into the intake side of the intake buffer in the first-stage cylinder assembly, allowing the regeneration gas flow to participate in the recovery process. Starting from the first-stage cylinder assembly, preliminary drying is achieved based on the coolers and separators of each cylinder assembly in the preceding compression section.

[0045] The first-stage cylinder assembly includes a first-stage intake damper, a first-stage cylinder, a first-stage exhaust damper, a first-stage cooler, and a first-stage separator connected in sequence. The first-stage cooler includes a first-stage cooler A and a first-stage cooler B connected in parallel.

[0046] The primary coolers A and B are configured such that the medium discharged from the primary exhaust buffer is diverted to enter the primary separator through the primary coolers A and B, and the medium flowing through the regeneration heat exchanger enters the primary separator through the primary cooler B.

[0047] A regenerated gas separator for gas-liquid separation is connected in series on the regenerated gas feedback pipeline. The regenerated gas separator is configured such that the gas phase medium separated by the regenerated gas separator is introduced into the intake side of the first-stage intake buffer through the regenerated gas feedback pipeline.

[0048] The above provides a specific implementation of the first-stage cylinder assembly. It should be specifically noted that in this solution, the first-stage cooler is configured to include first-stage cooler A and first-stage cooler B. First-stage cooler A is used to directly connect the first-stage exhaust buffer and the first-stage separator. First-stage cooler B is used to cool only the hydrogen from the regeneration heat exchanger; that is, the hydrogen, after heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger, is cooled by first-stage cooler B and then returned to the system. This approach aims to solve the following problem:

[0049] For primary cooler A, the gas flow is high-temperature hydrogen from the primary cylinder. This gas flow has a stable temperature and relatively stable flow rate (only a small portion is distributed to primary cooler B), so the heat load of primary cooler A is relatively stable. For primary cooler B, the gas flow comes from hydrogen that has undergone heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger. The temperature of this gas flow is lower than that of the high-temperature hydrogen. Furthermore, the intensity and frequency of the regeneration process cause the heat load of both the regeneration heat exchanger and primary cooler B to be fluctuating and intermittent. This scheme uses different primary coolers to process hydrogen from different sources, allowing gas flows with different heat load characteristics to be processed independently. By avoiding mutual interference, the stability and controllability of their respective outlet temperatures are ensured, thereby guaranteeing the stability of the intake conditions of the subsequent compression process. The heat load of primary cooler B can be flexibly adjusted or even shut down according to the regeneration status of the purification tower, achieving on-demand cooling of the primary cooler and effectively reducing the energy consumption of the system's auxiliary equipment. The above configuration of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline aims to use the regenerated gas separator to remove the liquid water condensed from the water vapor carried out during the regeneration process, ensuring that dry hydrogen is returned to the system as much as possible, thereby achieving efficient hydrogen compression and reducing the system's water treatment load.

[0050] The multi-stage compression unit, purification device, and regeneration heat exchanger are integrated on the same skid-mounted module.

[0051] The above provides a convenient system configuration method for engineering applications. Specifically, this solution is based on an integrated design of a single skid-mounted module, making the entire hydrogen compressor system a compact, easily transportable, and quickly installed standardized product. This configuration method greatly reduces on-site installation workload, lowers engineering costs and floor space, while ensuring optimal matching between system components and overall operational reliability. It is very suitable as a complete set of equipment for hydrogen refueling stations, on-site hydrogen production, and other scenarios. More specifically, in the multi-stage compression unit, the cylinders used in each compression unit are integrated and mounted on the same compressor head. The pistons configured in these cylinders are based on a crosshead mechanism and a connecting rod mechanism, and are driven by the same motor.

[0052] This solution also relates to a hydrogen compressor control method for any of the above-mentioned hydrogen compressor systems. In this method, the control involves using a pre-compression stage to pre-compress the hydrogen; the control involves introducing the hydrogen, after pre-compression and cooling by a cooler and separation of liquid water, into a purification device, and sequentially performing freeze-drying, molecular sieve adsorption drying, and dust filtration on the hydrogen through a refrigerated dryer, a molecular sieve purifier, and a dust filter; and the control involves using a post-compression stage to post-compress the hydrogen from the pre-compression stage to pressurize the hydrogen to the product gas pressure.

[0053] The molecular sieve purifier includes a molecular sieve regeneration stage during operation. This regeneration stage is controlled as follows: hydrogen gas, pressurized by the pre-compression section and not cooled by a cooler, is introduced into the regeneration heat exchanger via a circulation pipeline. As the hydrogen gas flows through the regeneration heat exchanger, it acts as a hot fluid, heating the regeneration gas flow used to inject into the molecular sieve. The heated gas flow is then injected into the molecular sieve to heat and purge it. The hydrogen gas, after heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger, is injected into the pre-compression section. The regeneration gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process is introduced into the pre-compression section through a regeneration gas feedback pipeline. The regeneration gas flow uses hydrogen gas that has been adsorbed and dried by the molecular sieve purifier.

[0054] It is easy to understand that the control methods provided above are control methods for the compressor system.

[0055] A further technical solution for the hydrogen compressor control method is as follows:

[0056] The regeneration gas flow is initially heated in the regeneration heat exchanger, and then further heated to above 200°C by the electric heating module before being injected into the molecular sieve.

[0057] In the molecular sieve purifier, the first purification tower and the second purification tower are used to adsorb and dry the hydrogen flowing through the molecular sieve purifier alternately: when one of the purification towers is adsorbing and drying, the other purification tower is regenerated by the regeneration heat exchanger and the electric heating module.

[0058] The regeneration gas flow used in the regenerated adsorption tower comes from the purification tower that was previously used for adsorption drying;

[0059] When the adsorption-drying purification tower is detected to have reached the set adsorption-drying limit, the adsorption-drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers are switched.

[0060] The determination criteria for switching the adsorption drying and regeneration states are as follows: when the control unit of the compressor system determines that the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of processed airflow reaches the first preset value, the humidity sensor is triggered to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying. If the humidity detection result of the airflow at the outlet is less than the second preset value, the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected by increasing the humidity detection frequency of the humidity sensor. When the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected to reach or exceed the second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0061] Before the purification tower for adsorption drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached a first preset value, the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is periodically collected by a humidity sensor. When the gas flow humidity reaches or exceeds a second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0062] For a purification tower in an adsorption-drying state, the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the purification tower is collected. When the pressure difference reaches or exceeds a third preset value, a molecular sieve health alarm is triggered.

[0063] The above provides a more detailed technical solution for the control method. It should be noted that in this method, by monitoring the pressure difference and triggering a molecular sieve health alarm based on the pressure difference, the aim is to monitor whether the molecular sieve has become physically blocked due to pulverization, scaling, or other reasons. The molecular sieve health alarm is used to remind maintenance personnel to intervene in a timely manner. This is not only beneficial for protecting the health of the dust filter, but also for ensuring the quality of the product gas and avoiding abnormal energy consumption or even equipment damage caused by blockage.

[0064] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0065] Firstly, regarding the setup of the purification unit, hydrogen is first dried and purified using a refrigerated dryer, followed by a molecular sieve purifier. This approach utilizes the refrigerated dryer to separate water vapor from the hydrogen at low temperatures, preventing high-water-content hydrogen from entering the molecular sieve purifier, which would shorten its lifespan due to frequent sieve regeneration and increase system operating costs. Once the hydrogen enters the molecular sieve, its strong selective adsorption compared to refrigeration further removes trace amounts of water vapor, achieving deep drying. This method of first refrigerating and then drying using molecular sieve adsorption allows the hydrogen from the refrigerated dryer to have a lower temperature. The lower inlet temperature of the molecular sieve effectively enhances its adsorption capacity, improving the removal of trace moisture and increasing the amount of moisture adsorbed. A dust filter is used for further hydrogen purification, filtering out abrasive particles or other impurities from the molecular sieve, ensuring that the hydrogen input to the subsequent compression stage is dry and has higher particulate cleanliness.

[0066] Secondly, this scheme employs purification between compression stages. The hydrogen being processed, having undergone compression in the pre-compression stage, experiences a significant reduction in gas volume, effectively reducing the size of the purification device and the packing volume, thus lowering the size and setup cost of the compression stage system. Using pre-pressurized gas as the treated gas in the purification device significantly improves its drying effect. Compared to directly freeze-drying the raw hydrogen in the same way, at the same cooling temperature, the location of the purification device in this scheme results in a significantly lower atmospheric dew point for the freeze-dried hydrogen. Furthermore, placing the purification device between the pre-compression and post-compression stages effectively reduces the pressure difference during the aforementioned switching, thereby reducing or avoiding the adverse effects of the supplementary gas pressure on the molecular sieve.

[0067] Finally, this scheme utilizes hydrogen gas pressurized in the pre-compression section and uncooled to provide regeneration heat for the molecular sieve, aiming to recover and utilize the waste heat generated in the compression section. In this scheme, the pressurized hydrogen gas serves as a heat source and is transported to the regeneration heat exchanger through a circulation pipeline. The heat exchange between the hot and cold fluids in the regeneration heat exchanger allows some of the heat to be used to heat the gas flow required for molecular sieve regeneration. Simultaneously, the hydrogen gas participating in heating the gas flow and the hydrogen gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process are introduced into the pre-compression section through circulation pipelines and regeneration gas feedback pipelines, respectively, to construct a zero-emission hydrogen recovery system. This avoids hydrogen loss during the operation of the system, maximizing hydrogen utilization while avoiding the need for hydrogen emission disposal measures and the safety risks associated with hydrogen emissions. Attached Figure Description

[0068] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the invention and form part of this application, do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0069] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of a hydrogen compressor system according to the present invention. In this diagram, the arrows represent the direction of medium flow.

[0070] Figure 2 This is a partial structural diagram of the molecular sieve purifier in a specific embodiment of the hydrogen compressor system of the present invention. In this diagram, the arrows represent the direction of medium flow.

[0071] The labels in the diagram represent:

[0072] 1. First-stage intake buffer; 2. First-stage cylinder; 3. First-stage exhaust buffer; 4. First-stage cooler A; 5. First-stage cooler B; 6. First-stage separator; 7. Second-stage intake buffer; 8. Second-stage cylinder; 9. Second-stage exhaust buffer; 10. Second-stage cooler; 11. Second-stage separator; 12. Third-stage intake buffer; 13. Third-stage cylinder; 14. Third-stage exhaust buffer; 15. Third-stage cooler; 16. Third-stage separator; 17. Refrigerated dryer; 18. Molecular sieve purifier; 181. First purification tower; 182. Second purification tower; 19. Dust filter; 20. Fourth-stage intake buffer; 21. Fourth-stage cylinder; 22. Fourth-stage exhaust buffer; 23. Fourth-stage cooler; 24. 25. Five-stage intake damper; 26. Five-stage cylinder; 27. Five-stage exhaust damper; 28. Five-stage cooler; 29. ​​Six-stage intake damper; 30. Six-stage cylinder; 31. Six-stage exhaust damper; 32. Six-stage cooler; 33. Regeneration gas separator; 34. Regeneration heat exchanger; 35. Circulation pipeline; 36. Regeneration gas feedback pipeline; 37. Regeneration gas line; 38. Electric heating module. Detailed Implementation

[0073] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments and accompanying drawings. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of the present invention are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0074] Example 1:

[0075] like Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, this embodiment of the invention provides a hydrogen compressor system, including a multi-stage compression unit connected in series. The multi-stage compression unit includes a pre-stage compression section at the beginning of the compression process and a post-stage compression section at the end. A purification device for purifying hydrogen is provided between the pre-stage compression section and the post-stage compression section. In the direction of hydrogen flow, the purification device includes a refrigerated dryer 17, a molecular sieve purifier 18, and a dust filter 19 connected in series.

[0076] The molecular sieve purifier 18 is equipped with a regeneration heat exchanger 33 for providing regeneration heat to its molecular sieve. A circulation pipeline 34 is provided between the pre-compression section and the regeneration heat exchanger 33. The circulation pipeline 34 is configured to: introduce hydrogen gas that has been pressurized by the pre-compression section and has not been cooled by the cooler into the regeneration heat exchanger 33, and inject the hydrogen gas that has been heat-exchanged by the regeneration heat exchanger 33 into the pre-compression section.

[0077] The molecular sieve purifier 18 is equipped with a regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35, which is used to introduce the regeneration gas generated during the regeneration process of the molecular sieve purifier 18 into the pre-compression section.

[0078] In this scheme, a multi-stage compression unit connected in series is used to pressurize the raw gas in multiple stages, gradually increasing the pressure to the set product gas pressure. The pre-compression stage and the post-compression stage are hydrogen pressurization stages at different levels during the gradual pressurization process. The purification device is used to clean the medium flowing through it. Specifically, the refrigerated dryer 17 is used for freeze-drying hydrogen, the molecular sieve purifier 18 is used for molecular sieve adsorption drying of the freeze-dryed hydrogen, the dust filter 19 is used for dust filtration of the molecular sieve adsorption dried hydrogen, and the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is used for molecular sieve purification. In the molecular sieve regeneration process of the device 18, the regeneration fluid is provided with heat. The circulation pipe 34 is used to introduce hydrogen from the pre-compression section as a hot fluid into the regeneration heat exchanger 33, so that the regeneration fluid absorbs the heat of the hydrogen when flowing through the regeneration heat exchanger 33. The circulation pipe 34 is used to reinject the hydrogen that has exchanged heat with the regeneration fluid in the regeneration heat exchanger 33 back into the pre-compression section. The regeneration gas feedback pipe 35 is used to introduce the regeneration gas generated in the regeneration process into the pre-compression section. Preferably, the regeneration fluid uses hydrogen that has been dried by the molecular sieve purifier 18 of this system, or uses dried finished hydrogen.

[0079] Unlike existing technologies, this solution is based on a multi-stage compression hydrogen compressor system. The purification device is located between the pre-compression section and the post-compression section. The purification process involves first freeze-drying followed by molecular sieve adsorption drying. Energy recovery and utilization are achieved through circulation pipeline 34, and hydrogen recovery is achieved through circulation pipeline 34 and regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35. The aim is to achieve the following objectives:

[0080] Firstly, regarding the setup of the purification device, hydrogen is first dried and purified using a refrigerated dryer 17, and then dried and purified again using a molecular sieve purifier 18. The aim is to utilize the refrigerated dryer 17 to separate water vapor from the hydrogen at low temperatures. For example, using an outlet temperature of 2℃~3℃ allows most of the water in the hydrogen to be removed by condensing into liquid water and being discharged through the separator. This avoids high-water-content hydrogen entering the molecular sieve purifier 18, which would shorten its lifespan and increase system operating costs due to frequent molecular sieve regeneration (compared to the continuous operation of the refrigerated dryer 17, the molecular sieve has a limited capacity). However, limited by its freezing point temperature, the refrigerated dryer 17 cannot meet the requirements for deep dehydration purification. When hydrogen enters the molecular sieve, the molecular sieve phase... The strong selective adsorption of refrigeration (molecular sieves can dry hydrogen to a dew point of -70°C or even lower) further removes trace amounts of water vapor from the hydrogen, achieving deep drying. The method of first refrigerating and then drying using molecular sieves allows the hydrogen from the refrigerated dryer 17 to have a lower temperature (e.g., 2°C~3°C). This lower inlet temperature effectively enhances the adsorption capacity of the molecular sieve, improving the removal of trace amounts of moisture and increasing the amount of moisture adsorbed. The dust filter 19 further purifies the hydrogen, filtering out abrasive particles or other impurities from the molecular sieve to ensure that the hydrogen input to the subsequent compression stage is dry and has higher particulate cleanliness.

[0081] Secondly, compared to existing technologies that place the purification device on the inlet or outlet side of a multi-stage compression unit, this solution employs purification between compression stages. The hydrogen being processed, having undergone compression in the pre-compression stage, benefits from the significant reduction in gas volume after compression, effectively reducing the size of the purification device (especially the molecular sieve purifier 18) and the volume of packing materials (molecular sieves in the molecular sieve purifier 18, sintered metal used in the dust filter 19), thus reducing the size of the compression stage system and installation costs. Using the pre-pressurized gas as the gas being processed in the purification device, and utilizing gas pressure as the driving force for increasing the drying depth, significantly improves the drying effect of the purification device. Compared to directly freeze-drying the raw hydrogen in the same way, at the same cooling temperature, the location of the purification device in this solution allows for a significantly lower atmospheric dew point for the freeze-dried hydrogen (for example, if the hydrogen pressure output from the pre-compression stage is 1.2 MPa, and the outlet temperature of the freeze dryer 17 is 4.5°C, the dried hydrogen can reach...). The hydrogen gas has an atmospheric dew point of approximately -17°C. However, when uncompressed atmospheric hydrogen is directly freeze-dried, the dried hydrogen gas has an atmospheric dew point of 4.5°C when the outlet temperature of the freeze dryer 17 is 4.5°C. Meanwhile, common multi-stage hydrogen pressurization requires pressurizing the hydrogen to 20 MPa or higher. If the purification device is placed on the outlet side of the multi-stage compression unit, the higher pressure not only increases the installation cost and size of the purification device, but also, because the molecular sieve purifier 18 requires regeneration, when switching the exhaust gas from the molecular sieve purifier 18 for molecular sieve adsorption drying, the higher makeup gas pressure will cause a severe impact on the molecular sieve (higher pressure hydrogen gas is instantly injected into a purification tower at low or normal pressure), thus damaging the molecular sieve (causing abrasive wear and pulverization of the molecular sieve particles, and damage to the internal structural components of the purification tower). This solution places the purification device between the pre-stage and post-stage compression sections, effectively reducing the pressure difference during the above switching, thereby reducing or avoiding the adverse effects of the makeup gas pressure on the molecular sieve.

[0082] Finally, this solution utilizes hydrogen gas, pressurized by the pre-compression stage and uncooled, to provide regeneration heat for the molecular sieve, aiming to recover and utilize the waste heat generated in the compression stage. Specifically, in existing hydrogen gas pressurization processes, the outlet temperature at the cylinder assembly of the compression unit is generally controlled to be approximately 135°C, depending on the compression ratio. To improve the efficiency of subsequent compression units, the gas needs to be cooled to a set temperature, such as 40°C, before being introduced into the subsequent stage. Therefore, in existing technologies, the compression heat of the cylinder assembly is wasted. In this solution, the pressurized hydrogen gas serves as a heat source and is transported to the regeneration heat exchanger 33 through the circulation pipeline 34. The heat exchange between the hot and cold fluids in the regeneration heat exchanger 33 allows some of the heat to be used to heat the gas flow required for molecular sieve regeneration (preferably, the gas flow in this system passes through the dry molecular sieve). To achieve efficient regeneration, after the above heat exchange, the regeneration gas flow is further heated to a final temperature (e.g., between 200°C and 300°C) using an electric heating module 37. This effectively reduces the electrical energy consumed by the electric heating module 37. Furthermore, as someone skilled in the art, when the molecular sieve is regenerated using micro-heating, it can be regenerated solely based on the heat of the hydrogen gas. Simultaneously, the hydrogen gas participating in heating the gas flow and the hydrogen gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process are introduced into the pre-compression section via the circulation pipeline 34 and the regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35, respectively, to construct a zero-emission hydrogen recovery system. This avoids hydrogen loss during the system's operation, maximizing hydrogen utilization while also avoiding hydrogen emission disposal measures and the safety risks associated with hydrogen emissions.

[0083] Example 2:

[0084] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 1:

[0085] The molecular sieve purifier 18 includes a first purification tower 181 and a second purification tower 182 connected in parallel. A regeneration gas pipeline 36 is provided between the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182 to enable communication between them.

[0086] The regeneration heat exchanger 33 is connected in series with the regeneration gas pipeline 36, and the regeneration gas pipeline 36 enables the connection between the two through the cold fluid flow of the regeneration heat exchanger 33.

[0087] The hydrogen flow in the circulation pipeline 34 passes through the hot fluid flow of the regeneration heat exchanger 33.

[0088] The regenerating heat exchanger 33 is also equipped with an electric heating module 37 for heating the medium from the cold fluid process;

[0089] It also includes piping assemblies for alternating connection between the refrigerated dryer 17 and the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182;

[0090] The regenerated gas pipeline 36 is equipped with a control valve for controlling the on / off state of the regenerated gas pipeline 36.

[0091] The above provides a method for implementing a molecular sieve purifier 18 with two towers (first purification tower 181 and second purification tower 182) operating in parallel and alternately to ensure the continuous operation of the compressor system. Specifically, through the pipeline components and control valves, the hydrogen gas after freeze-drying by the refrigerated dryer 17 is controlled to always enter one of the towers (e.g., the first purification tower 181) for adsorption drying, while the other tower (e.g., the second purification tower 182) is isolated from the main gas path of the system and enters the regeneration stage. After the tower for adsorption drying is saturated, the two towers switch roles to achieve continuous system operation. The regeneration gas pipeline 36 connects the two towers, forming the flow path of the gas flow for molecular sieve regeneration. The regeneration heat exchanger 33 is connected in series on this pipeline. Its cold fluid flow is used to circulate the regeneration gas flow, and its hot fluid flow is used to circulate the hydrogen gas from the pre-compression section that has not been cooled by the cooler. The electric heating module 37 integrates... The system is constructed on the regeneration heat exchanger 33, forming a staged heating system that uses hydrogen preheating and electric heating for further temperature increase. Preferably, the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, with electric heating modules 37 configured at both ends of the heat exchange tubes. When the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is working, it selects one side of the electric heating module 37 to operate according to the direction of the regeneration gas flow inside, so as to achieve electric heating to increase the temperature of the regeneration gas flow that has been preheated by hydrogen. More specifically, the high-temperature hydrogen introduced by the circulation pipeline 34 flows through the regeneration heat exchanger 33 as a hot fluid, so as to achieve preliminary preheating of the regeneration gas flow in the cold fluid flow, thereby achieving the purpose of recovering the waste heat of compression. The preheated regeneration gas flow is then precisely and finally heated by the electric heating module 37 to reach the regeneration gas flow temperature required by the molecular sieve (such as 200℃~300℃). This solution can effectively reduce the energy consumption of molecular sieve regeneration.

[0092] Example 3:

[0093] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 2:

[0094] It also includes a control unit, which is configured to:

[0095] The pipeline assembly is controlled so that the gas from the refrigerated dryer 17 enters one of the two purification towers, the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182, for adsorption and drying.

[0096] Control the control valve on the regeneration gas pipeline 36 to regenerate another purification tower. The regeneration is as follows: the gas in the purification tower that is undergoing adsorption and drying is introduced into another purification tower through the regeneration gas pipeline 36 to perform thermal purging regeneration on the molecular sieve in the other purification tower. The gas flows sequentially through the cold fluid flow of the regeneration heat exchanger 33 and the electric heating module 37.

[0097] The pipeline assembly is controlled to switch between the adsorption-drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers based on any one or both of the following criteria:

[0098] Method 1: Humidity detection results of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying;

[0099] Method 2: The duration of operation of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of gas flow processed.

[0100] The above provides an automated control scheme for the alternating operation of the two towers in the molecular sieve purifier 18. Specifically, the control unit, as a control device, automatically controls the pipeline components and control valves according to preset logic to achieve precise switching between the adsorption and regeneration states of the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182 in the molecular sieve purifier 18. In this scheme, the control uses one or a combination of the above methods to determine whether the purification tower in the adsorption state is saturated. The first method is to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower undergoing adsorption drying, directly obtaining the drying effect of the molecular sieve purifier 18 on the airflow flowing through it. It is easy to understand that when the detection result determines that the airflow humidity exceeds the set response threshold, it indicates that the molecular sieve adsorption capacity is insufficient, and the purification tower needs to be switched immediately. The second method is to indirectly predict whether the purification tower currently undergoing adsorption drying is saturated by accumulating the working duration or the total amount of airflow processed by the purification tower undergoing adsorption drying. This is a low-cost purification tower state switching scheme. For those skilled in the art, the corresponding thresholds used for comparison with the working duration or the total amount of airflow processed by the purification tower can be obtained by those skilled in the art based on historical data, experimental calculations, and other means.

[0101] As those skilled in the art, in the above method one, the outlet airflow humidity detection result can be direct humidity data, or it can be the atmospheric dew point temperature directly related to humidity, such as the dew point temperature obtained based on an online humidity sensor or a direct humidity result (such as a volume fraction value). Preferably, regarding the above method one, when the online humidity sensor detects that the speed increase threshold exceeds the set response threshold, the detection frequency can be increased to promptly obtain the information that the purification tower has reached the adsorption saturation state. In addition, it should be noted that Method 1 above is a method of directly measuring airflow humidity as a basis for judgment, while Method 2 above is a method of indirectly predicting whether adsorption saturation is used as a basis for judgment. The reason is that for the product requirements of ultra-high purity hydrogen (such as requiring a normal pressure dew point temperature below -70℃), the requirements for the online humidity sensor used in Method 1 are very high. The cost of a high-precision sensor may be dozens of times that of an ordinary sensor. In addition, since the water molecule concentration in the hydrogen at the outlet is extremely low, in an ultra-low humidity environment, the physical adsorption equilibrium process of the sensing element in the sensor is relatively slow, unlike that of conventional humidity detection sensors. An accurate measurement may take several minutes. During the waiting period for the sensor to perform a measurement, the gas with insufficient humidity may enter the subsequent compression stage, causing a decrease in the quality of the system's product gas. High-precision sensors are not only expensive, but their accuracy and stability are also very easily affected by contamination, poisoning of the sensing element, and damage, leading to result failure or drift. Therefore, relying solely on Method 1 for judgment has a high risk of uncontrollability and high implementation cost. Unlike Method 1, although Method 2 is an inferential judgment criterion, it offers a fast response time, low implementation cost, and high reliability. Combining Method 1 and Method 2 has the following advantages: While humidity detection directly reflects the adsorption and drying status of the purification tower, it has limitations such as slow response, expensive equipment, and frequent maintenance requirements when measuring extremely low moisture content. Relying solely on humidity detection may result in the product gas quality exceeding the standard during the sensor's response period. However, the working duration / total processed gas flow rate, as an indirect, proactive, and highly reliable predictive criterion, effectively compensates for the lag in direct measurement. The combination of Method 1 and Method 2 enables precise switching based on real-time adsorption and drying quality and provides reliable safety assurance when Method 1 fails or is delayed. For example, Method 1 can be used only to verify the first threshold for comparison with Method 2, and Method 2 can be used solely as the switching judgment criterion. In this application, switching control can be achieved more economically in most cases, thereby improving the system's economic efficiency while ensuring reliable product gas purity.

[0102] Example 4:

[0103] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 3:

[0104] As a parallel solution to the above combined utilization scheme of method one and method two, the control unit is configured to: use method one and method two together as the judgment criteria to control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0105] When the control unit determines that the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of processed airflow has reached a first preset value, it triggers the humidity sensor to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying. If the humidity detection result of the airflow at the outlet is less than a second preset value, the humidity sensor will increase the humidity detection frequency to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet. When the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected to reach or exceed the second preset value, the control unit will switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0106] Before the purification tower for adsorption drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached a first preset value, the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is periodically collected by a humidity sensor. When the gas flow humidity reaches or exceeds a second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0107] The above solution provides a control method for precise switching of purification towers based on adaptive detection frequency. Specifically, when the control unit determines that the purification tower undergoing adsorption drying is saturated according to mode two, it does not immediately switch the working state of the purification tower. Instead, it uses the first predicted value as an early warning signal to trigger further confirmation using mode one. When the detection result shows that the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet reaches or exceeds the second preset value, switching is triggered. When the detection result shows that the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet does not reach the second preset value, it indicates that the purification tower can still meet the adsorption drying requirements. By increasing the humidity detection frequency and through intensive data acquisition, it ensures that switching can be performed as soon as the humidity does not meet the standard. This implementation method can not only effectively extend the actual working time or actual gas throughput of each purification tower in a single adsorption cycle, thereby fully utilizing the molecular sieve adsorption capacity and reducing the regeneration frequency of the purification tower to extend the service life of the molecular sieve, but also effectively ensure the quality of the product gas. Meanwhile, before the purification tower for adsorption and drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached the first preset value, based on method one, a periodic humidity detection method is used to determine whether the humidity of the gas flow has reached the second preset value. When it has, a switch is immediately executed, which is a switching control strategy that prioritizes the quality of the product gas.

[0108] Example 5:

[0109] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 4:

[0110] The control unit is configured to dynamically correct the first preset value based on the actual value of the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the actual value of the total amount of airflow processed, when the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is detected by the humidity sensor to reach or exceed the second preset value.

[0111] The dynamic correction is as follows: the first preset value is corrected to the weighted average of the historical first preset value and the current actual value, wherein the weighted average is calculated by using the method that the weight of the historical first preset value is greater than the weight of the current actual value.

[0112] The above solution provides a technical approach based on Method 1 to correct the first preset value, enabling the system to adapt well to changes in the system itself and operating conditions. Specifically, the first preset value in the control unit is a dynamic value based on correction. The correction method uses weighted calculation, and the weighted calculation rule aims to achieve the following: In the initial stage of system operation, the first preset value can be obtained based on experiments or calculations. After the system stabilizes (after each purification tower has completed one saturation adsorption), the allocation of the above weights can effectively resist the fluctuation of the first preset value caused by a single fluctuation in the humidity of the raw material gas, thereby achieving the goal of maintaining stable system parameters. By adopting the above strategy, the control unit can continuously and accurately predict the switching timing through self-adjustment, thereby maximizing the extension of each adsorption cycle and reducing the regeneration frequency while ensuring the quality of the product gas, thus saving energy and molecular sieve consumption.

[0113] Example 6:

[0114] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 1:

[0115] Both the pre-compression stage and the post-compression stage include multiple sets of cylinder assemblies connected in series.

[0116] Along the direction of hydrogen flow, the cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section includes an intake damper, a cylinder, an exhaust damper, a cooler, and a separator connected in series.

[0117] In the direction of hydrogen flow, the cylinder assembly of the subsequent compression stage includes an intake damper, a cylinder, an exhaust damper, and a cooler connected in series.

[0118] The intake buffer and exhaust buffer serve as airflow buffering mechanisms at the intake and exhaust ends of the cylinder, respectively. The cylinder serves as a pressurizing mechanism for pressurizing hydrogen in the cylinder assembly. The cooler serves as a cooling mechanism for cooling the pressurized hydrogen. The separator serves as a gas-liquid separation mechanism for separating the cooled fluid.

[0119] The circulation pipeline 34 is configured such that both the inlet and outlet ends of the circulation pipeline 34 are connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section, and the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is connected in series between the exhaust buffer and the cooler.

[0120] The regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35 is configured such that: the inlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35 is connected to the molecular sieve purifier 18, the outlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35 is connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the pre-compression section, and the specific connection position of the outlet end of the regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35 is located on the inlet side of the inlet buffer.

[0121] The above provides a specific implementation method for the pre-stage and post-stage compression sections. Specifically, the gas in the pre-stage compression section is not treated with a purification device; therefore, a cooler and separator are used to ensure interstage compression efficiency and achieve preliminary hydrogen drying. Since the inlet gas in the post-stage compression section has already undergone deep drying through a purification device, only compression and cooling are required, gradually increasing the hydrogen pressure while ensuring interstage compression efficiency. The above-mentioned configuration of the circulation pipeline 34 aims to achieve the following: the circulation pipeline 34 is specifically defined as leading hydrogen from after the exhaust buffer of the first-stage cylinder assembly and before the cooler. The hydrogen temperature at this location is relatively high (in multi-stage compression, the exhaust temperature of the first-stage cylinder 2 is generally the highest), and the heat quality is good. This allows the molecular sieve regeneration gas flow to be heated at a higher hot fluid temperature in the regeneration heat exchanger 33. The hydrogen discharged from the cylinder enters the circulation pipeline 34 after passing through the exhaust buffer, enabling... This provides a stable airflow to the regenerator 33, ensuring its stable and reliable operation. Furthermore, by connecting the circulation pipe 34 to the first-stage cylinder assembly, the hydrogen entering the regenerator 33 can have a relatively low pressure. For example, the hot fluid flow in the regenerator 33 can be in the shell side, and the regeneration gas flow can be in the tube side (the regeneration gas pressure is higher, making this method safer). This method allows for a thinner-walled regenerator 33 shell, facilitating features such as the circulation pipe 34 setup and the thickened design of the heat exchange tube walls within the regenerator 33. The above configuration of the regeneration gas feedback pipe 35 aims to introduce the regeneration gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process into the intake side of the intake buffer in the first-stage cylinder assembly, allowing the regeneration gas flow to participate in the recovery process. Starting from the first-stage cylinder assembly, preliminary drying is achieved based on the coolers and separators of each cylinder assembly in the preceding compression section.

[0122] Example 7:

[0123] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 6:

[0124] The first-stage cylinder assembly includes a first-stage intake damper 1, a first-stage cylinder 2, a first-stage exhaust damper 3, a first-stage cooler, and a first-stage separator 6 connected in sequence. The first-stage cooler includes a first-stage cooler A4 and a first-stage cooler B5 connected in parallel.

[0125] The primary coolers A4 and B5 are configured such that the medium discharged from the primary exhaust buffer 3 is diverted to enter the primary separator 6 through the primary coolers A4 and B5, and the medium flowing through the regeneration heat exchanger 33 enters the primary separator 6 through the primary cooler B5.

[0126] A regenerated gas separator 32 for gas-liquid separation is connected in series on the regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35. The regenerated gas separator 32 is configured such that the gas phase medium separated by the regenerated gas separator 32 is introduced into the intake side of the first-stage intake buffer 1 through the regenerated gas feedback pipeline 35.

[0127] The above provides a specific implementation of the first-stage cylinder assembly. It should be noted that in this solution, the first-stage cooler is configured to include first-stage cooler A4 and first-stage cooler B5. First-stage cooler A4 is used to directly connect the first-stage exhaust buffer 3 and the first-stage separator 6. First-stage cooler B5 is used to cool only the hydrogen from the regeneration heat exchanger 33. That is, the hydrogen after heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is cooled by first-stage cooler B5 and then returned to the system. This approach aims to solve the following problem:

[0128] For the primary cooler A4, the gas flow through it is high-temperature hydrogen from the primary cylinder 2. The temperature and flow rate of this gas flow are stable (only a small portion is distributed to the primary cooler B5), so the heat load of the primary cooler A4 is relatively stable. For the primary cooler B5, the gas flow through it comes from hydrogen that has undergone heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger 33. The temperature of this gas flow is lower than that of the high-temperature hydrogen. Moreover, the intensity and frequency of the regeneration process make the heat load of the regeneration heat exchanger 33 and the primary cooler B5 fluctuate and intermittent. This scheme uses different primary coolers to treat hydrogen from different sources, which allows gas flows with different heat load characteristics to be treated independently. By avoiding mutual interference, the stability and controllability of their respective outlet temperatures are ensured, thereby guaranteeing the stability of the intake conditions of the subsequent compression process. The heat load of the primary cooler B5 can be flexibly adjusted or even shut down according to the regeneration status of the purification tower, realizing on-demand cooling of the primary cooler and effectively reducing the energy consumption of the system auxiliary equipment. The above configuration of the regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35 aims to utilize the regeneration gas separator 32 to remove the liquid water condensed from the water vapor carried out during the regeneration process, ensuring that dry hydrogen is returned to the system as much as possible, thereby achieving efficient hydrogen compression and reducing the system's water treatment load.

[0129] Example 8:

[0130] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 1:

[0131] The multi-stage compression unit, purification device, and regeneration heat exchanger 33 are integrated on the same skid-mounted module.

[0132] The above provides a convenient system configuration method for engineering applications. Specifically, this solution is based on an integrated design of a single skid-mounted module, making the entire hydrogen compressor system a compact, easily transportable, and quickly installed standardized product. This configuration method greatly reduces on-site installation workload, lowers engineering costs and floor space, while ensuring optimal matching between system components and overall operational reliability. It is very suitable as a complete set of equipment for hydrogen refueling stations, on-site hydrogen production, and other scenarios. More specifically, in the multi-stage compression unit, the cylinders used in each compression unit are integrated and mounted on the same compressor head. The pistons configured in these cylinders are based on a crosshead mechanism and a connecting rod mechanism, and are driven by the same motor.

[0133] Example 9:

[0134] Based on Example 1, this embodiment provides a hydrogen compressor control method for the hydrogen compressor system described in Example 1. In this method, the control involves using a pre-compression stage to perform pre-compression of the hydrogen; the control involves introducing the hydrogen, after pre-compression and cooling by a cooler and separation of liquid water, into a purification device, and sequentially performing freeze-drying, molecular sieve adsorption drying, and dust filtration on the hydrogen through a refrigerated dryer 17, a molecular sieve purifier 18, and a dust filter 19; and the control involves using a post-compression stage to perform post-compression of the hydrogen from the pre-compression stage to pressurize the hydrogen to the product gas pressure.

[0135] The molecular sieve purifier 18 includes a molecular sieve regeneration stage during operation. The molecular sieve regeneration stage is controlled as follows: hydrogen gas, which has been pressurized by the pre-compression section and has not been cooled by the cooler, is introduced into the regeneration heat exchanger 33 through the circulation pipeline 34. When the hydrogen gas flows through the regeneration heat exchanger 33, it acts as a hot fluid and heats the regeneration gas flow used to inject into the molecular sieve. The heated gas flow is injected into the molecular sieve to heat and purge it. The hydrogen gas after heat exchange in the regeneration heat exchanger 33 is injected into the pre-compression section. The regeneration gas generated during the molecular sieve regeneration process is introduced into the pre-compression section through the regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35. The regeneration gas flow uses hydrogen gas that has been adsorbed and dried by the molecular sieve purifier 18.

[0136] It is easy to understand that the control methods provided above are control methods for the compressor system.

[0137] Example 10:

[0138] This embodiment is a further refinement of embodiment 9:

[0139] The regeneration gas flow is initially heated in the regeneration heat exchanger 33, and then further heated to above 200°C by the electric heating module 37 before being injected into the molecular sieve.

[0140] In the molecular sieve purifier 18, the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182 are used to adsorb and dry the hydrogen flowing through the molecular sieve purifier 18. When one of the purification towers 181 and 182 is adsorbing and drying, the other purification tower is regenerated by the regeneration heat exchanger 33 and the electric heating module 37.

[0141] The regeneration gas flow used in the regenerated adsorption tower comes from the purification tower that was previously used for adsorption drying;

[0142] When the adsorption-drying purification tower is detected to have reached the set adsorption-drying limit, the adsorption-drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers are switched.

[0143] The determination criteria for switching the adsorption drying and regeneration states are as follows: when the control unit of the compressor system determines that the working duration of the purification tower for adsorption drying or the total amount of processed airflow reaches the first preset value, the humidity sensor is triggered to detect the humidity of the airflow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying. If the humidity detection result of the airflow at the outlet is less than the second preset value, the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected by increasing the humidity detection frequency of the humidity sensor. When the humidity of the airflow at the outlet is detected to reach or exceed the second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0144] Before the purification tower for adsorption drying has been in operation for a certain period of time or the total amount of gas flow processed has reached a first preset value, the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet of the purification tower for adsorption drying is periodically collected by a humidity sensor. When the gas flow humidity reaches or exceeds a second preset value, the pipeline assembly is controlled to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

[0145] For a purification tower in an adsorption-drying state, the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the purification tower is collected. When the pressure difference reaches or exceeds a third preset value, a molecular sieve health alarm is triggered.

[0146] The above provides a more detailed technical solution for the control method. It should be noted that in this method, by monitoring the pressure difference and triggering a molecular sieve health alarm based on the pressure difference, the aim is to monitor whether the molecular sieve has become physically blocked due to pulverization, scaling, or other reasons. The molecular sieve health alarm is used to remind maintenance personnel to intervene in a timely manner. This is not only beneficial for the health protection of the dust filter 19, but also for ensuring the quality of the product gas and avoiding abnormal energy consumption or even equipment damage caused by blockage.

[0147] Example 11:

[0148] This embodiment provides a specific implementation method based on embodiment 1:

[0149] In this embodiment, the pre-compression section adopts a three-stage compression section structure, consisting of a first-stage cylinder assembly, a second-stage cylinder assembly, and a third-stage cylinder assembly connected in series. The first-stage cylinder assembly includes a first-stage intake buffer 1, a first-stage cylinder 2, a first-stage exhaust buffer 3, a first-stage cooler, and a first-stage separator 6 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The second-stage cylinder assembly includes a second-stage intake buffer 7, a second-stage cylinder 8, a second-stage exhaust buffer 9, a second-stage cooler 10, and a second-stage separator 11 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The third-stage cylinder assembly includes a third-stage intake buffer 12, a third-stage cylinder 13, a third-stage exhaust buffer 14, a third-stage cooler 15, and a third-stage separator 16 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The outlet end of the third-stage separator 16 is connected sequentially to a refrigerated dryer 17, a molecular sieve purifier 18, and a dust filter 19. The molecular sieve purifier 18 includes a first purification tower 181 and a second purification tower 182 connected via a regeneration gas pipeline 36. A post-compression section is located at the rear end of the dust filter 19. The compression section adopts a three-stage compression structure, consisting of a four-stage cylinder assembly, a five-stage cylinder assembly, and a six-stage cylinder assembly connected in series. The four-stage cylinder assembly includes a four-stage intake buffer 20, a four-stage cylinder 21, a four-stage exhaust buffer 22, and a four-stage cooler 23 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The five-stage cylinder assembly includes a five-stage intake buffer 24, a five-stage cylinder 25, a five-stage exhaust buffer 26, and a five-stage cooler 27 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The six-stage cylinder assembly includes a five-stage intake buffer 24, a five-stage cylinder 25, a five-stage exhaust buffer 26, and a five-stage cooler 27 arranged sequentially along the hydrogen flow path. The process consists of a six-stage intake buffer 28, a six-stage cylinder 29, a six-stage exhaust buffer 30, and a six-stage cooler 31 arranged sequentially. The molecular sieve purifier 18 is equipped with a regeneration heat exchanger 33, which is equipped with an electric heating module 37. The regeneration heat exchanger 33 is connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly through a circulation pipeline 34. The molecular sieve purifier 18 is connected to the inlet side of the first-stage intake buffer 1 through a regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35, and a regeneration gas separator 32 is connected in series on the regeneration gas feedback pipeline 35.

[0150] In this system, the hydrogen flow is as follows: Hydrogen is introduced into the system through a primary intake buffer 1. As it passes through the primary, secondary, and tertiary cylinder assemblies, the cylinders in each stage pressurize the hydrogen progressively. The hydrogen is cooled in the cooler of each stage assembly and undergoes gas-liquid separation in the separator of each stage assembly. The hydrogen discharged from the pre-compression stage sequentially passes through a refrigerated dryer 17, a molecular sieve purifier 18, and a dust filter 19 in the purification unit. During this process, the hydrogen undergoes freeze-drying, molecular sieve adsorption drying, and dust filtration sequentially. The gas from the refrigerated dryer 17 is selectively introduced into one of the two purification towers, the first purification tower 181 and the second purification tower 182, for adsorption drying. This adsorption drying purification process... After the adsorption tower becomes saturated, it switches to another purification tower for adsorption drying and regeneration. The regeneration is performed by introducing the gas from the purification tower undergoing adsorption drying into the regenerated purification tower through the regeneration gas pipeline 36 to perform thermal purging regeneration on the molecular sieve in the regeneration stage. The gas flows sequentially through the cold fluid flow of the regeneration heat exchanger 33 and the electric heating module 37 to be heated to the set temperature. The hydrogen gas that has completed adsorption drying in the dust filter 19 enters the subsequent compression stage. Specifically, during the process of passing through the four-stage cylinder assembly, the five-stage cylinder assembly, and the six-stage cylinder assembly, the cylinders of each stage cylinder assembly pressurize the hydrogen gas step by step and cool it in the cooler of each stage cylinder assembly. Finally, it is discharged from the six-stage cooler 31.

[0151] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hydrogen compressor system comprising a plurality of compression units connected in series, characterized in that, The multi-stage compression unit comprises a front-stage compression section at a front stage and a rear-stage compression section at a rear stage in a compression process; a purification device for purifying hydrogen is arranged between the front-stage compression section and the rear-stage compression section; in the direction of hydrogen flow, the purification device comprises a refrigeration dryer (17), a molecular sieve purifier (18) and a dust filter (19) connected in series; The molecular sieve purifier (18) is provided with a regeneration heat exchanger (33) for providing regeneration heat for the molecular sieve thereof, and a circulation pipeline (34) is arranged between the front-stage compression section and the regeneration heat exchanger (33), and the circulation pipeline (34) is configured to introduce hydrogen pressurized by the front-stage compression section and not cooled by the cooler into the regeneration heat exchanger (33), and inject hydrogen exchanged by the regeneration heat exchanger (33) into the front-stage compression section; The molecular sieve purifier (18) is provided with a regeneration gas feedback pipeline (35) for introducing regeneration gas generated in the regeneration process of the molecular sieve purifier (18) into the front-stage compression section; The molecular sieve purifier (18) comprises a first purification tower (181) and a second purification tower (182) connected in parallel, and a regeneration gas pipeline (36) is arranged between the first purification tower (181) and the second purification tower (182) to realize communication between the two; The regeneration heat exchanger (33) is connected in series on the regeneration gas pipeline (36), and the regeneration gas pipeline (36) realizes the communication between the two through a cold fluid process of the regeneration heat exchanger (33); The hydrogen in the circulation pipeline (34) flows through a hot fluid process of the regeneration heat exchanger (33).

2. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 1, characterized in that The regeneration heat exchanger (33) is further provided with an electric heating module (37) for heating the medium from the cold fluid process; Further comprising a pipeline assembly for realizing alternate conduction of the refrigeration dryer (17) and the first purification tower (181) and the second purification tower (182); The regeneration gas pipeline (36) is provided with a control valve for realizing on-off control of the regeneration gas pipeline (36).

3. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 2, wherein, Further comprising a control unit configured to: Control the pipeline assembly to selectively introduce gas from the refrigeration dryer (17) into one of the two purification towers, i.e., the first purification tower (181) and the second purification tower (182), for adsorption drying; Control the control valve on the regeneration gas pipeline (36) to regenerate the other purification tower, and the regeneration is realized by introducing the gas in the purification tower for adsorption drying into the other purification tower through the regeneration gas pipeline (36) to heat purge and regenerate the molecular sieve in the other purification tower, and the gas sequentially flows through the cold fluid process of the regeneration heat exchanger (33) and the electric heating module (37); Control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers in any one or both of the following ways: Way one, detection result of outlet gas flow humidity of the purification tower for adsorption drying; Way two, working duration or total amount of gas flow of the purification tower for adsorption drying.

4. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 3, wherein, The control unit is configured to control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers as a basis for the mode one and the mode two; When the control unit determines that the working duration of the adsorption drying purification tower or the total amount of the processed gas flow reaches the first preset value, the humidity sensor detects the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end of the adsorption drying purification tower, and if the humidity detection result of the gas flow at the outlet end is less than the second preset value, the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end is detected in a manner of increasing the humidity detection frequency of the humidity sensor, and when the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end is detected to reach or exceed the second preset value, the control unit controls the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers; Before the working duration of the adsorption drying purification tower or the total amount of the processed gas flow reaches the first preset value, the humidity sensor periodically collects the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end of the adsorption drying purification tower, and when the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end reaches or exceeds the second preset value, the control unit controls the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers.

5. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 4, wherein, The control unit is configured to dynamically correct the first preset value according to the actual value of the working duration of the adsorption drying purification tower or the actual value of the total amount of the processed gas flow when the humidity of the gas flow at the outlet end of the adsorption drying purification tower detected by the humidity sensor reaches or exceeds the second preset value. The dynamic correction is to correct the first preset value to a weighted average value of the historical first preset value and the current actual value, wherein the historical first preset value is weighted more than the current actual value.

6. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 1, wherein, The front-stage compression section and the rear-stage compression section each include a plurality of cylinder assemblies connected in series. In the direction of the hydrogen flow, the cylinder assemblies of the front-stage compression section include, in series, an intake buffer, a cylinder, an exhaust buffer, a cooler, and a separator. In the direction of the hydrogen flow, the cylinder assemblies of the rear-stage compression section include, in series, an intake buffer, a cylinder, an exhaust buffer, and a cooler. The intake buffer and the exhaust buffer are respectively gas flow buffering mechanisms for the intake end and the exhaust end of the cylinder, the cylinder is a pressurizing mechanism for pressurizing hydrogen in the cylinder assembly, the cooler is a cooling mechanism for cooling the pressurized hydrogen, and the separator is a separation mechanism for separating the cooled fluid into gas and liquid. The circulation pipeline (34) is configured to have its intake end and exhaust end connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the front-stage compression section and to have the regeneration heat exchanger (33) connected in series between the exhaust buffer and the cooler. The regeneration gas feedback pipeline (35) is configured to have its intake end connected to the molecular sieve purifier (18) and its exhaust end connected to the first-stage cylinder assembly of the front-stage compression section, and the specific connection position of the exhaust end of the regeneration gas feedback pipeline (35) is located on the intake side of the intake buffer.

7. A hydrogen compressor system according to claim 6, wherein, The first-stage cylinder assembly comprises a first-stage air inlet buffer (1), a first-stage cylinder (2), a first-stage air outlet buffer (3), a first-stage cooler and a first-stage separator (6) connected in sequence, wherein the first-stage cooler comprises a first-stage cooler A (4) and a first-stage cooler B (5) connected in parallel; The first-stage cooler A (4) and the first-stage cooler B (5) are configured to divide the medium discharged by the first-stage air outlet buffer (3) into two parts, one part enters the first-stage separator (6) through the first-stage cooler A (4) and the first-stage cooler B (5), and the other part enters the first-stage separator (6) through the first-stage cooler B (5) after flowing through the regenerative heat exchanger (33); The regenerative gas feedback pipeline (35) is provided with a regenerative gas separator (32) for realizing gas-liquid separation, and the regenerative gas separator (32) is configured to introduce the gas-phase medium separated by the regenerative gas separator (32) into the air inlet side of the first-stage air inlet buffer (1) through the regenerative gas feedback pipeline (35).

8. A hydrogen compressor system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The multi-stage compression unit, the purification device and the regenerative heat exchanger (33) are integrated on the same skid-mounted module.

9. A hydrogen compressor control method for the hydrogen compressor system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by, In the method, the control method comprises: using a front-stage compression section to compress hydrogen; the control method comprises: introducing hydrogen compressed by the front-stage compression section and cooled and separated from liquid water by a cooler into a purification device, and sequentially performing freeze dehydration, molecular sieve adsorption drying and dust filtration on the hydrogen by a freeze-type dryer (17), a molecular sieve purifier (18) and a dust filter (19), respectively; the control method comprises: using a rear-stage compression section to compress hydrogen from the front-stage compression section to pressurize the hydrogen to a product gas pressure; The molecular sieve purifier (18) comprises a molecular sieve regeneration stage in a working process, and the molecular sieve regeneration stage is controlled to introduce hydrogen pressurized by the front-stage compression section and not cooled by the cooler into the regenerative heat exchanger (33) through a circulation pipeline (34), and when the hydrogen flows through the regenerative heat exchanger (33), the hydrogen acts as a hot fluid to heat a regenerative gas stream for injection into the molecular sieve in the regenerative heat exchanger (33), the heated gas stream is injected into the molecular sieve to heat and purge the molecular sieve, the hydrogen after heat exchange in the regenerative heat exchanger (33) is injected into the front-stage compression section, and regenerative gas generated in the molecular sieve regeneration process is introduced into the front-stage compression section through a regenerative gas feedback pipeline (35), and the regenerative gas stream is hydrogen after adsorption drying by the molecular sieve purifier (18).

10. The hydrogen compressor control method of claim 9, wherein, The regenerative gas stream is preliminarily heated in the regenerative heat exchanger (33), further heated to above 200℃ by an electric heating module (37), and then injected into the molecular sieve; In the molecular sieve purifier (18), first and second purification towers (181, 182) are used to alternately adsorb and dry and regenerate hydrogen flowing through the molecular sieve purifier (18); when one of the first and second purification towers (181, 182) is adsorbing and drying, the other purification tower is regenerated under the action of the regenerative heat exchanger (33) and the electric heating module (37). The regenerating gas stream used by the regenerating adsorption tower comes from the adsorption drying purification tower; When it is detected that the adsorption drying purification tower reaches the set adsorption drying limit, switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers; The determination basis for switching the adsorption drying and regeneration states is: when the control unit of the compressor system determines that the working duration of the adsorption drying purification tower or the total amount of the processed gas stream reaches the first preset value, trigger the humidity sensor to detect the humidity of the outlet gas stream of the adsorption drying purification tower, if the humidity detection result of the outlet gas stream is less than the second preset value, detect the humidity of the outlet gas stream in the way of increasing the humidity detection frequency of the humidity sensor, when it is detected that the humidity of the outlet gas stream reaches or exceeds the second preset value, control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers; Before the working duration of the adsorption drying purification tower or the total amount of the processed gas stream reaches the first preset value, periodically collect the humidity of the outlet gas stream of the adsorption drying purification tower by the humidity sensor, when the humidity of the outlet gas stream reaches or exceeds the second preset value, control the pipeline assembly to switch the adsorption drying and regeneration states of the two purification towers; For the purification tower in the adsorption drying state, collect the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of the purification tower, when the pressure difference reaches or exceeds the third preset value, trigger the molecular sieve health alarm.

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