Hydrogen compressors are used to store hydrogen gas at high pressures of 5,000-10,000 PSI due to its low density. Common types include piston/metal diaphragm and rotor compressors, with some using no moving parts. Most industrial facilities use positive displacement pumps capable of producing over 15,000 PSI.
A hydrogen compressor is a device designed specifically to compress hydrogen gas for storage. The low density of hydrogen makes it a difficult medium to store as it requires extremely high tank pressures of between 5,000 and 10,000 pounds per square inch (PSI). Commercial hydrogen compressors are generally of the reciprocating type, with the most common being guided piston/metal diaphragm and rotor variants. While these designs are all basically positive displacement pumps, there are many other hydrogen compressors such as hydride and electrochemical types that have no moving parts. Most hydrogen compressor designs are, however, characterized by their high output pressure capabilities with average delivery pressures exceeding 15,000 PSI.
Hydrogen has long been a fuel component for rocket engines and has recently come under intense scientific scrutiny as a potential large-scale alternative to fossil fuels. All of these applications require hydrogen to be stored under high pressure, typically in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 PSI. This is due, in part, to the low density of hydrogen gas at atmospheric pressure. At these low pressures, one gram of hydrogen gas has a volume of nearly 3 gallons (11 liters), requiring intense gas compression if it is to be stored sustainably. Hydrogen compressor units are used to compress gas to enormous pressures, often in excess of 15,000 PSI, so it can be stored in usable quantities.
Different types of compressors are used to compress hydrogen; among the most common are the piston or metal diaphragm types. These compressors are displacement-type reciprocating machines that work by trapping a small amount of gas in an enclosed space, lowering its volume by displacement, then releasing the compressed gas into a holding or storage tank. This cycle is repeated continuously until the tank reaches its maximum capacity. One type of piston compressor uses three pistons to achieve this; a driving piston driven by compressed air or hydraulic fluid and a pair of compressor pistons compressing the gas. The compressor pistons are attached to the engine piston by a pair of connecting rods which provide the necessary interlocking motion.
Another common type of hydrogen compressor is the rotor driven compressor. This type of hydrogen compressor uses a lobe rotor mounted on an eccentric shaft which rotates in a specially designed chamber. Similar in principle to rotary internal combustion engines, this type of compressor relies on the movement of gas inside the chamber by the rotor lobes to achieve its compression values. There are several types of low-volume compressors with no moving parts, such as the hydride compressor used to produce small quantities of pressurized hydrogen gas for laboratory use. These compressors use the thermal reaction properties of heated hydride to produce small amounts of pressurized hydrogen.
Most industrial hydrogen storage facilities use positive displacement pumps to pressurize their hydrogen stores. In some cases, these compressors are capable of producing outputs in excess of 15,000 PSI and with some delivering up to 30,000 PSI. These values mean that the 10,000 PSI average tank pressure used by most green car research facilities can be achieved quickly and efficiently.
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