[ automation ]
tools with machine learning , AI and digital twin technology can help to significantly lower that risk by accelerating the learning process .
As with all fuels , hydrogen has an associated level of danger . Hydrogen is highly flammable , even when only small amounts are mixed with air , with ignition possible when the ratio of hydrogen to air is just 4 %. It is essential to prevent situations where air and fuel come together and there is the possibility of ignition from a spark or heat . Safe production , handling and usage require suitable control and safety systems to be in place and guidelines to be established . Highly accurate measurement and control throughout the process is necessary to ensure sufficiently safe , high-pressure water flow , which prevents temperatures that could ignite hydrogen gas . Monitoring the integrity of electrolyser membranes is also required to prevent flame , accurately detect the mixture of oxygen and hydrogen , and protect against water vapour in the system . Finally , the conductivity of water supplied to electrolysis stacks must be tightly controlled and levels in separators gauged to prevent overfills and keep oxygen gas from contaminating the water system .
Control and safety systems
Process safety for green hydrogen production plants is certainly achievable today , but manufacturers must carefully follow best practices and international safety standards . The International Electrotechnical Commission ( IEC ) 61508 and IEC 61511 standards define the process safety requirements and provide methods of application , design , deployment and maintenance of automated safety-related systems . Ensuring plant-wide safety of new green production plants can be challenging . Critical assets such as electrolyser units , compressors and fire and gas safety infrastructure are often provided by different original equipment manufacturers ( OEMs ). Although each piece of equipment may incorporate some degree of machine safety functionality , the OEMs will often have limited visibility and understanding of plant-wide process safety . In general , plant owners are unable to delegate ownership of plant-wide process safety to OEMs .
Emerson is developing software and systems to enable safe and efficient operation of the world ’ s first offshore green hydrogen production process on an operational gas platform .
26 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 8 | February 2023