D3.4 – Report on H2 fuel gas characteristics and flow measurement

The objective of Work Package 3 (WP3) is to provide documentation for the design of safe and efficient infrastructures for hydrogen and oxygen supply systems. Within this framework, Task 3.5 focuses on the influence of contamination of hydrogen with other species. Impurities can be introduced in hydrogen during production, storage or transportation. Given hydrogen’s low density, even trace amounts of these impurities can significantly influence the density and Wobbe index of the resulting gas mixture, posing challenges forits use as a fuel in industrial applications. These changes can disrupt measurement systems used to measure and regulate fuel gas flows. This report aims to provide insights into the impact of impurities in hydrogen on calibrated flow measurement technologies.

To this end, RWTH-IOB investigates the performance of three calibrated flow meters – Mass Flow Meter (MFM), Area Flow Meter (AFM) and an orifice plate – in response to various hydrogen impurities. Additionally, the impact of the impurities on burner operation and off-gas composition is also examined. For this purpose, a semi-industrial test rig was installed at RWTH-IOB. The test rig consists of a gas mixing unit, the three flow meters and an industrial burner, which is installed within a furnace chamber.

Furthermore, SIEN investigates and enhances the functionality of a state-of-the-art ultrasonic flow meter by adding appropriate evaluation algorithms to estimate H2 purity. This would be a significant advantage when using H2 as a fuel, as even small concentrations of impurities impact the speed of sound in hydrogen and can be immediately detected along with the ultrasonic flow measurement.

Authors

Elsa Busson, Lukas Sankowski | RWTH Aachen University – IOB

Carolin Lohrberg, Martin Oberländer | Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH & Co.KG (formerly SICK Engineering GmbH) – SIEN

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