CH-205 PROJECT PROPOSAL

On the topic

Principles for the liquefaction of hydrogen with a focus on

increasing its efficiency
for Mid-Term Evaluation
Of
Bachelor Of Technology
In Chemical Engineering
Submitted by 

Ishita Jain (2K20/CH/31)

Bhavuk Rohilla (2K20/CH/19)

TO

Ms. Deenan Santhiya

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY

Delhi Technological University 
(FORMERLY Delhi College of Engineering) 
                                           Bawana Road, Delhi-110042

INTRODUCTION
Hydrogen is an essential fuel from the perspective of the future. It represents a zero-emission
fuel, especially when used for the fossil fuel dependent passenger cars and utility vehicles.
This is because the only components emitted from these fuel cells are heat and water.
Hydrogen is therefore an important, clean energy carrier for the future. If we see in the long
run, a gradual conversion to hydrogen-based society can be a way of mitigating the global
warming issue from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. However, in order to turn this
transition into a reality, transport and storage of hydrogen needs to be paid attention.
The distribution of hydrogen and usage in the transport sector its energy density plays a
considerable role. To transport large amounts of hydrogen across long distances in an
economical manner, it must be transported in a dense state. One of the most promising
alternatives is then to liquefy it. This is because in case of liquified hydrogen, energy density
is almost 4.5 times larger than compressed hydrogen at 200 bar. However, hydrogen
liquefaction is highly energy demanding and technologically challenging and thus it is
important to come up with optimal solution to increase the efficiency of the large hydrogen
liquification plants. For convenience, we will divide the process into four stages- Pre-
compression, pre-cooling, Cryogenic cooling and liquification. Emphasis in our report is
placed on the pre-cooling stage of the liquefaction, which cools the hydrogen from ambient
temperature to approximately 80 K. This stage represents a lot of variation possibilities as a
number of different solutions may be applied. Through techniques like nitrogen Claude cycle
and mixed refrigerants, a study on the ways of reducing energy consumption by hydrogen
liquefication plants is done, to come up with an efficient way to carry out the process.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this report is to study the principles of hydrogen liquefication process and
explore the ways through which the efficiency of large scale liquefication plants can be
improved by reducing their high energy demand.
However, before developing a new process the theoretical energy demand for the liquefaction
process is investigated. For conduction this in a transparent approach, the liquefaction process
is divided into several stages, such as: Hydrogen compression, pre-cooling, cryo-cooling and
liquefaction. Each stage is individually discussed in a generic manner for illustrating the
theoretical energy requirements and challenges. Emphasis in this report is placed on the pre-
cooling stage of the liquefaction, which cools the hydrogen from ambient temperature to
approximately 80 K. The main focus is put on the precooling stage. Not because of its power
consumption, but because it is the stage with the most degrees of freedom in design.
Hydrogen represents a zero-emission fuel when used, for instance, in fuel cells for mobility
or electricity generation. By analysing the aforementioned stages and optimum solutions to
increase efficiency, our objective is to understand the practicality of achieving a hydrogen-
based society which can help in mitigating the threat of accelerated global warming from
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

DISCUSSION
Hydrogen can be produced by use of renewable energy from water electrolysis, or from
natural gas with steam reforming. Hydrogen can either be liquefied (e.g. at 1.3 bar and 21 K),
or compressed (typically in the range 200–700 bar and near ambient temperature). The
preferred method of transportation depends on different circumstances such as the quantity of
hydrogen, the distance of transportation and the preferred state of distribution and end use.
The energy density can be increased significantly by liquefying hydrogen, which results in an
approximately 5 times higher energy density at its liquid state than at its compressed state at
200 bar and 15 °C . However, the liquefaction of hydrogen has its price, since hydrogen has
the second lowest boiling point of all substances, with a boiling temperature of 20 K at
atmospheric pressure.
For hydrogen being able to play a major role in the transport sector a significant amount of
liquid hydrogen must be available at a relatively competitive price. So far only a handful of
liquefaction plants exist in Europe and Asia with a liquefaction capacity of 10.5 tons/day at
the highest. Hydrogen liquefaction plants with a capacity of up to 36 tons/day exist in the
USA only. Hydrogen liquefaction plants with higher capacity exist so far only on paper.
In the report, special emphasis is laid on the pre-cooling stage, in which, the standard concept
of liquid nitrogen cooling is highly inefficient, and other concepts are needed for large scale
applications. The two most promising concepts are integration of a nitrogen Claude cycle and
a mixed refrigerants concept. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages that has been
discussed in the report. Furthermore, experience is drawn from large scale natural gas
liquefaction plants which are commercially in operation all over the world and present a
mature technology.

CONCLUSION
Hydrogen liquefication process is highly demanding and technologically challenging. In this
work we have explored the strategies through which the large scale hydrogen liquefications
plants can achieve increase in efficiency. The principal is to divide the process into four more
or less independent stages, and find the optimum solution for each stage.
The main focus is put on the precooling stage. Not because it is the most power consuming
stage, but because it is the stage with the most degrees of freedom in design. The traditional
way of liquid nitrogen cooling is highly inefficient, and hence two most promising concepts
are integration of a nitrogen Claude cycle and a mixed refrigerants concept. Both systems
have advantages and disadvantages that have to be further elaborated. Also, one of the main
challenges in efficient hydrogen liquefaction is light gas compression. This is unavoidable,
since only light gases can provide cooling at the required temperature levels, but should be
minimized by using heavier fluids where it is possible.
Due to the higher exergy efficiency of compression compared to refrigeration, the pressure of
the hydrogen feed should be as high as possible, as long as the pressure reduction in the
liquefaction stage is performed by expansion machines instead of throttling valves. After
careful evaluation, such techniques can be employed, thus making it possible for us to
achieve a hydrogen-based society in future.
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