Because there are no clearly established standards for the safe storage and transportation of hydrogen, a recent paper in the journal Energies effectively addresses the risks and compares the hydrogen and LPG transportation systems as reported by AZOM.
Safety, Risk, and Hazard
The purpose of safety precautions is to control known threats to achieve an optimal level of risk. According to ISO/IEC Guide 51:2014, a hazard is defined as a potential source of harm to people, property, or the environment. The term “risk” refers to the combination of the chance of harm and the severity of that harm.
Properties Affecting Hydrogen Safety
The specific gravity energy density of hydrogen is 33.3 kWh/kg, whereas the volumetric energy density is only 3 kWh/m3. At normal pressure, hydrogen’s boiling temperature is 20 K, and its melting point is 14 K, both of which are pressure-dependent. The boiling point is unaffected by pressures greater than 33 K and 1296 MPa (12.96 bar). All of these characteristics are crucial in terms of safety considerations.
General Hazards Associated with Hydrogen
The most dangerous aspect of hydrogen is its extremely high combustibility.
Owing to its wide range of combustible percentages (4-75%), it is sometimes seen as more hazardous than natural gas, which is already commonly utilized in transportation.
The risk of explosion is a major limitation that affects its transportation.
The proportions at which a gas can detonate are listed from the lower explosive limit (LEL) to the upper explosive limit (UEL).
As hydrogen has a very broad explosive range, bursting is a very dangerous concern.
Sensors for Hydrogen Detection
There are several types of hydrogen sensors available. According to one research paper, the majority of commercially accessible sensors are electrochemical. The appropriate sensor type must be selected for a certain application in terms of responsiveness, environmental parameters, ageing, drift, reaction time, and durability.
Limitations of a particular sensor module may be mitigated by integrating several different types. Power usage, complexity, and expense should all be taken into account. Various sensor types’ tolerance should also be addressed.
Hazards Associated with Pressurized Hydrogen Storage
Gaseous hydrogen is often kept in gas containers at pressures ranging from 350 to 700 bar. The collapse of the container, culminating in an uncontrolled discharge of hydrogen, is a risk of pressurized storage.
If a sudden rise in temperature due to fire causes the internal vessel pressure to increase, a thermally triggered pressure relief device (TPRD) can quickly release all of the hydrogens in the container before a breach takes place due to compromised walls.
Are there Ongoing Hydrogen Shipping Projects?
Several initiatives are presently underway across the world to address the issue of sustainability in hydrogen-related marine facilities.
Hydra is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway.
It is the world’s inaugural hydrogen transport operation.
The 82-meter-long ship can transport 80 automobiles and 290 individuals.
MAN announced a project on liquid hydrogen fuel-gas-supply systems in Sweden.
This mechanism was created in accordance with the IGF Code.
Alternative Design Approach
There are presently no hydrogen regulations in transportation, however, the alternative design method allows for the authorization of hydrogen equipment.
As a first stage, all criteria of the researched system must be determined to make a meaningful comparison.
The significance of these factors to protection will then be evaluated using pairwise comparison.
When the table is entirely filled, the values in each row are added together.
This number can be used to implement a control method.
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Source: AOZM
