Ensuring Hydrogen Purity During Transportation: Key Measurements for Safe and Efficient Delivery

The Importance of Hydrogen Purity in Transport

Hydrogen is frequently transported in tube containers from production sources or storage facilities across roads, railways, or even by ship. During transportation, maintaining hydrogen purity is essential to ensure it meets the required standards for its destination applications, whether for industrial processes, or fuel cell applications,. This requires careful monitoring of potential contaminants such as moisture, oxygen, and carbon monoxide.

At filling stations, hydrogen is transferred to transport containers, where it is distributed across various routes. These containers can be sent to locations with specific needs for hydrogen, such as incidental requirements at industrial sites or fueling stations. However, because containers may have been used previously for different grades of hydrogen, ensuring that hydrogen maintains its purity during transfer and transport is critical.

Key Purity Measurements During Hydrogen Transport

To ensure that hydrogen purity is maintained throughout the transportation process, several key measurements are essential:

1. Moisture (Water Vapor) in Hydrogen:

Water vapor is a significant contaminant that can compromise hydrogen purity. Moisture can corrode pipelines, containers, and storage tanks and can degrade the performance of hydrogen in secondary applications. Continuous monitoring of moisture levels in the hydrogen stream helps prevent contamination.

2. Oxygen in Hydrogen:

Even small amounts of oxygen pose combustion risks during transport. Monitoring oxygen levels is crucial for maintaining hydrogen quality and ensuring safety, especially in high-pressure transport systems.

3. Hydrogen Purity Levels:

Overall hydrogen purity must be monitored during transport, particularly as containers used for hydrogen can vary in the quality of gas they have previously contained. Single-component measurements of H_₂, H_₂O, and O_₂ are essential, and for certain applications, a full ISO 14687 multi-component purity analysis may be required to guarantee that the hydrogen meets strict quality standards.

What Types of Analyzers Are Used for Hydrogen Purity in Transport?

Hydrogen transport, whether by road, rail, or sea, requires meticulous attention to purity at every stage of the journey. From filling stations to final destinations like industrial sites and fueling stations, ensuring that contaminants like moisture and oxygen are effectively monitored is essential for safety and maintaining sales gas quality. By using advanced purity measurement equipment, operators can guarantee that transported hydrogen meets the required standards and is ready for use in various high-purity applications.

Measurement	Purpose	Recommended Products
Moisture	Moisture analyzers detect water vapor in the hydrogen stream to prevent corrosion and maintain hydrogen quality for sensitive applications like fuel cells.	QMA601 Easidew I.S Easidew PRO I.S Easidew PRO XP
Hydrogen Purity	Purity analyzers track the overall quality of the hydrogen being transported. In many cases, a multi-component analysis adhering to ISO 14687 standards is necessary, particularly when hydrogen is transferred between different locations or filling bays with varying purity requirements.	HyDetek XTC601
Oxygen	Oxygen analyzers continuously monitor for the presence of oxygen in the transported hydrogen, ensuring the gas remains uncontaminated and safe for use.	GPR-1800 (A)IS and GPR-2800 (A)IS XPM601 Minox-i

Hydrogen Production Applications

Measuring the concentration of hydrogen injected into natural gas pipelines for transport

Measuring the purity/quality of the stored hydrogen to prevent contamination of the fuel cells

Safety and Purity of Stored Hydrogen Gas