Device and method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas

Abstract

To provide a device and method for effectively sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas.SOLUTION: A device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas includes: one or a plurality of units including a sampling cylinder for storing high-pressure hydrogen gas, and a decompression cylinder for decompressing the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for sampling high pressure hydrogen gas. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, to control the quality of extremely high-pressure (e.g., approximately 80 MPaG) hydrogen gas supplied to fuel cell vehicles, etc., it is necessary to sample the hydrogen gas and analyze its components. In this case, the extremely high-pressure hydrogen gas must be reduced to an appropriate pressure (e.g., less than 1 MPaG).

[0003] In conventional sampling of high-pressure hydrogen gas, the pressure reduction of hydrogen gas has been carried out using a pressure reducing valve with special specifications that can withstand extremely high pressures (for example, approximately 80 MPaG). Patent Document 1 discloses a kit and method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas using a pressure reducing valve with such special specifications. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-45242 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to effectively sample high-pressure hydrogen gas by effectively reducing the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The inventors of the present invention discovered that by utilizing the volume expansion that occurs when hydrogen gas moves from the sampling cylinder to the pressure reducing cylinder, high-pressure hydrogen gas can be effectively reduced in pressure without using a pressure reducing valve with special specifications that can withstand extremely high pressures (e.g., approximately 80 MPaG), which has been used conventionally, and came up with the idea for the present invention. That is, the present disclosure provides, for example, the following high-pressure hydrogen gas sampling device and method. [1] An apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, An apparatus comprising one or more units each including a sampling cylinder for storing the high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure reducing cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder. [2] The device described in [1], wherein the volume of the pressure reducing cylinder is larger than the volume of the sampling cylinder. [3] The apparatus described in [1] or [2], wherein the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas is 1 MPaG or more, and the pressure reducing cylinder is capable of reducing the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas to less than 1 MPaG. [4] The device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the pressure reducing cylinder is removable from the unit. [5] The apparatus according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the unit further comprises a bubbling unit that collects impurities in the hydrogen gas supplied from the reduced pressure cylinder. [6] The apparatus described in any one of [1] to [5], wherein the unit further comprises one or more additional pressure reducing cylinders interposed in piping connecting the sampling cylinder and the pressure reducing cylinder. [7] Storing high-pressure hydrogen gas in a sampling cylinder; and The high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in the sampling cylinder is transferred to a decompression cylinder, thereby decompressing the high-pressure hydrogen gas. 1. A method for sampling high pressure hydrogen gas, comprising: [8] The method according to [7], wherein the volume of the decompression cylinder is greater than the volume of the sampling cylinder. [9] The method according to [7] or [8], wherein the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas is 1 MPaG or more, and the method includes reducing the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in a sampling cylinder to less than 1 MPaG by transferring the high-pressure hydrogen gas to a pressure reducing cylinder.

[10] The method according to any one of [7] to [9], further comprising collecting impurities in the reduced pressure hydrogen gas using a bubbling unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The device and method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas disclosed herein can effectively depressurize high-pressure hydrogen gas by utilizing the volume expansion that occurs when the hydrogen gas moves from the sampling cylinder to the depressurization cylinder. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, which includes one unit having a sampling cylinder and a pressure-reducing cylinder. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of an apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, which includes two units each including a sampling cylinder and a pressure reducing cylinder. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The embodiments may be implemented alone or in combination with one another. When a specific description given for one embodiment also applies to other embodiments, that description is omitted in the other embodiments.

[0010] [High-pressure hydrogen gas sampling device] In one embodiment, An apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, comprising: An apparatus comprising one or more units each including a sampling cylinder for storing the high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure reducing cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder. is provided. This device can reduce high-pressure (e.g., 1 MPaG or higher) hydrogen gas to an appropriate pressure (e.g., less than 1 MPaG). The reduced-pressure gas can be handled easily and in compliance with predetermined safety standards. Therefore, this device can effectively sample high-pressure hydrogen gas. Furthermore, unlike conventional devices, this device does not require the use of expensive pressure reducing valves with special specifications that can withstand extremely high pressures (e.g., 1 MPaG or more, e.g., 80 MPaG), and therefore allows sampling of high-pressure hydrogen gas at a lower cost than conventional devices. The device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas can be used as a device for sampling impurities in high-pressure hydrogen gas.

[0011] Examples of the device of this embodiment are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The device shown in Figure 1 is a device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, comprising one unit equipped with a sampling cylinder for storing high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure-reducing cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder. The device shown in Figure 2 is a device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, comprising two units equipped with a sampling cylinder for storing high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure-reducing cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder. However, the configuration of the present disclosure is not limited to the configuration shown in Figures 1 and 2, and may not include some of the configuration, or may include additional configuration. In other words, the configuration shown in Figures 1 and 2 can be freely modified within the scope in which the effects of the present invention can be obtained. The device of this embodiment will be described below using the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an example.

[0012] (sampling cylinder)

[0013] The sampling cylinder 102 is a cylinder capable of storing high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied from a target to be sampled. The sampling cylinder 102 can preferably store high-pressure hydrogen gas of 1 MPaG or more, or 1 to 100 MPaG. The object to be sampled may be any object as long as the effects of the present invention can be obtained, but non-limiting examples include high-pressure hydrogen gas stored at hydrogen gas stations that supply hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles, and high-pressure hydrogen gas produced by vaporizing liquid hydrogen.

[0014] The volume of the sampling cylinder 102 may be any volume, for example, 0.1 to 1 L or 0.2 to 0.5 L, as long as the effects of the present invention are obtained. Furthermore, the volume of the sampling cylinder 102 is preferably 1 / 50 to 1 / 1000, and more preferably 1 / 100 to 1 / 500, of the volume of the decompression cylinder 103 described below. When the volumes of the sampling cylinder 102 and the decompression cylinder 103 satisfy this relationship, it tends to be easier to decompress the hydrogen gas to an appropriate pressure.

[0015] The material of the sampling cylinder 102 may be any material as long as it can provide the effects of the present invention, such as metals such as stainless steel.

[0016] The sampling cylinder 102 is connected to a pipe for supplying hydrogen gas into the sampling cylinder 102 and a pipe for discharging hydrogen gas out of the sampling cylinder 102 . The piping for supplying hydrogen gas into the sampling cylinder 102 is equipped with an on-off valve 106. The hydrogen gas in this piping may be heated by compression heat caused by high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied from the target compressing the hydrogen gas in the piping, or by heat generated by the Joule-Thomson effect when the volume of the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied from the target expands. To appropriately cool the hydrogen gas heated in this way, the piping for supplying hydrogen gas into the sampling cylinder 102 may be equipped with a cooler (for example, a heat exchanger such as a heat dissipation fin). The piping for discharging the hydrogen gas to the outside of the sampling cylinder 102 is equipped with an on-off valve 107 . The piping for discharging hydrogen gas to the outside of the sampling cylinder 102 is provided with a pressure gauge 114 between the connection part with the sampling cylinder 102 and the valve 107 .

[0017] (Decompression cylinder) The pressure reducing cylinder 103 is a cylinder that can reduce the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied thereto, for example, to less than 1 MPaG, 0.8 MPaG or less, or 0.6 MPaG or less, or to 0.1 MPaG or more and less than 1 MPaG, 0.1 MPaG or more and 0.8 MPaG or less, or 0.1 MPaG or more and 0.6 MPaG or less, by expanding the volume of the high-pressure hydrogen gas, and can also store the reduced-pressure hydrogen gas. The pressure reducing cylinder 103 is equipped with a pressure gauge 115. Gases reduced to these pressures can be handled easily and in accordance with applicable safety standards.

[0018] The volume of the decompression cylinder 103 may be any volume as long as the effects of the present invention are obtained. The volume of the decompression cylinder 103 is, for example, 10 to 100 L, or preferably 20 to 50 L. The volume of the decompression cylinder 103 is preferably 50 to 1000 times, or more preferably 100 to 500 times, the volume of the sampling cylinder 102. If the volumes of the sampling cylinder 102 and the decompression cylinder 103 satisfy these relationships, it tends to be easier to decompress the hydrogen gas to the above-mentioned pressure.

[0019] The material of the decompression cylinder 103 may be any material as long as the effects of the present invention can be obtained. Examples of such materials include metals such as stainless steel.

[0020] The decompression cylinder 103 is connected to a pipe for supplying hydrogen gas into the decompression cylinder 103 and a pipe for discharging the hydrogen gas out of the decompression cylinder 103 . The piping for supplying hydrogen gas into the decompression cylinder 103 is equipped with an on-off valve 108 . The piping for discharging the hydrogen gas to the outside of the decompression cylinder 103 is equipped with an on-off valve 109 .

[0021] The piping for discharging hydrogen gas to the outside of the pressure reducing cylinder 103 is equipped with a pressure adjustment valve 113 and a flow control unit 104, which will be described later. The piping for discharging hydrogen gas to the outside of the pressure reducing cylinder 103 is a piping that discharges hydrogen gas to the outside of the apparatus via on-off valves 111 and 112, and branches into a piping that has a bubbling unit, which will be described later, interposed between on-off valves 111 and 112, and a piping that bypasses the bubbling unit and discharges hydrogen gas to the outside of the apparatus via on-off valve 110.

[0022] The decompression cylinder 103 can be attached to and detached from the unit 101 at the attachment portions 116 and 117 together with the opening and closing valves 108 and 109 .

[0023] The hydrogen gas in the decompression cylinder 103 may be heated by heat of compression caused by the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied into the decompression cylinder 103 compressing the hydrogen gas in the decompression cylinder 103, or by heat generated by the Joule-Thomson effect when the volume of the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied into the decompression cylinder 103 expands. In order to appropriately cool the hydrogen gas heated in this manner, the decompression cylinder 103 may be equipped with a cooler (for example, a heat exchanger such as a heat dissipation fin).

[0024] (Bubbling unit) The bubbling unit 105 is a unit equipped with one or more collection vessels and capable of collecting impurities in hydrogen gas. Here, the collection vessels are filled with a collection liquid, and the collection liquid is bubbled with hydrogen gas. As a result, the impurities in the hydrogen gas are dissolved in the collection liquid and collected. As the collection liquid, a liquid suitable for collecting impurities in hydrogen gas is used, and when the impurities are water-soluble, for example, water is preferably used. 1 and 2, the bubbling unit 105 includes a collection vessel 120 and a collection vessel 121 connected in series, and the collection vessels 120 and 121 are filled with collection liquids 122 and 123, respectively. When the bubbling unit includes a plurality of collection vessels, the impurities in the hydrogen gas can be collected more effectively by connecting the plurality of collection vessels in series. Furthermore, the unit 101 may include one or more bubbling units 105 (one in FIGS. 1 and 2). When the unit 101 includes multiple bubbling units 105, the multiple bubbling units 105 can be arranged in parallel. When the unit 101 includes multiple bubbling units 105 arranged in parallel, each bubbling unit 105 can include a collection container filled with a different collection liquid, thereby making it possible to simultaneously collect different components of impurities in the hydrogen gas. It is preferable that the piping supplying hydrogen gas to each bubbling unit 105 be independently equipped with a flow control unit 104, which will be described later. As the bubbling unit, a known bubbling unit that can be used for sampling impurities in a gas can be used. The impurities in the hydrogen gas collected by the bubbling unit can be subjected to various tests (for example, tests against the controlled components of the hydrogen fuel standard for fuel cell vehicles (ISO14687-2)).

[0025] The bubbling unit 105 is connected to a pipe for supplying hydrogen gas into the bubbling unit 105 and a pipe for discharging the hydrogen gas to the outside of the bubbling unit 105 . The piping for supplying hydrogen gas into the bubbling unit 105 includes a pressure adjustment valve 113 and / or a flow control unit (e.g., a mass flow controller (MFC) or a flow meter (FM)) 104. The pressure adjustment valve 113 is a valve for further adjusting the pressure of the reduced pressure hydrogen gas (e.g., less than 1 MPaG), and does not have to be a pressure reducing valve with special specifications for reducing the pressure of extremely high pressure hydrogen gas (e.g., 1 MPaG or more, e.g., 80 MPaG). The pressure regulating valve 113 and the flow control unit 104 can be effectively used to further regulate the reduced pressure hydrogen gas (for example, less than 1 MPaG) to a desired pressure (for example, 10 to 50 kPaG). The flow control unit 104 can also be used to monitor the flow rate of hydrogen gas.

[0026] The bubbling unit 105 can be attached to and detached from the unit 101 at the attachment parts 118 and 119 .

[0027] The device described in Figures 1 and 2 operates as follows. First, by opening the on-off valve 106 and closing the on-off valve 107, high-pressure (for example, 1 MPaG or more) hydrogen gas outside the device to be analyzed is supplied to the sampling cylinder 102. The supplied high-pressure hydrogen gas is stored in the sampling cylinder 102 by closing the on-off valve 106. The pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied to and stored in the sampling cylinder 102 can be monitored by the pressure gauge 114. The high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in the sampling cylinder 102 is supplied to the decompression cylinder 103 by opening the on-off valves 107 and 108 and closing the on-off valve 109. This causes the volume of the hydrogen gas to expand, and the pressure of the hydrogen gas is reduced (to less than 1 MPaG, for example). The reduced-pressure hydrogen gas is stored in the decompression cylinder 103 by closing the on-off valves 108 and 109. The hydrogen gas stored in the pressure reducing cylinder 103 is supplied to the bubbling unit 105 via the pressure adjusting valve 113 and / or the flow control unit 104 by closing the on-off valve 110 and opening the on-off valves 109, 111, and 112. In the bubbling unit 105, impurities in the hydrogen gas are dissolved in the collecting liquid (collecting liquids 122 and 123 in FIGS. 1 and 2) and collected. The hydrogen gas after the impurities have been collected is discharged outside the device. At this time, the pressure regulating valve 113 and the flow control unit 104 can adjust the pressure of the hydrogen gas to a pressure (for example, 10 to 50 kPaG) appropriate for capturing impurities in the hydrogen gas in the bubbling unit 105. In addition, the flow control unit 104 can measure the flow rate of the hydrogen gas. The impurities in the hydrogen gas collected in the bubbling unit 105 can be subjected to various tests (for example, tests for the controlled components in the hydrogen fuel standard for fuel cell vehicles (ISO14687-2)), which allows the components and amounts of the impurities in the high-pressure hydrogen gas to be determined. Furthermore, the content of each component contained in the impurities in the high-pressure hydrogen gas to be analyzed can be calculated from the determined components and amounts of the impurities in the high-pressure hydrogen gas and the flow rate of the hydrogen gas measured by the above-mentioned flow control unit 104. Alternatively, when impurities in the hydrogen gas are not collected by the bubbling unit, the hydrogen gas stored in the reduced pressure cylinder 103 is discharged outside the device, bypassing the bubbling unit, by closing the on-off valves 108, 111, and 112 and opening the on-off valves 109 and 110. It should be noted that the decompression cylinder 103 can be removed from the unit 101 at the attachment portions 116 and 117. At this time, by closing the valves 108 and 109, the hydrogen gas stored in the decompression cylinder 103 can be carried or stored outside the device. Furthermore, the bubbling unit 105 can be detached from the unit 101 at the attachment portions 118 and 119. This allows the trapping liquid that has trapped impurities in the hydrogen gas to be carried or stored outside the device.

[0028] The apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas shown in Figures 1 and 2 may include further configurations in addition to those described above. Non-limiting examples of such further configurations include the following:

[0029] (additional pressure reducing cylinder) The unit 101 may further include one or more additional decompression cylinders interposed in the piping that connects the sampling cylinder 102 and the decompression cylinder 103. By including such additional decompression cylinders, the unit 101 can gradually decompress the high-pressure hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder. This allows the unit 101 to reduce the sudden heat generation due to the Joule-Thomson effect that accompanies the sudden expansion of hydrogen gas, and the sudden generation of compression heat due to the sudden compression of hydrogen gas, and also makes it possible to separately recover hydrogen gas at each decompression stage. The additional pressure reducing cylinders have the same characteristics as the above-described unit 101, but their volumes are appropriately set so as to effectively perform gradual pressure reduction of the high-pressure hydrogen gas. For example, the additional pressure reducing cylinders are set so that their volumes gradually increase from the one located on the sampling cylinder 102 side to the one located on the pressure reducing cylinder 103 side.

[0030] (Flow control valve) The piping connecting the sampling cylinder 102 and the decompression cylinder 103 may be equipped with an additional flow control valve. By providing an additional flow control valve, the transfer of hydrogen gas from the sampling cylinder 102 to the decompression cylinder 103 can be carried out more effectively.

[0031] (Safety valve, pressure relief valve) The pressure reducing cylinder 103 may be equipped with additional safety and / or pressure relief valves. By providing an additional safety valve and / or pressure relief valve, the decompression of hydrogen gas by the decompression cylinder 103 can be carried out more safely.

[0032] (check valve) The unit 101 may be provided with check valves in the piping connecting the sampling cylinder 102 and the pressure reducing cylinder 103, the piping connecting the pressure reducing cylinder 103 and the bubbling unit 105, and / or the piping connecting the pressure reducing cylinder 103 and the outside of the device. The inclusion of a check valve makes the device safer to use.

[0033] (additional sampling cylinders and / or analyzers) The unit 101 may include an additional sampling cylinder and / or analyzer (e.g., an additional pressure gauge) in the vicinity of the hydrogen gas outlet (e.g., downstream of the on-off valves 110 and 112) of the piping that discharges hydrogen gas from the device. By providing an additional sampling cylinder and / or analyzer, it becomes possible to sample and / or monitor the hydrogen gas discharged from the apparatus. In this case, by closing the on-off valve 112 and opening the on-off valve 110, it becomes possible to sample and / or monitor the hydrogen gas that bypasses the bubbling unit and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

[0034] The configuration of the device shown in Figure 2 includes two units, each equipped with a sampling cylinder for storing high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure reduction cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder, and therefore allows for higher throughput sampling compared to the device shown in Figure 1, which includes one such unit. Although Figures 1 and 2 describe devices having one and two such units, respectively, the number of units can be any appropriate number greater than or equal to three so as to obtain the desired effect, for example, 3 or more, 5 or more, or 10 or more.

[0035] [High-pressure hydrogen gas sampling method] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, storing high-pressure hydrogen gas in a sampling cylinder; and The high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in the sampling cylinder is transferred to a decompression cylinder, thereby decompressing the high-pressure hydrogen gas. A method for sampling high pressure hydrogen gas, comprising: is provided. The method may further include collecting impurities in the reduced pressure hydrogen gas using a bubbling unit.

[0036] The sampling cylinder, decompression cylinder, and bubbling unit used in the method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas are the same as those used in the above-mentioned high-pressure hydrogen gas sampling device. Furthermore, the method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas can be suitably carried out by using the above-mentioned device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas. Furthermore, the above-mentioned device for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas can suitably carry out the method for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 101 High-pressure hydrogen gas sampling unit 102 Sampling cylinder 103 Pressure reducing cylinder 104 Flow Control Unit 105 Bubbling Unit 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 Opening and closing valves 113 Pressure Regulating Valve 114, 115 Pressure gauge 116, 117, 118, 119 Mounting parts 120, 121 Collection vessel 122, 123 Collection liquid

Claims

1. An apparatus for sampling high-pressure hydrogen gas, comprising: An apparatus comprising one or more units each including a sampling cylinder for storing the high-pressure hydrogen gas and a pressure reducing cylinder for reducing the pressure of the hydrogen gas supplied from the sampling cylinder.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the volume of the vacuum cylinder is greater than the volume of the sampling cylinder.

3. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas is 1 MPaG or more, and the pressure reducing cylinder is capable of reducing the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas to less than 1 MPaG.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum cylinder is removable from the unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the unit further comprises a bubbling unit that collects impurities in the hydrogen gas supplied from the reduced pressure cylinder.

6. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the unit further comprises one or more additional vacuum cylinders interposed in piping communicating between the sampling cylinder and the vacuum cylinder.

7. storing high-pressure hydrogen gas in a sampling cylinder; and The high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in the sampling cylinder is transferred to a decompression cylinder, thereby decompressing the high-pressure hydrogen gas.

1. A method for sampling high pressure hydrogen gas, comprising:

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the volume of the vacuum cylinder is greater than the volume of the sampling cylinder.

9. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the pressure of the high-pressure hydrogen gas is 1 MPaG or more, and the method comprises decompressing the high-pressure hydrogen gas stored in a sampling cylinder to a decompression cylinder.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising collecting impurities in the reduced pressure hydrogen gas using a bubbling unit.

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