SPECIAL TOPIC : Ask the Expert
are Important for the Valve Industry :
Principal , Northridge Energy Partners
Q : Can you describe how valves will be used in hydrogen applications ?
A : Hydrogen is a simple molecule . From a valve or pipeline perspective , it can leak from every place , because it does not have a very high atomic weight . To refit a pipeline with new valves , that pipeline will have to be engineered to minimize the leakage . Where one type of pipe can contain the CH 4 molecule , the H 2 molecule is going to act similarly to a prisoner escaping through a prison with lots of gaps in the walls .
One must therefore figure out how to develop the pipelines and valves to account for that . It could be a very large opportunity for valve companies , to either retrofit or replace existing valves in infrastructure that already exists .
Alternatively , companies will have to build out new hydrogen infrastructure from scratch , creating a completely new greenfield opportunity . Based on the speed with which the hydrogen economy has started to pick up its pace , there is a huge opportunity for valve manufacturers that can deliver a high-quality product , with minimal leakage , at an affordable price .
Q : How will this industry progress over the next few years ?
A : For many decades , we have used hydrogen and industrial applications for refining and fertilizers . As we begin cleaning up the economy , one of the first things that will happen , especially with the subsidies that the U . S . now offers for clean hydrogen , will be to produce more clean green hydrogen . These cleaner hydrogen varieties are going to supplant the hydrogen that is already being used in the agricultural economy to make fertilizer and ammonia .
In the U . S ., the Department of Energy ( DOE ) just announced that they will be creating hydrogen hubs ; regional groupings of between six to 10 communities of producers of hydrogen , and storage , and certainly end users of hydrogen . The DOE said they were going to make $ 7 billion USD available -- they wanted at least one to be blue ( steam methane reformation with carbon capture and storage ), one green , and one pink ( from nuclear ). The result was 79 different regional groupings submitting letters to the DOE , and only 33 were encouraged to continue . What I foresee happening in the next year , is that we will know who is getting the $ 7 billion USD to fund hydrogen hubs .
We are more than just a valve company other end uses that displace gas and oil , such as heating , some individuals project that the grid will become two or three times the size of what exists today . The next and most difficult part of the economy we must decarbonize is the hard-to-abate sector , industry .
Industry often involves thermal applications , and high amounts of concentrated heat , for processes such as cement production , steel manufacturing - smelting iron ore to create steel - and other large industrial processes . That is where hydrogen comes in . Right now , there is no other way to decarbonize these processes ; we need to find other ways to bring in clean fuels . Hydrogen can be burned for many industrial thermal applications .
Q : What are some of the challenges with hydrogen ?
A : After hydrogen is brought into the equation , many factors must be considered . It burns hotter than CH 4 , or methane gas , and it has a faster flame speed . It is also not as dense ; three times the amount will have to be burned moving through a pipeline to achieve the equivalent energy as what can be produced with natural gas . So , there are some interesting challenges with hydrogen .
The most challenging aspect of hydrogen is its inefficiency . People refer to hydrogen as a fuel , however , it is not , it is a carrier . Green hydrogen , for example , is made from wind and solar . It involves using electrolysers , that apply an electric current to water , breaking that water down into hydrogen and oxygen . The hydrogen will then have to be either liquefied or compressed to make it usable for most applications , stored , and then burned in a turbine or a fuel cell to generate power , or a furnace to create heat .
By the end of that process , roughly two-thirds of the raw energy that the operator started with has been lost . The sheer inefficiency of this process creates a big economic hindrance .
Most hydrogen made today is so-called gray hydrogen , which utilizes natural gas in a process called steam methane reformation , and while it creates hydrogen , it also releases carbon combined with oxygen in the atmosphere as CO 2 . That is also quite energy-intensive and has all of the same downstream challenges as green hydrogen .
To restate , the advantage of hydrogen is it burns hot , it can be put in a lot of the industrial applications we are using today , and we are starting to develop those technologies ; the turbines , the furnaces , etc . The disadvantages are that it takes up a lot of space and has different characteristics when you burn it than natural gas does .
Engineered solutions for flow control projects
• Proven experience in complex environments
• Tailor-made solutions designed to unique customer specifications
• Manufacturing throughout North America , Europe , and Asia
• Field Service and OEM parts available worldwide
• Durable and reliable solutions optimize total cost of ownership
Contact : Project Business Unit sales @ velan . com
velan . com
www . valve-world-americas . net • March 2023 | Valve World Americas 9