Efficient Heat Exchange Configuration for Sub-Cooling Cycle of Hydrogen Liquefaction Process

Sihwan Park, Wonjun Noh, Jaedeuk Park, Jinwoo Park and Inkyu Lee
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Sihwan Park: School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, 2 Busandaehak-ro, 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea
Wonjun Noh: School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, 2 Busandaehak-ro, 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea
Jaedeuk Park: Process Design & Development Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), Daejeon 34114, Korea
Jinwoo Park: Department of Chemical Engineering, Kongju National University, 1223-24 Cheonan-daero, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si 31080, Korea
Inkyu Lee: School of Chemical Engineering, Pusan National University, 2 Busandaehak-ro, 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Busan 46241, Korea

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 13, 1-19

Abstract: The hydrogen liquefaction process is highly energy-intensive owing to its cryogenic characteristics, and a large proportion of the total energy is consumed in the subcooling cycle. This study aimed to develop an efficient configuration for the subcooling cycle in the hydrogen liquefaction process. The He-Ne Brayton cycle is one of the most energy-efficient cycles of the various proposed hydrogen liquefaction processes, and it was selected as the base case configuration. To improve its efficiency and economic potential, two different process configurations were proposed: (configuration 1) a dual-pressure cycle that simplified the process configuration, and (configuration 2) a split triple-pressure cycle that decreased the flow rate of the medium- and high-pressure compressors. The ortho–para conversion heat of hydrogen is considered by using heat capacity data of equilibrium hydrogen. Genetic algorithm-based optimization was also conducted to minimize the energy consumption of each configuration, and the optimization results showed that the performance of configuration 1 was worse than that of the base case configuration. In this respect, although less equipment was used, the compression load on each compressor was very intensive, which increased the energy requirements and costs. Configuration 2 provided the best results with a specific energy consumption of 5.69 kWh/kg (3.2% lower than the base case configuration). The total expense of configuration 2 shows the lowest value which is USD 720 million. The process performance improvements were analyzed based on the association between the refrigerant composition and the heat exchange efficiency. The analysis demonstrated that energy efficiency and costs were both improved by dividing the pressure levels and splitting the refrigerant flow rate in configuration 2.

Keywords: hydrogen liquefaction process; hydrogen sub-cooling; split multi-pressure; Brayton cycle; heat exchange analysis; energy minimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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