Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) - FALL 2024 - Khalifa University PDF

Introduction to Hydrogen Technologies and Applications (CHEG 360) – FALL 2024 Chapter 1: Introduction to basic properties of hydrogen and safety Lecture 4: Safety related to hydrogen (Ch1-2) Dr. Lourdes F. Vega Professor, Chemical Engineering Department Direct...

Introduction to Hydrogen Technologies and Applications (CHEG 360) – FALL 2024 Chapter 1: Introduction to basic properties of hydrogen and safety Lecture 4: Safety related to hydrogen (Ch1-2) Dr. Lourdes F. Vega Professor, Chemical Engineering Department Director, Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH Center) 5th September 2024 Invited lecturer: Dr. Daniel Bahamon Garcia  ku.ac.ae 2 Hydrogen news to share today CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 3 Outline of this lecture Chapter 1 (Ch1-2): Hydrogen generation, storage and utilization, Zhang et al. – 1.1-1.3 Hydrogen facts Basics about the hydrogen element Basics about the hydrogen molecule Other fundamental aspects of hydrogen Safety - Historical accidents - H2 properties and safety - Hydrogen safety and associated risks in the hydrogen supply chain - Hazard analysis and risk assessment Additional bibliographical references https://www.h2euro.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Hydrogen- - Codes, Standards and Regulations applications-and-safety-considrations.pdf - Safety comparison with respect to other fuels https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sites/sti/sti/3318091.pdf - Public perception of hydrogen https://h2tools.org/bestpractices/hazard-analysis-and-risk- assessment CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 4 Recap from previous lecture Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe (75% of the known mass of the universe). How was hydrogen discovered and by whom Basic properties of hydrogen element Atomic hydrogen is the smallest and lightest element. The hydrogen atom consists of one proton (H+) and one electron, with no neutrons, and is usually denoted as 1H or just H (also named as protium sometimes). Hydrogen has two common isotopes: deuterium and tritium The abundance is H: 99.895%, D: 0.015%, and T: trace amounts. The ionized form of the H atom is the proton, H+ Basic properties of hydrogen molecule There are two different spin isomers of H2: ortho and para. H2 is a stable molecule but can react with a number of elements and molecules under certain conditions. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 5 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1937-05-10_Special_Release_-_Zeppelin_Explodes_Scores_Dead.ogv CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 6 Hydrogen in airships One of the first uses of large quantities of hydrogen gas was in providing lift for dirigibles and zeppelins at the turn of the century. Hydrogen was chosen because it has 7% of the density of air and thus provides excellent lift to balloons and airships. Hydrogen also had the advantages of being much more plentiful and much less expensive than helium. During World War I, the German Army and Navy used zeppelin rigid body airships for bombing cities in the United Kingdom. The German airshipmen maintained gas safety by keeping the hydrogen lift gas separated from air, precluding any combustion reactions. The zeppelins were rigid aluminum frame body structures, the interior was compartmented with gas cell membranes and the exterior was covered with fabric. The zeppelins flew very high, 3 to 4 miles in altitude, and although large, they had speeds on the order of 40 mph. They were hard to hit with anti-aircraft fire. https://inldigitallibrary.inl.gov/sites/sti/sti/3318091.pdf CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 7 The Hindenburg disaster Zeppelin Hindenburg The Hindenburg over Manhattan, New York on May 6, 1937, shortly before the disaster What was the reason of the explosion? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_disaster CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 8 The investigation of the accident There was some speculation that the Hindenburg was sabotaged but there is no conclusive proof that any sabotage occurred. German investigation conclusions: while definitive causes could not be found, the most probable cause was that a leak developed in gas cell 4 or 5, possibly caused by a failed support wire inside the airship, possibly due to the sharp turn during landing. The leak caused a flammable hydrogen-air mixture to form in the upper part of the ship’s stern. American investigation confirmed the leakage. A plausible cause for the leakage was the fracture of a shear wire in the airship hull; a wire might have snapped during the last sharp turn to line the airship nose up with the mast and face into the wind. Possible gas combustion ignitors were discussed, including 40 the pressure sensor, outgoing radio transmissions (transmissions ended 15 minutes before docking), mechanical friction heat from the airship structure, chemical reactions, electrical energy, and drive engine exhaust. Electrostatic energy seemed the most promising cause. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 9 Other fatal accidents related to hydrogen? Divide yourselves in groups of 3 or 4 You have 5 minutes to search in internet about other accidents related to the unsafe use of hydrogen Select one person for each team to explain it to us CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 10 Safety and precautions about hydrogen - properties Hydrogen gas properties Hydrogen is odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, and non-corrosive. Small molecular weight and size: It is highly diffusive. Low viscosity. It presents high buoyancy (proportional to the diffusion coefficient and changes with temperature). Hydrogen liquid properties Hydrogen becomes liquid below -253 °C at atmospheric pressure As cryogenic liquid, it can cause severe freeze burns if the liquid is in contact with the skin. To keep hydrogen ultra-cold, liquid hydrogen containers are double-walled, vacuum- jacketed, appropriately insulated and designed to vent hydrogen safely in gaseous form if a breach of either the outer or inner wall is detected. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 11 Properties of liquid hydrogen and safety Liquid hydrogen evaporates at -253°C causing two types of vapor clouds (both of them create a fog that reduces visibility, but is harmless): - Exposed surfaces at liquid hydrogen temperature can condense moisture in the surrounding air - A discharge of liquid hydrogen can produce a vapor cloud that is both a flame and visibility hazard. Liquid hydrogen has an thermal expansion coefficient 23 times higher than water, making the hydrogen to expand more than water when heat is applied. At elevated temperatures and pressures (cold hydrogen) it is less volatile in comparison with ambient gas, being cleaner, and having a more economic storage. However, it severely attacks mild steels causing decarburization and embrittlement The specific heat for liquid hydrogen at constant pressure is 9.688 kJ/(kg·K), which is twice higher than water (4.844 kJ/(kg·K) and five times higher than oxygen (1.938 kJ/(kg·K). CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 12 Safety: understanding and following the signals (Liquid) https://www.airgas.com/msds/001026.pdf CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  13 ku.ac.ae Safety and associated risks in the hydrogen supply chain Safety implications in Fire Properties of hydrogen gas handling hydrogen Explosion Properties of liquid hydrogen Evaporation Leaks Embrittlement and Cracking CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 14 Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment Hydrogen CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 15 Codes, Standards and Regulations for Safety Codes and standards provide the information needed to safely build, maintain, and operate equipment, systems, and facilities. They help ensure uniformity of safety requirements and give local inspectors and safety officials the information they need to approve systems and installations. NFPA 2 – Hydrogen technologies Code This code provides fundamental safeguards for the generation, installation, storage, piping, use, and handling of hydrogen in compressed gas (GH2) form or cryogenic liquid (LH2) form. Current edition: 2020 CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 16 Codes, Standards and Regulations for Safety CONTENT 1-3 Admin, References, and Definitions 4 General Fire Safety Requirements 5 Performance-Based Option 6 General Hydrogen Requirements 7 Gaseous Hydrogen 8 Liquefied Hydrogen 9 Explosion Protection 10 GH2 Vehicle Fueling Facilities 11 LH2 Fueling Facilities 12 H2 Fuel Cell Power Systems 13 Hydrogen Generation Systems 14 Combustion Application 15 Special Atmosphere Applications 16 Laboratory Operations 17 Parking Garages 18 Repair Garages URL: https://h2tools.org/fuel-cell-codes-and- standards?search_api_fulltex CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  17 ku.ac.ae Further considerations about safety and hydrogen As with other fuels such as natural gas or gasoline, safety is one of the main issues to consider when dealing with hydrogen. ISO - "TC 197 Hydrogen technologies" created in 1990 in order to develop standards that regulate systems and devices for the production, storage, transport, measurements and forms of use of hydrogen in different industrial applications At the regulatory level, stationary, mobile and portable applications are differentiated. http://www.hysafe.org/ http://www.boe.es/diario_boe/ http://www.aenor.es/aenor/normas/buscadornormas/buscadornormas.asp http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue.htm http://www.iec.ch/http://www.fuelcellstandards.com/ http://www.hydrogenandfuelcellsafety.info/ CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 18 Properties of hydrogen compared to other fuels Hydrogen Natural Gas Gasoline Color No No Yes Toxicity None Some High Odor Odorless Mercaptan Yes Buoyancy Relative to Air 14X Lighter 2X Lighter 3.75X Heavier Energy by Weight 2.8X > Gasoline ~1.2X > Gasoline 43 MJ/kg Energy by Volume 4X < Gasoline 1.5X < Gasoline 120 MJ/gallon Flammability in air (LFL – UFL) 4.1% - 74% 5.3% - 15% 1.4% - 7.6% Most easily ignited mixture in air 29% 9% 2% Flame temperature ( F) 4010 3562 3591 4 4 3 4 1 0 H2 liquid 3 0 0 H2 gas 1 0 0 CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 19 Safety comparison with respect to other fuels Combustion Flammability Explosion Produces heat and water. Very wide flammability Much lower risk than other As carbon is not range (4% - 74% more common fuels since it generated and due to the concentration in air) and becomes explosive in presence of water vapor requires very little concentrations between (which absorbs heat), a energy (0.02 mJ) to 18.3% and 59%. fire produced by hydrogen start combustion. Hydrogen tends to rise and would have less power to At concentrations < 10% disperse in the atmosphere, disperse heat than a fire flammability is similar to other heavier gases tend to produced by a that of natural gas or accumulate near the ground, hydrocarbon. gasoline increasing the risk of an explosion. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 20 Comparative ignited fire on a hydrogen/gasoline car https://www.h2euro.org/wp- content/uploads/2017/09/Hydrogen- applications-and-safety-considrations.pdf CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 21 Safety and precautions about hydrogen storage Hydrogen gas in air may spontaneously ignite, and the detonation parameters, for example, critical detonation pressure and temperature, strongly depend on the container geometry. Thus, hydrogen must be handled with extreme care and caution in gaseous or liquid form. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  22 ku.ac.ae Public perception of hydrogen Expert perception = general public End of the zeppelin era Hindenburg zeppelin over Manhattan on May 6, Perception Pyramid from David Armano 1937 [From www. theatlantic.com]. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  23 ku.ac.ae Social perception – H2TRUST – EU Project/Book objectives To provide an informative guide on hydrogen for non-experts (and experts) Answering the following questions: What is hydrogen? Main applications? – quite focused on fuel cells Where to find hydrogen?: Production, storage, distribution, applications technical information (level of public dissemination) security, best practices (from H2TRUST) - What to do in case of emergency? - Gap analysis and recommendations https://www.h2euro.org/wp- content/uploads/2017/09/Hydrogen-applications-and-safety- considrations.pdf CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  24 ku.ac.ae Perceptions about hydrogen - H2TRUST conclusions Good acceptance: companies, regulators, researchers in the field of hydrogen, similar institutions outside Europe Disclosure actions on the safety conditions of hydrogen should be intensified to the widest possible audience (stakeholders, industries, society) to avoid negative reactions due to ignorance Once the general public realizes that following good methodology and best practices, hydrogen is safe, it can be used in many more applications. CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 25 Public perception on hydrogen – would you buy a H 2 car? https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/why-don-t-the-public-see-hydrogen-as-a-safe-energy-source/ CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 26 Is hydrogen safe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNyL2XNScRc CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  ku.ac.ae 27 Take home messages Hydrogen is safe if standars and procedures are coveniently applied Safety considerations come from its properties (as for any other compound!) Different standards are in place depending on where hydrogen is to be handled: production, transportation, storage, applications Education is very important at all levels to improve the acceptance, and hence, utilization CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega  Thank you ‫شكرا‬ [email protected] [email protected] https://www.ku.ac.ae/research-centers/research-and-innovation-center-on-co2-and-hydrogen-rich  ku.ac.ae 29 Course content 0. Introduction to the course 1. Basic properties propertiesofofhydrogen hydrogenand and safety safety HYDROGEN PRODUCTION 2. Hydrogen generation from hydrocarbons (+1 visit) 3. Solar hydrogen generation (1 invited speaker ) 4. Bio-hydrogen generation HYDROGEN TRANSPORTATION 5. Compression and cryogenics 6. Ammonia and chemicals 7. Hydrogen physical storage HYDROGEN UTILIZATION 8. Combustion, heat and power 9. Fuel cells: concepts and applications 10. Hydrogen utilization in chemical processes 11. Hydrogen in the new energy scenario: large-scale energy storage (power-to-power) and power-to-X CHEG360 Introduction to hydrogen– FALL 2024 Lecture 4: Hydrogen Safety (Ch 1-2) Prof. Lourdes F. Vega