Liquefied hydrogen supply system and method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for controlling the amount of evaporated gas generated from liquefied hydrogen and for maintaining a low pressure in a liquefied hydrogen storage tank that can be applied to a storage facility that stores a large amount of hydrogen in a liquefied state or a transportation means that stores and transports liquefied hydrogen. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to the present invention includes a number of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks each provided with a temperature control device for storing liquefied hydrogen and controlling the internal temperature to maintain the internal pressure at a low pressure; a number of pressure tanks each receiving and storing liquefied hydrogen to be supplied to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination from the liquefied hydrogen storage tank and maintaining the liquefied hydrogen at a high pressure while having a smaller capacity than the liquefied hydrogen storage tank; and a liquefied hydrogen supply line which is a flow path for transporting liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to the liquefied hydrogen demand destination; the temperature control device includes a densification unit which maintains at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a first temperature which is a densification temperature; and a temperature maintenance unit which maintains at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature; and further includes a compressor which compresses hydrogen evaporated gas generated in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank and supplies the hydrogen evaporated gas to the pressure tank so as to generate a delivery pressure for supplying liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquefied hydrogen storage tank that can be applied to a storage facility that stores a large amount of hydrogen in a liquefied state or a transportation means that stores and transports liquefied hydrogen, and more particularly, to a liquefied hydrogen supply system and method that can control the amount of evaporated gas generated from liquefied hydrogen and maintain the pressure of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank low. [Background technology]

[0002] Hydrogen transportation can be broadly divided into inland transportation and sea transportation. Inland transportation can be done using dedicated vehicles and railways that include pipelines or storage facilities, while sea transportation can be done using floating bodies such as ships that include storage facilities.

[0003] Until recently, hydrogen has been compressed to over 200 bar, stored in special containers, and transported for small-scale supply and use, but with the increasing emphasis on using environmentally friendly energy sources such as carbon taxes, technology for large-volume, long-distance transportation is needed. In particular, for efficient transportation, it is necessary to consider storing and transporting liquid hydrogen obtained by liquefying gaseous hydrogen through cooling and pressurization.

[0004] Liquid hydrogen can be obtained by cooling gaseous hydrogen to cryogenic temperatures (approximately -253°C at atmospheric pressure), and can be transported in liquid form by storing it in special insulated storage tanks for cryogenic temperatures.

[0005] Liquefied hydrogen has a volume that is approximately 1 / 865 of that of gaseous hydrogen, and therefore has a volumetric energy density 865 times that of gaseous hydrogen at the same pressure. Storing hydrogen in liquid form allows for higher density storage than gaseous hydrogen stored at high pressure, which is advantageous in terms of the safety of storage tanks, as well as reducing storage costs and reducing the risk of explosion.

[0006] Existing liquefied gas storage technologies are targeted at LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas). The liquefaction temperature of LNG, one of the commercially available liquefied gas storage technologies, is approximately -163°C based on atmospheric pressure, and in order to apply the existing storage technology to hydrogen, the storage pressure must be high because the liquefaction temperature (or boiling point) of hydrogen is much lower. Therefore, in order to apply the existing storage technology to hydrogen, the insulation thickness must be increased by several to several tens of times.

[0007] In addition, if liquefied hydrogen is stored using insulation technology similar to that used for commercially available LNG, the design pressure of the storage tank will be high, at 3 bar or more, based on the triple point temperature. In other words, as the storage pressure of liquefied hydrogen increases, the thickness of the inner wall of the storage tank will have to increase, which will exceed the construction and inspection standards, making it impossible to realize.

[0008] Therefore, in storing and transporting large amounts of liquefied hydrogen, technologies that reduce storage pressure and improve insulation and energy efficiency over existing liquefied gas storage technologies are of great importance.

[0009] Meanwhile, in storing and transporting liquefied gas, it is essential to treat the evaporated gas, and various methods for treating the evaporated gas of LNG have been proposed and are being applied in practice.

[0010] However, while LNG is stable at about 0.36 bar and about -163°C, liquefied hydrogen is stored at -253°C, about 90°C lower than LNG, and is stored in the 2 bar to 6 bar range, which is several times the storage pressure of LNG, 0.36 bar. In addition, liquefied hydrogen has the characteristic that evaporated gas is irregularly generated due to the ortho-para conversion reaction, so there is a limit to the application of LNG evaporated gas processing technology to liquefied hydrogen evaporated gas. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides an evaporation gas control system and method capable of controlling the amount of evaporation gas generated from liquefied hydrogen during storage, transportation, and loading / unloading of liquefied hydrogen.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquefied hydrogen supply system and method that can control the amount of evaporated gas irregularly generated by the ortho-para conversion reaction, maintain low pressure in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank, and enable the enlargement of the storage tank.

[0013] Here, the technical problems and objectives that the present invention aims to solve are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems and objectives, and other technical problems and objectives will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object, there is provided a liquefied hydrogen supply system including: a plurality of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks each provided with a temperature control device for controlling an internal temperature to store liquefied hydrogen and maintain an internal pressure at a low pressure; a plurality of pressure tanks each receiving and storing liquefied hydrogen to be supplied to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination from the liquefied hydrogen storage tanks and maintaining the liquefied hydrogen at a high pressure while having a smaller capacity than the liquefied hydrogen storage tanks; and a liquefied hydrogen supply line which is a flow path for transporting liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to the liquefied hydrogen demand destination; the temperature control device including a densification unit which maintains at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a first temperature which is a densification temperature; and a temperature maintenance unit which maintains at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature; and a compressor which compresses hydrogen evaporated gas generated in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank and supplies the hydrogen evaporated gas to the pressure tank so that a delivery pressure is generated for supplying liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

[0015] Preferably, the plurality of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks include at least one of a low-temperature tank in which at least a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored by the densification unit is maintained at a first temperature; and a high-temperature tank in which at least a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored by the temperature maintenance unit is maintained at a second temperature; and the liquefied hydrogen supply system may further include a heat medium circulating unit that recovers thermal energy in the low-temperature tank, supplies it to the high-temperature tank, and generates evaporated gas.

[0016] Preferably, the fuel cell system may further include an energy conversion unit that produces electricity by using the evaporated gas compressed by the compressor as fuel; a buffer tank that temporarily stores the evaporated gas compressed by the compressor and is maintained at a higher pressure than the pressure tank; a third evaporated gas distribution line that supplies the evaporated gas from the buffer tank to the pressure tank; and a second evaporated gas distribution line that supplies the evaporated gas from the buffer tank to the energy conversion unit.

[0017] Preferably, the system may further include a third recovery line for recovering evaporated gas generated at the liquefied hydrogen demand destination and the liquefied hydrogen supply line while supplying the liquefied hydrogen into the pressure tank and utilizing the recovered gas for generating liquefied hydrogen delivery pressure; and a fourth recovery line for recovering evaporated gas generated at the liquefied hydrogen demand destination and the liquefied hydrogen supply line while supplying the liquefied hydrogen into the compressor and supplying the liquefied hydrogen to the pressure tank or an energy conversion unit.

[0018] Preferably, the compressor is capable of compressing the evaporated gas generated in the high-temperature tank and bringing the internal pressure of the high-temperature tank to a medium vacuum state, thereby interrupting the generation of the evaporated gas.

[0019] Preferably, the liquefied hydrogen demand destination may include a vaporizer that receives liquefied hydrogen and vaporizes it to produce gaseous hydrogen, and may further include a waste heat recovery line that supplies waste heat generated while producing electricity in the energy conversion unit as thermal energy for vaporizing the liquefied hydrogen in the vaporizer.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object, there is provided a liquefied hydrogen supply method comprising: storing liquefied hydrogen in two or more low-pressure, large-capacity liquefied hydrogen storage tanks; transferring the liquefied hydrogen stored in the two or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks to a high-pressure, small-capacity pressure tank; and supplying the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tanks to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination; the two or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks are operated in one of a low-temperature mode in which at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen is maintained at a first temperature, which is a densification temperature, and a high-temperature mode in which at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen is maintained at a second temperature higher than the first temperature; and the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank is supplied to the pressure tank while compressing evaporated gas generated in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operated in the high-temperature mode, thereby transferring the evaporated gas to the liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

[0021] Preferably, the compressed evaporative gas can be distributed to provide the pressure tank delivery pressure and fuel to produce electricity.

[0022] Preferably, before supplying liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination, the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank is used to pre-cool the piping connecting the pressure tank to the liquefied hydrogen demand destination, the evaporated gas produced during the pre-cooling is recovered, and the evaporated gas is distributed and supplied as the discharge pressure of the pressure tank and as fuel for producing electricity.

[0023] Preferably, when the amount of the evaporative gas satisfies the discharge pressure of the pressure tank and the amount to be supplied as fuel, the generation of the evaporative gas can be stopped by bringing the internal pressure of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the high temperature mode to a medium vacuum state using a compressor that compresses the evaporative gas.

[0024] Preferably, the liquefied hydrogen demand destination may include at least one of a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal, a ship transporting liquefied hydrogen, and a trailer transporting liquefied hydrogen.

[0025] Preferably, the liquefied hydrogen demand destination includes a vaporizer that produces gaseous hydrogen by vaporizing liquefied hydrogen, and waste heat generated during the production of the electricity is supplied to the vaporizer, and the waste heat can be used as thermal energy to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen.

[0026] Preferably, thermal energy is recovered from the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the low temperature mode, and the thermal energy is supplied as thermal energy for maintaining the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the high temperature mode at a second temperature.

[0027] Preferably, thermal energy recovered in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the low-temperature mode is supplied to the pressure tank to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank, thereby further generating pressure for sending liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

[0028] Preferably, liquefied hydrogen can be supplied from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination and at the same time liquefied hydrogen can be filled from the liquefied hydrogen supply destination into the liquefied hydrogen storage tank. Effect of the Invention

[0029] The system and method according to the present invention can maintain the storage pressure of the liquefied hydrogen at normal pressure levels by cooling the inside of the storage tank, solidifying a portion of the liquefied hydrogen, and storing the liquefied hydrogen in a stable state.

[0030] In addition, by solidifying a portion of the liquefied hydrogen, it is possible to obtain cryogenic cold and latent heat of vaporization from the liquid hydrogen.

[0031] In addition, since the operating pressure of the liquefied hydrogen is lowered, the thickness of the inner wall of the storage tank can be reduced, making it possible to realize a larger liquefied hydrogen storage tank.

[0032] When connecting a liquefied hydrogen storage tank with a fuel cell and using liquefied hydrogen evaporated gas as fuel for the fuel cell, there was an existing problem that the amount of evaporated gas generated varied depending on the external temperature and the elapsed time. However, according to the present invention, by controlling the internal temperature of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank, the amount of hydrogen evaporated gas generated, which was irregular, can be adjusted to a constant amount, and hydrogen fuel can be stably supplied to the fuel cell, thereby enabling stable production and supply of electricity.

[0033] In addition, when transporting cryogenic liquefied gas by sea, sloshing occurs due to high waves, which can cause damage to storage tanks. However, according to the present invention, by changing a portion of the liquefied hydrogen into a highly viscous solid, it is possible to effectively deal with sloshing and ensure the safety of transportation.

[0034] In addition, in order to stably store a large amount of liquefied hydrogen in an ultra-low temperature state for a long period of time, insulation of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank is important, but a process for efficiently utilizing cold energy is also necessary. According to the present invention, the efficiency of the overall control process is improved, such as stably producing electricity by controlling the amount of evaporated gas generated while maximally utilizing the cold energy of the liquefied hydrogen between the low temperature tank and the high temperature tank, and using the produced electricity to cool the liquefied hydrogen, thereby enabling the liquefied hydrogen to be maintained and stored in an ultra-low temperature liquid state for a long period of time.

[0035] In addition, the energy-efficient evaporative gas control technology can be applied not only during the storage and transportation of liquefied hydrogen, but also at terminals such as liquefied hydrogen supply bases and receiving bases where liquefied hydrogen is loaded and unloaded. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a simplified system diagram illustrating a liquefied hydrogen evaporative gas control system for a liquefied hydrogen storage tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] [Diagram 2]FIG. 13 is a simplified system diagram illustrating a method of operating a liquefied hydrogen storage tank according to another embodiment of the present invention in a loading mode for supplying liquefied hydrogen to a demander. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] For a fuller understanding of the operating advantages and objects attained by the practice of the present invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and the contents based on the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, in assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are denoted by the same numerals as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In addition, the following embodiment can be modified into many other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0040] The liquefied hydrogen storage tank, the liquefied hydrogen evaporation gas control system and method, and the liquefied hydrogen supply system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention described below can be applied to both onshore and offshore storage facilities and transportation means.

[0041] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on a marine application, and will be described by taking as an example a ship as a means of transportation in which a liquefied hydrogen storage tank is installed.

[0042] In describing an embodiment of the present invention, the ship is a ship provided with a storage facility for storing liquefied hydrogen, and may include ships having self-propulsion capability, such as liquefied hydrogen carriers, as well as offshore structures that do not have propulsion capability but float on the sea, such as floating production storage offloading (FPSO) and floating storage reasification unit (FSRU). However, in each embodiment described below, the ship will be described as a liquefied hydrogen carrier.

[0043] Hereinafter, a liquefied hydrogen storage tank, a liquefied hydrogen evaporative gas control system and method, and a liquefied hydrogen supply system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0044] First, with reference to FIG. 1, a system and method for controlling evaporative gas from liquefied hydrogen in a liquefied hydrogen storage tank according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0045] The liquefied hydrogen evaporative gas control system of this embodiment includes storage tanks 101, 102 for storing liquefied hydrogen, a compressor 41 for discharging evaporated gas from the storage tanks 101, 102, a buffer tank 42 for storing the evaporated gas discharged from the storage tanks 101, 102, an energy conversion unit 47 for producing electricity using the evaporated gas discharged from the storage tanks 101, 102, and a heat medium circulation unit 40 for recovering thermal energy of the liquefied hydrogen.

[0046] The storage tanks 101 and 102 in this embodiment are 100 m 3 At least two of the above large-capacity storage tanks shall be provided.

[0047] Moreover, the operating pressure of the storage tanks 101, 102 in this embodiment may be 0.1 bar to 6 bar, and is preferably maintained at 3 bar or less, more preferably 1 bar or less or at normal pressure.

[0048] In this embodiment, the storage tanks 101 and 102 may be operated in either a low temperature mode in which the storage tanks are maintained at a first temperature, or a high temperature mode in which the storage tanks are maintained at a second temperature higher than the first temperature. In the following description of this embodiment, the storage tank operated in the low temperature mode will be referred to as the low temperature tank 101, and the storage tank operated in the high temperature mode will be referred to as the high temperature tank 102.

[0049] In this embodiment, the first temperature is a densification temperature that increases the density of the stored liquefied hydrogen. The densification temperature in this embodiment is a temperature range at which the liquefied hydrogen exists in a mixed state of solid and liquid, and may be approximately 14K to 21K.

[0050] In this embodiment, when the storage tanks 101, 102 are operated in low temperature mode, the liquefied hydrogen stored in the storage tanks 101, 102 is maintained at the densification temperature, and the liquefied hydrogen in the densification temperature range exists in a solid state which is denser than when at least a portion of it is in a liquid state, and exists in a mixed liquid and solid state, preferably in a slurry state.

[0051] Liquefied hydrogen has a density of about 1 kg / m per K. 3 When the temperature of liquid hydrogen is 14K, its density changes by about 77kg / m 3 When the temperature of liquid hydrogen is 21K, its density is 77kg / m 3 It is.

[0052] In this embodiment, the second temperature may be the triple point temperature of the liquefied hydrogen, for example, a temperature above 21 K. When the storage tank is maintained at the second temperature, the temperature of the hydrogen in the storage tank may be maintained at a temperature slightly higher than 21 K, such as approximately 21 K.

[0053] In this embodiment, when two storage tanks 101 and 102 are provided, one tank is operated as the low temperature tank 101 and the other tank is operated as the high temperature tank 102. In addition, the low temperature tank 101 operated in the low temperature mode and the high temperature tank 102 operated in the high temperature mode may be operated while switching between their operating modes.

[0054] That is, the low-temperature tank 101 operated in low-temperature mode can be operated as a high-temperature tank 102 operated in high-temperature mode when the low-temperature mode is completed, and the high-temperature tank 102 operated in high-temperature mode can be operated as a low-temperature tank 101 operated in low-temperature mode when the high-temperature mode is completed.

[0055] Depending on the operating conditions of the ship, the number of storage tanks operating in the low temperature mode and the number of storage tanks operating in the high temperature mode among the two or more storage tanks 101, 102 can be adjusted.

[0056] As an example, when a ship is sailing at sea carrying liquefied hydrogen, the two or more storage tanks 101, 102 are all operated in low temperature mode.

[0057] In addition, when this system is applied to a liquefied hydrogen storage base, at least one storage tank can be operated in a crossover mode, where at least one storage tank is operated in a low-temperature mode and at least one storage tank is operated in a high-temperature mode. Since the storage base needs to use hydrogen evaporative gas (or vaporized gas) as fuel to produce electricity to be used in the system, at least one storage tank is operated in a high-temperature mode to continuously generate a certain amount of hydrogen evaporative gas, enabling stable production and supply of electricity.

[0058] A liquefied hydrogen storage base is a base that is equipped with multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks on land or at sea, stores large amounts of liquefied hydrogen in the liquefied hydrogen storage tanks, and supplies (loads and unloads) the liquefied hydrogen to transportation means or destinations.

[0059] Meanwhile, when the stored liquefied hydrogen is loaded onto a transportation means or a consumer, the liquefied hydrogen is supplied sequentially or in a chain-overlapping manner from multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks. In this case, the multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks are operated in a cross mode, i.e., a mode including at least one liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in a high temperature mode and at least one liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in a low temperature mode, and when there is one storage tank remaining for loading and unloading liquefied hydrogen, that one liquefied hydrogen storage tank can be operated in the high temperature mode.

[0060] According to this embodiment, the pressure of the storage tanks 101, 102 can be maintained at 3 bar or less, 1 bar or less, or at normal pressure, regardless of whether the storage tanks 101, 102 are operated in the low temperature mode or the high temperature mode.

[0061] 1 shows that the compressor 41, the buffer tank 42, and the energy conversion unit 47 are connected only to the high temperature tank 102, but the compressor 41, the buffer tank 42, and the energy conversion unit 47 may also be connected to the low temperature tank 101. Alternatively, a separate compressor, buffer tank, and energy conversion unit connected to the low temperature tank 101 may be provided.

[0062] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the low-temperature tank 101 and the high-temperature tank 102 share the compressor 41, the buffer tank 42, and the energy conversion unit 47. The low-temperature tank 101 and the compressor 41 are connected by a first evaporated gas supply line BL1, and the high-temperature tank 102 and the compressor 41 are connected by a second evaporated gas supply line BL2.

[0063] In this embodiment, the storage tanks 101, 102 are provided inside with temperature maintaining units 44, 46 which are flow paths through which the low-temperature or high-temperature heat medium transferred from the heat medium circulating unit 40 flows in order to maintain the internal temperatures of the storage tanks 101, 102 within each operating range, and densification units 43, 45 which are disposed at the upper end above the temperature maintaining units 44, 46 and through which the low-temperature heat medium transferred from the heat medium circulating unit 40 flows, thereby increasing the density of the liquefied hydrogen in the storage tanks 101, 102.

[0064] In this embodiment, as shown in the drawings, the densification sections 43, 45 are arranged at the upper ends of the temperature maintenance sections 44, 46, but the densification sections 43, 45 and the temperature maintenance sections 44, 46 may be arranged in parallel positions to each other, and the positions are not limited.

[0065] In the following description of this embodiment, the densification section of the low-temperature tank 101 will be named the first densification section 43, the temperature maintenance section of the low-temperature tank 101 will be named the first temperature maintenance section 44, the densification section of the high-temperature tank 102 will be named the second densification section 45, and the temperature maintenance section of the high-temperature tank 102 will be named the second temperature maintenance section 46.

[0066] The first densification section 43, the first temperature maintenance section 44 and the heat medium circulation section 40 are connected by a first heat medium line ML1, and the second densification section 45, the second temperature maintenance section 46 and the heat medium circulation section 40 are connected by a second heat medium line ML2.

[0067] The low temperature tank 101 operated in the low temperature mode receives a low temperature heat medium via a first heat medium line ML1 and can be maintained at a first temperature of 13K to 21K, or 20K or less, or 13K to 14K, which is the densification temperature.

[0068] Hydrogen inside the cryogenic tank 101 operated in the cryogenic mode can exist in a liquid state, a two-phase mixture of liquid and solid, or a three-phase mixture of liquid, solid and gas.

[0069] The high temperature tank 102 operated in the high temperature mode receives a high temperature heat transfer medium via the second heat transfer medium line ML2 and may be maintained at an operating temperature slightly above the triple point temperature, for example, about 21K.

[0070] Hydrogen within the high temperature tank 102 operated in high temperature mode may exist in a liquid state, a gaseous state, or a two-phase mixture of liquid and gas.

[0071] The heat medium circulating unit 40 of this embodiment supplies a high-temperature heat medium to the high-temperature tank 102, and receives a low-temperature heat medium from the high-temperature tank 102 by recovering the cold energy of the liquefied hydrogen.

[0072] The heat medium circulating unit 40 also supplies a low-temperature heat medium to the low-temperature tank 101 and receives a high-temperature heat medium by transferring cold to the hydrogen stored in the low-temperature tank 101 .

[0073] The heat medium circulating section 40 of this embodiment may be a refrigeration cycle that uses helium as a refrigerant.

[0074] The fluid transferred through the heat transfer medium lines ML1, ML2 may be helium or an intermediate heat transfer medium that indirectly transfers thermal energy between the helium and the hydrogen stored in the storage tanks 101, 102.

[0075] In this embodiment, the low temperature mode is implemented for the purpose of suppressing the reactivity of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the storage tank, thereby enabling the hydrogen to be stably stored while maintaining its liquid state.

[0076] In this embodiment, the high temperature mode is implemented for the purpose of vaporizing a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the storage tank and inducing the generation of a certain amount of evaporated gas, thereby supplying fuel for producing electricity in the energy conversion unit 47. It is also possible to recover cold energy from the liquefied hydrogen in the high temperature tank 102 operated in the high temperature mode to be supplied to the liquefied hydrogen in the low temperature tank 101 operated in the low temperature mode.

[0077] In this embodiment, the densifier sections 43, 45 operate in a low temperature mode and the temperature maintenance sections 44, 46 operate in a high temperature mode and can also operate in a low temperature mode if desired.

[0078] That is, when the densification sections 43, 45 are operated, the temperature of the liquefied hydrogen around the densification sections 43, 45 is maintained at a first temperature, and when the temperature maintenance sections 44, 46 are operated, the temperature of the liquefied hydrogen around the temperature maintenance sections 44, 46 is maintained at a second temperature.

[0079] In the low-temperature mode of this embodiment, a low-temperature heat medium is supplied from the heat medium circulating section 40 to the first densification section 43 of the low-temperature tank 101 via the first heat medium line ML1, and the medium-temperature heat medium from which cold has been primarily recovered in the first densification section 43 can be transferred to the first temperature maintaining section 44.

[0080] The first densification unit 43 solidifies a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen through cooling, thereby suppressing the reactivity of the liquefied hydrogen. When a portion of the liquefied hydrogen begins to solidify, the ortho-para conversion reaction of the liquefied hydrogen is suppressed, thereby preventing the liquefied hydrogen from changing into a gas phase and stabilizing the liquefied hydrogen by preventing the diffusion of vaporization. A portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the cryogenic tank 101 by the first densification unit 43, for example the surface layer of the liquefied hydrogen, may exist in a slurry state.

[0081] The first densification unit 43 solidifies a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the cryogenic tank 101, specifically, the liquefied hydrogen around where the first densification unit 43 is located. The first densification unit 43 of this embodiment may selectively operate when the reactivity of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the cryogenic tank 101 increases above a reference value or below a specific temperature.

[0082] According to the present embodiment, densification sections 43, 45, which are solidification devices that change the phase of liquefied hydrogen into a solid state, are installed inside the large storage tanks 101, 102 of the present embodiment to solidify the liquefied hydrogen. The stored liquefied hydrogen is solidified partially rather than entirely, and the hydrogen is stored in a solid state that partially retains more cold heat, thereby maximizing the retained latent heat and enabling stable storage of hydrogen.

[0083] Furthermore, the first temperature maintaining unit 44 can maintain the temperature of a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the low-temperature tank 101, for example, the liquefied hydrogen in the vicinity of where the first temperature maintaining unit 44 is located, at 20K or lower.

[0084] The high-temperature heat medium whose temperature has increased while cooling the liquefied hydrogen in the first temperature maintaining section 44 is recovered to the heat medium circulating section 40 via the first heat medium line ML1.

[0085] In this embodiment, the internal temperature of the cryogenic tank 101 operated in low temperature mode is maintained below 20K, and at least a portion of the liquefied hydrogen exists in a solid state, thereby acting as a shield and suppressing the evaporation of the liquefied hydrogen. Through this operation, the internal pressure of the cryogenic tank 101 is maintained below 1 bar.

[0086] On the other hand, in the high temperature mode of this embodiment, the high temperature heat medium is supplied from the heat medium circulating section 40 to the second temperature maintaining section 46 of the high temperature tank 102 via the second heat medium line ML2.

[0087] The second temperature maintaining unit 46 maintains the internal temperature of the high-temperature tank 102 at a temperature above the triple point, that is, at 21 K or higher, and when a high-temperature heat medium is supplied to the high-temperature tank 102, a vaporization reaction begins to occur.

[0088] The low-temperature heat medium, whose temperature has been reduced while recovering the cold energy from the liquefied hydrogen in the second temperature maintaining unit 46, is recovered to the heat medium circulating unit 40 via the second heat medium line ML2.

[0089] Hydrogen molecules are classified as ortho-hydrogen and para-hydrogen depending on the spin direction of the atomic nucleus. The ratio of ortho-hydrogen to para-hydrogen is temperature dependent, and hydrogen exists in a gaseous state at room temperature and pressure, with the ratio of ortho-hydrogen to para-hydrogen being 3:1. However, when the temperature drops to 20K, hydrogen exists in a liquid state, and para-hydrogen overwhelmingly predominates at 99.8%.

[0090] However, hydrogen molecules have the property that, as they spin in one direction, when the temperature drops, one molecule rotates in the opposite direction, spinning on both sides and generating heat, causing it to vaporize on its own. In other words, if hydrogen is stored for a long time, it will naturally convert to para-hydrogen, and the conversion reaction from ortho-hydrogen to para-hydrogen generates heat of conversion.

[0091] Since the heat of conversion generated during the ortho-para hydrogen conversion reaction is greater than the latent heat of vaporization of the liquefied hydrogen, the stored liquefied hydrogen begins to evaporate.

[0092] Due to the characteristics of hydrogen, hydrogen evaporative gas is generated irregularly as the amount of gas generated suddenly decreases as the gasification stops after a momentary chain reaction. However, according to the present embodiment, the storage tank is operated in high temperature mode and low temperature mode to regulate the amount of gas generated to a constant level.

[0093] On the other hand, in this embodiment, when it is time to discharge the evaporated gas from the storage tanks 101 and 102, the compressor 41 is operated to discharge the evaporated gas.

[0094] The compressor 41 of this embodiment compresses and discharges the evaporated gas in the storage tanks 101, 102, but when the evaporated gas in the storage tanks 101, 102 is explosively generated, it can operate to supply and exhaust the evaporated gas so that the inside of the storage tanks 101, 102 is in a medium vacuum state.

[0095] In particular, the compressor 41 is used as a means for discharging evaporative gases when the storage tanks 101, 102 are operated in low temperature mode, and is used as a means for creating a medium vacuum in the storage tanks 101, 102 when the storage tanks are operated in high temperature mode.

[0096] When the compressor 41 is operated and the storage tanks 101, 102 are placed in a medium vacuum state, an ortho-para conversion reaction begins to occur in the storage tanks 101, 102, and when the ratio of para hydrogen becomes high, the operation of the compressor 41 is stopped and the vacuum in the storage tanks 101, 102 is released, thereby stabilizing the storage tanks 101, 102.

[0097] The compressor 41 is 100 m 3 The compressor is capable of creating a vacuum for a large liquefied hydrogen storage tank, and may be a multi-stage compressor in which one or more compressors are connected in series depending on the operating range, or multiple compressors may be installed in parallel.

[0098] When the compressor 41 is operated, the evaporated gas discharged from the storage tanks 101, 102 through the second evaporated gas supply line BL2 can be transferred to the buffer tank 42 through the first evaporated gas distribution line CL1 and stored in the buffer tank 42.

[0099] In addition, the evaporated gas discharged from the storage tanks 101 and 102 may be transferred to the energy converter 47 via a second evaporated gas distribution line CL2.

[0100] In this embodiment, the energy conversion unit 47 may include at least one of a fuel cell that uses hydrogen as fuel to produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction, and a turbine generator that uses hydrogen gas as a working fluid to drive a turbine and produces electricity by converting the turbine's driving energy into electricity.

[0101] The electricity generated in the energy conversion unit 47 in this embodiment may be used in the heat medium circulation unit 40, or may be distributed and supplied to electricity demand destinations on the ship by an electricity distribution means (not shown) such as a switchboard (not shown).

[0102] When gaseous nitrogen or methane is compressed and then expanded by Joule-Thomson, the temperature decreases and it liquefies, but gaseous hydrogen and helium have a lower inversion temperature than room temperature, so when they are expanded by Joule-Thomson at room temperature, their temperature actually rises. Therefore, when hydrogen is expanded below its inversion temperature, its temperature drops.

[0103] In this embodiment, the internal temperature of the high-temperature tank 102 operated in the high-temperature mode is maintained at a temperature higher than 20K but lower than the inversion temperature, and a vacuum is applied inside the high-temperature tank 102 to promote conversion to parahydrogen, while at the same time supplying and discharging evaporated gas, thereby controlling the pressure of the high-temperature tank 102 and the amount of evaporated gas generated. Through this operation, the internal pressure of the high-temperature tank 102 is maintained at 3 bar or less.

[0104] Next, a liquefied hydrogen supply system and method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0105] This embodiment is a modified example of the first embodiment described above, and relates to a system and method for controlling the evaporated gas of liquefied hydrogen while supplying liquefied hydrogen to a demander in a loading and unloading mode in which liquefied hydrogen is loaded and unloaded between a liquefied gas storage tank to which the liquefied hydrogen evaporated gas control system and method of the first embodiment are applied and a transportation means.

[0106] Therefore, this embodiment relates to a liquefied hydrogen supply system and method in which the liquefied hydrogen storage tank and liquefied hydrogen evaporated gas control system and method according to the first embodiment described above are applied in the same manner, but in which the storage equipment or transportation means to which the first embodiment described above is applied is operated in a loading and unloading mode to load and unload liquefied hydrogen from liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 to liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52, and supplies liquefied hydrogen.

[0107] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, liquefied hydrogen can be continuously supplied to liquefied hydrogen demand destinations by simultaneously loading liquefied hydrogen from a liquefied hydrogen storage tank and filling other liquefied hydrogen storage tanks that have completed loading with liquefied hydrogen.

[0108] The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to this embodiment includes a number of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 in which at least one of temperature maintaining units 44, 46 and densifying units 43, 35 is provided and the storage temperature can be controlled.

[0109] In this embodiment, multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 are operated including at least one low temperature tank 101 and at least one high temperature tank 102.

[0110] However, the last liquefied hydrogen storage tank to be loaded can be operated to become the high temperature tank 102.

[0111] At least one of the multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 is operated as a low-temperature tank 101 to control the storage temperature by using any one or more of the temperature maintaining units 44, 46 and the densifying units 43, 45 of this embodiment. That is, when a large amount of evaporated gas is generated by the vaporization reaction (ortho-para reaction) of liquefied hydrogen in the low-temperature tank 101 and the internal pressure of the low-temperature tank 101 rises, the internal pressure of the low-temperature tank 101 is rapidly exhausted to a medium vacuum using the compressor 41, and the liquefied hydrogen in the low-temperature tank 101 is cooled to suppress the vaporization reaction.

[0112] In addition, according to this embodiment, at least one of the multiple liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 is operated as a high-temperature tank 102 by using one or more of the temperature maintenance units 44, 46 and the densification units 43, 45 to control the storage temperature.

[0113] That is, cold energy is recovered from the high-temperature tank 102, the liquefied hydrogen stored in the high-temperature tank 102 is vaporized, and the vaporized hydrogen gas is supplied to the energy conversion unit 47 and used as fuel to produce electricity.

[0114] In this embodiment, the high-temperature tank 102 is operated at a temperature of about 20 K, the low-temperature tank 101 is operated at a temperature below 20 K, and the cold energy recovered in the high-temperature tank 102 is used as a cold energy source to maintain the temperature of the low-temperature tank 101.

[0115] In addition, the liquefied hydrogen storage tanks 101, 102 in this embodiment are maintained at a low pressure of 3 bar or less, and processes that require an operating temperature of 20 K or more, such as the pre-cooling process, use liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank 100, which is maintained at a high pressure as described below.

[0116] The evaporated gas generated during this process can be stored in the buffer tank 42, and the evaporated gas stored in the buffer tank 42 can be used as fuel to produce electricity in the energy conversion unit 47.

[0117] According to this embodiment, the system further includes two or more pressure tanks 100 which are smaller in capacity than the storage tanks 101, 102 but are operated at a higher pressure than the storage tanks 101, 102 and store liquefied hydrogen to be supplied to liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52, liquefied hydrogen supply lines SL1, SL2 which connect the pressure tanks 100 to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 and transport the liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tanks 100 to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52, and recovery lines RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4, RL5 which recover evaporated gas from the pressure tanks 100 and the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52.

[0118] The operating pressure of the pressure tank 100 in this embodiment can be maintained at a higher pressure than the operating pressure of the storage tanks 101, 102 which are operated at 3 bar or less.

[0119] The pressure tank 100 of this embodiment may be operated at 6 bar or more, 8 bar or more, or 10 bar or more.

[0120] Meanwhile, since the operating pressure of the pressure tank 100 is higher than the operating pressure of the storage tanks 101, 102, a supply pump 50 for pressurizing and supplying liquefied hydrogen from the storage tanks 101, 102 to the pressure tank 100 may be provided in the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL connecting the storage tanks 101, 102 and the pressure tank 100. At this time, the liquefied hydrogen is transferred to the pressure tank 100 while being pressurized by the supply pump 50.

[0121] The pressure tank 100 of this embodiment may be placed at a position lower than the placement height of the storage tanks 101 and 102.

[0122] The supply pump 50 in this embodiment can be omitted as an optional configuration, and even without providing additional power such as the supply pump 50, the liquefied hydrogen can be transferred from the storage tanks 101, 102 to the pressure tank 100 due to the height difference.

[0123] According to this embodiment, before transferring liquefied hydrogen from the storage tank 102 to the pressure tank 100, it can be pre-cooled using liquefied hydrogen discharged from the storage tank 102 via a liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL connecting the storage tank 102 and the pressure tank 100.

[0124] When the supply pump 50 is provided, the cavitation phenomenon of the supply pump 50 can be prevented by pre-cooling both the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL and the supply pump 50.

[0125] As a means for pre-cooling the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL, a liquefied hydrogen recovery line LL1 may be further included, which branches off from the pressure tank 100 or the portion where the pressure tank 100 and the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL contact, i.e., upstream of the header, and joins upstream of the supply pump 50 or the portion where the storage tanks 101, 102 and the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL contact, i.e., downstream of the header, and recirculates the liquefied hydrogen with an increased temperature to the upstream of the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL while pre-cooling the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL.

[0126] In this embodiment, the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100 is maintained at 8 bar or 10 bar or more, and the operating pressure of the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 is maintained at a pressure lower than 8 bar or 10 bar, preferably 3 bar or less.

[0127] The internal pressure of the pressure tank 100 can be maintained by supplying the evaporated gas discharged from the storage tanks 101 and 102 to the pressure tank 100 while compressing it.

[0128] According to this embodiment, at least one of the multiple storage tanks 101 and 102 can be operated in a high temperature mode, and the evaporated gas discharged from the high temperature tank 102 can be supplied to the pressure tank 100 using the compressor 41.

[0129] On the other hand, even if the liquefied hydrogen storage tank is operated in low temperature mode, it is impossible to completely prevent the generation of evaporative gas, so evaporative gas may also be discharged from the low temperature tank 101. Therefore, although Fig. 2 only shows the connection relationship between the high temperature tank 102 and the pressure tank 100, and an example will be described in which liquefied hydrogen is supplied from the high temperature tank 102 to the pressure tank 100, it goes without saying that the same can be applied to the low temperature tank 101.

[0130] Of the high-pressure evaporative gas discharged from the high-temperature tank 102 and compressed by the compressor 41, the amount of evaporative gas that exceeds the amount of evaporative gas required by the pressure tank 100 may be stored in the buffer tank 42 or supplied to the energy conversion unit 47 and used to generate electricity, or may be stored in the buffer tank 42 and then supplied to the energy conversion unit 47.

[0131] In addition, in order to prevent the pressure in the pressure tank 100 from becoming lower than the operating pressure, the high-pressure evaporated gas stored in the buffer tank 42 can be supplied to the pressure tank 100 with priority.

[0132] In this embodiment, the compressor 41 is a multi-stage compressor and may include a first compressor for exhausting the evaporative gas from the high-temperature tank 102 and reducing the pressure inside the high-temperature tank 102 to a vacuum state, and a second compressor for compressing the evaporative gas to a required pressure in the pressure tank 100. The first compressor and the second compressor may be connected in series or in parallel.

[0133] The loading and unloading of liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank 100 to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 can be carried out by discharging liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank 100 to the first liquefied hydrogen supply line SL1 and the second liquefied hydrogen supply line SL2 due to the pressure of the liquefied hydrogen transferred from the storage tanks 101, 102 to the pressure tank 100 along the liquefied hydrogen discharge line LL due to a pressure difference or height difference, and the self-pressure of the high-pressure evaporated gas transferred from the buffer tank 42 via the third evaporated gas distribution line CL3.

[0134] The third evaporated gas distribution line CL3 is a flow path for high-pressure evaporated gas that connects the buffer tank 42 and the pressure tank 100, and is a means for maintaining the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100. The high-pressure evaporated gas compressed by the compressor 41, or the high-pressure evaporated gas stored in the buffer tank 42 after being compressed by the compressor 41, is transferred to the pressure tank 100 via the third evaporated gas distribution line CL3.

[0135] In this embodiment, when the high-pressure evaporated gas transported via the third evaporated gas distribution line CL3 is insufficient to maintain the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100, the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100 can be maintained by vaporizing and supplying the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank 100.

[0136] As a means for maintaining the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100, the pressure tank 100 may further include a third heat medium line ML3 connecting the pressure tank 100 and the heat medium circulation section 40, and a fifth recovery line RL5 connecting the pressure tank 100 and the upstream of the compressor 41.

[0137] The high-temperature heat medium is transferred from the heat medium circulation section 40 to the pressure tank 100 via the third heat medium line ML3, and the low-temperature heat medium that has recovered cold energy while vaporizing the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank 100 is recovered again to the heat medium circulation section 40 via the third heat medium line ML3.

[0138] When the heat medium is circulated through the third heat medium line ML3 and evaporated gas is generated in the pressure tank 100, the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100 increases, so that the operating pressure of the pressure tank 100 can be maintained.

[0139] In addition, the operating pressure of the pressure tank 100 can be maintained by discharging the evaporative gas through the fifth recovery line RL and then supplying it upstream of the compressor 41, and compressing the evaporative gas in the compressor 41 while supplying it to the pressure tank 100 in the form of high-pressure evaporative gas.

[0140] The third heat medium line ML3 connecting the pressure tank 100 and the heat medium circulating unit 40, and various devices such as a heat exchanger and a valve that may be installed in a portion where the third heat medium line ML3 connects the pressure tank 100 and the heat medium circulating unit 40, i.e., a header and the third heat medium line ML3, may be installed in a cold box, thereby allowing primary vacuum insulation. A hydrogen sensor for detecting hydrogen leakage may be installed in the cold box.

[0141] In addition, a secondary insulation can be provided by installing insulation material on the outside of the cold box.

[0142] In this embodiment, the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 may include at least one of a liquefied hydrogen storage base 51 such as a liquefied hydrogen terminal as a first demand destination, and a vaporizer 52 that vaporizes liquefied hydrogen and supplies it to a gaseous hydrogen demand destination as a second demand destination.

[0143] In this embodiment, the liquefied hydrogen storage base 51 is a concept that includes not only a land terminal but also a ship or a land trailer that receives the liquefied hydrogen at the terminal.

[0144] The first demand destination 51 receives liquefied hydrogen via a first liquefied hydrogen supply line SL1 that connects the pressure tank 100 and the first demand destination 51, and the second demand destination 52 receives liquefied hydrogen via a second liquefied hydrogen supply line SL2 that connects the pressure tank 100 and the second demand destination 52.

[0145] On the other hand, before the liquefied hydrogen is transferred to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52, the liquefied hydrogen supply lines SL1, SL2 can be pre-cooled using the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank 100 or the storage tank 102.

[0146] The evaporated gas vaporized while pre-cooling the liquefied hydrogen supply lines SL1, SL2 can be recovered to the pressure tank 100 via a third recovery line RL3 connected to the pressure tank 100, or can be recovered to the compressor 41 via a fourth recovery line RL4 connected to the compressor 41.

[0147] The evaporated gas vaporized while pre-cooling the first liquefied hydrogen supply line SL1 is recovered in the third recovery line RL3 and the fourth recovery line RL4 via the first recovery line RL1, and the evaporated gas vaporized while pre-cooling the second liquefied hydrogen supply line SL2 is recovered in the third recovery line RL3 and the fourth recovery line RL4 via the second recovery line RL2.

[0148] On the other hand, while liquefied hydrogen is supplied to the liquefied gas demand destinations 51, 52, evaporated gas that is generated at the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 and exceeds the allowable pressure of the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 can also be recovered in the compressor 41 via the first to fourth recovery lines RL1 to RL4.

[0149] The evaporated gas recovered upstream of the compressor 41 via the fourth recovery line RL4 and the fifth recovery line RL5 may be compressed by the compressor 41 and then stored in the buffer tank 42, or may be recovered in the pressure tank 100 and used to maintain the internal pressure of the pressure tank 100.

[0150] In addition, the evaporated gas recovered from the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52 via the fourth recovery line RL4 and the fifth recovery line RL5 may be supplied to the energy conversion unit 47 via the second evaporated gas distribution line CL2 connected to the energy conversion unit 47 and used for electricity production.

[0151] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the second demand destination 52 may be a vaporizer, and the heat of vaporization generated when the liquefied hydrogen is vaporized in the vaporizer may be recovered via a fourth heat medium line ML4 connecting the heat medium circulating unit 40 and the second demand destination 52.

[0152] The high-temperature heat medium is supplied from the heat medium circulation unit 40 to the vaporizer 52 via the fourth heat medium line ML4, and the low-temperature heat medium that has recovered cold energy while vaporizing the liquefied hydrogen in the vaporizer 52 is recovered in the heat medium circulation unit 40 via the fourth heat medium line ML4.

[0153] In addition, the vaporizer 52 can receive waste heat generated while producing electricity in the energy conversion unit 47 via a waste heat supply line EL connecting the energy conversion unit 47 and the vaporizer 52, and can utilize this waste heat as thermal energy to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen.

[0154] The temperature of the thermal energy transferred through the waste heat supply line EL may be about 500°C to 600°C.

[0155] The liquefied hydrogen supply system and method according to this embodiment can use the evaporated gas generated during the loading and unloading of liquefied hydrogen to maintain the pressure in the pressure tank 100 and generate the pressure for sending the liquefied hydrogen to a demand destination, and can also be used as fuel to produce electricity in the energy conversion unit 47.

[0156] In addition, the pressure in the pressure tank 100 can be maintained while effectively utilizing the cold heat and waste heat of the liquefied hydrogen during the loading and unloading process of the liquefied hydrogen.

[0157] According to the embodiment described above, liquefied hydrogen is supplied from the storage tanks 101, 102 to the pressure tank 100, and the liquefied hydrogen is loaded from the pressure tank 100 to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51, 52. This has been described as an example.

[0158] However, this embodiment can be equally applied to a case where liquefied hydrogen is directly loaded from the liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal to the pressure tank 100 and simultaneously loaded from the pressure tank 100 to the liquefied hydrogen demand destinations 51 and 52. In this case, the storage facility provided at the land-based liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal can include the storage tanks 101 and 102 of this embodiment.

[0159] In addition, according to this embodiment, liquefied hydrogen can be supplied to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination from any one of the two or more pressure tanks 100, while at the same time, liquefied hydrogen can be filled into another pressure tank 100 from a liquefied hydrogen receiving base.

[0160] It will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified or altered in various ways without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0161] 100 Pressure tank 101 Cryogenic tank

[0162] 102 High temperature tank 40 Heat medium circulation section

[0163] 41 Compressor 42 Buffer tank

[0164] 47 Energy conversion section 43, 45 Densification section

[0165] 44, 46 Temperature maintenance unit 51, 52 Liquid hydrogen consumer

[0166] BL1, BL2 Evaporative gas supply lines CL1, CL2, CL3 Evaporative gas distribution lines

[0167] ML1, ML2, ML3, ML4, ML5 Heat Transfer Medium Line

[0168] RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4, RL5 Collection Lines

[0169] SL1, SL2 Liquid hydrogen supply line LL Liquid hydrogen discharge line

[0170] LL1 Liquefied hydrogen recovery line EL Waste heat supply line

Claims

1. a plurality of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks each provided with a temperature control device for controlling an internal temperature so as to store liquefied hydrogen and maintain the internal pressure at a low pressure; A plurality of pressure tanks having a smaller capacity than the liquefied hydrogen storage tank but maintained at a higher pressure than the liquefied hydrogen storage tank, each of the plurality of pressure tanks receiving and storing liquefied hydrogen to be supplied to a liquefied hydrogen demander from any one of the plurality of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks; and a liquefied hydrogen supply line which is a flow path through which liquefied hydrogen is transported from the pressure tank to the liquefied hydrogen demand destination; The temperature control device is A densification section that maintains at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a first temperature at which the hydrogen exists in a mixed state of solid and liquid; and a temperature maintaining unit for maintaining at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a second temperature which is higher than the first temperature; a compressor that compresses the hydrogen evaporated gas produced in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank and supplies the hydrogen evaporated gas to the pressure tank so as to generate a delivery pressure for supplying liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

2. The plurality of liquefied hydrogen storage tanks include a cryogenic tank in which at least a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored by the densifying section is maintained at a first temperature; and a high-temperature tank in which at least a portion of the liquefied hydrogen stored in the temperature maintaining unit is maintained at a second temperature; The liquefied hydrogen supply system comprises:

2. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to claim 1, further comprising: a heat medium circulating unit that recovers thermal energy in the low-temperature tank and supplies it to the high-temperature tank to generate evaporated gas.

3. an energy conversion unit that produces electricity by using the evaporated gas compressed by the compressor as fuel; A buffer tank for temporarily storing the evaporated gas compressed by the compressor and maintained at a higher pressure than the pressure tank; and a third evaporative gas distribution line supplying evaporative gas from the buffer tank to the pressure tank; and 3. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to claim 2, further comprising: a second evaporated gas distribution line that supplies evaporated gas from the buffer tank to the energy conversion section.

4. A third recovery line for recovering evaporated gas generated at the liquefied hydrogen demand destination and the liquefied hydrogen supply line in the pressure tank and utilizing the evaporated gas to generate liquefied hydrogen delivery pressure; and 4. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to claim 3, further comprising: a fourth recovery line for recovering evaporated gas generated at the liquefied hydrogen demand destination and the liquefied hydrogen supply line to the compressor and supplying the evaporated gas to the pressure tank or the energy conversion unit.

5. 4. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to claim 3, wherein the compressor compresses the evaporated gas generated in the high-temperature tank and stops the generation of the evaporated gas by making the internal pressure of the high-temperature tank a medium vacuum state.

6. The liquefied hydrogen demand destinations are: a vaporizer that receives and vaporizes the liquefied hydrogen to produce gaseous hydrogen; 4. The liquefied hydrogen supply system according to claim 3, further comprising: a waste heat recovery line that supplies waste heat generated while producing electricity in the energy conversion unit as thermal energy for vaporizing the liquefied hydrogen in the vaporizer.

7. Storing liquefied hydrogen in two or more low-pressure, large-capacity liquefied hydrogen storage tanks; The liquefied hydrogen stored in the two or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks is transferred to a pressure tank having a higher pressure and a smaller capacity than the liquefied hydrogen storage tanks; Supplying the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen consumer; Any one of the two or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks is operated in a low-temperature mode to maintain at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a first temperature at which the liquefied hydrogen is in a mixed state of solid and liquid, and another of the two or more liquefied hydrogen storage tanks is operated in a high-temperature mode to maintain at least a portion of the stored liquefied hydrogen at a second temperature higher than the first temperature; A liquefied hydrogen supply method, comprising compressing evaporated gas produced in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the high temperature mode and supplying it to the pressure tank.

8. The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 7, wherein the compressed evaporated gas is distributed and supplied as a fuel for producing the discharge pressure of the pressure tank and electricity.

9. Before supplying liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination, a pipe connecting the pressure tank and the liquefied hydrogen demand destination is pre-cooled using the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank, 9. The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 8, further comprising recovering evaporated gas produced during the pre-cooling, and distributing and supplying the evaporated gas as fuel for producing the discharge pressure of the pressure tank and electricity.

10. 9. The method for supplying liquefied hydrogen according to claim 8, wherein when the amount of the evaporated gas satisfies the discharge pressure of the pressure tank and the amount to be supplied as fuel, the generation of the evaporated gas is stopped by bringing the internal pressure of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the high temperature mode to a medium vacuum state using a compressor that compresses the evaporated gas.

11. The liquefied hydrogen demand destinations are: The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 8, comprising at least one of a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal, a ship transporting liquefied hydrogen, and a trailer transporting liquefied hydrogen.

12. The liquefied hydrogen consumer includes a vaporizer that vaporizes liquefied hydrogen to generate gaseous hydrogen, The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 8, wherein waste heat generated during the production of the electric power is supplied to a vaporizer, and the waste heat is used as thermal energy for vaporizing the liquefied hydrogen.

13. 8. The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 7, wherein thermal energy is recovered in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the low temperature mode, and the thermal energy is supplied as thermal energy for maintaining the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the high temperature mode at a second temperature.

14. The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of supplying thermal energy recovered in the liquefied hydrogen storage tank operating in the low-temperature mode to the pressure tank to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen stored in the pressure tank, thereby generating pressure for sending the liquefied hydrogen from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demand destination.

15. 8. The liquefied hydrogen supply method according to claim 7, wherein liquefied hydrogen is supplied from the pressure tank to a liquefied hydrogen demander, and simultaneously, liquefied hydrogen is filled from the liquefied hydrogen supply destination into the liquefied hydrogen storage tank.

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