KR-20260062115-A - System for Converting Liquid Hydrogen to Gaseous Hydrogen for Charging and Power Generation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation. Such a system (1) for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation comprises: a storage tank (3) for storing liquid hydrogen; a re-liquefaction unit (5) for liquefying gas generated in the storage tank (3) and supplying it back to the storage tank (3); a gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7) for vaporizing liquid hydrogen stored in the storage tank (3) to send to a vehicle or power generation facility; a charging unit (9) for charging using gaseous hydrogen generated by the gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); a first PEMFC (11) for generating power using gaseous hydrogen generated by the gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); and a second PEMFC (13) for generating power using liquid hydrogen supplied from the storage tank (3).

Inventors

• 이윤호

Assignees

• 국립목포해양대학교산학협력단

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241025

Claims (4)

1. A storage tank (3) that stores liquid hydrogen; A re-liquefaction unit (5) that liquefies the gas generated in the storage tank (3) and supplies it back to the storage tank (3); A gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7) that vaporizes liquid hydrogen stored in a storage tank (3) to send it to a vehicle or power generation facility; A charging unit (9) that charges using gaseous hydrogen generated by a gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); A first PEMFC (11) that generates power using gaseous hydrogen produced by a gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); and A system for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation, comprising a second PEMFC (13) that generates power using liquid hydrogen supplied from a storage tank (3).
2. In Article 1, The re-liquefaction unit (5) is a system for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation, comprising: a compressor (15) that compresses vaporized hydrogen into a high-pressure state; a heat exchanger (17) that cools the compressed gaseous hydrogen to lower its temperature so that it can be liquefied; and a cooling unit (19) that maintains a cryogenic temperature to liquefy the hydrogen.
3. In Article 1, A system for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation, comprising: a gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7) which adds heat to liquid hydrogen to raise its temperature and converts the liquid hydrogen into a gaseous state as the temperature rises; a heat exchanger (17) which controls the pressure of the gaseous hydrogen; a pressure regulator (22) which controls the pressure of the gaseous hydrogen; and a hydrogen tank (24) which stores the converted gaseous hydrogen.
4. In Article 1, The first and second PEMFCs (11,13) are composed of electrodes containing a catalyst and an electrolyte membrane, and by using platinum as the catalyst, hydrogen ions pass through the electrolyte membrane, and electrons that do not pass through the membrane are pushed and flow along the wires, thereby generating an electric current, and the system converts liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation.

Description

System for Converting Liquid Hydrogen to Gaseous Hydrogen for Charging and Power Generation The present invention relates to a system for generating power by vaporizing liquid hydrogen, and more specifically, to a technology that allows for the use of a combined power generation charging station capable of generating power using a PEMFC, in addition to being usable as a conventional charging station by vaporizing liquid hydrogen. In general, liquid hydrogen is widely used due to its advantages in hydrogen storage, transportation efficiency, and various applications. The method of supplying such liquid hydrogen to the site involves producing and storing hydrogen, undergoing compression, pressure accumulation, and cooling processes, and then charging targets such as ships and hydrogen vehicles through a charger. To explain this supply process, liquid hydrogen production involves first producing hydrogen in a gaseous state and then liquefying it; thus, the hydrogen production process is classified into reforming and electrolysis. Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) is a method of producing hydrogen by reacting methane (natural gas) with steam; while it is the most common method, it entails carbon dioxide emissions. Also, electrolysis is a method that uses electricity to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen; while it can produce clean hydrogen, it requires electrical energy. In addition, to liquefy gaseous hydrogen, a cooling device and a compression device are required because the hydrogen must be cooled to a very low temperature (-253°C). Furthermore, liquid hydrogen is stored in storage containers specially designed to maintain stability in high-temperature and high-pressure environments. The containers are manufactured from special insulating materials and designed to prevent hydrogen from turning into a gas even at cryogenic temperatures. These containers are equipped with devices capable of controlling temperature and pressure. In addition, liquid hydrogen can be transported via trucks, trains, or pipelines. Liquid hydrogen is refueled at a ship or vehicle refueling station, and the process is as follows. In other words, hydrogen refueling stations convert liquid hydrogen into a gaseous state, compress it, and store it in the fuel tanks of ships or vehicles. At this stage, the gaseous hydrogen is typically compressed to high pressure (350–700 bar) and injected. Moreover, as international organizations strictly restrict the use of bunker fuel oil in ships, interest in ships propelled by eco-friendly fuels such as hydrogen is increasing. However, conventional liquid hydrogen distribution processes have the problem of increased risk due to losses caused by hydrogen naturally vaporizing during the transportation process. In addition, there is a problem in that the hydrogen transported in the conventional liquefied hydrogen distribution process is limited to use for charging ships or vehicles. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a system that converts liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the re-liquefaction unit illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the gaseous hydrogen conversion unit illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the PEMFC illustrated in Figure 1. Hereinafter, a system for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, a system (1) for converting liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen for charging and power generation according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a storage tank (3) for storing liquid hydrogen; a re-liquefaction unit (5) for liquefying gas generated in the storage tank (3) and supplying it back to the storage tank (3); a gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7) for vaporizing liquid hydrogen stored in the storage tank (3) to send to a vehicle or power generation facility; a charging unit (9) for charging using gaseous hydrogen generated by the gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); a first PEMFC (11) for generating power using gaseous hydrogen generated by the gaseous hydrogen conversion unit (7); and a second PEMFC (13) for generating power using liquid hydrogen supplied from the storage tank (3). In a liquid hydrogen re-liquefaction device having such a structure, The storage tank (3) liquefies hydrogen and stores it in the form of liquid hydrogen. This liquid hydrogen is maintained at -253°C or lower. In this way, by storing hydrogen in a liquid state in a storage tank (3), the volume of gaseous hydrogen can be reduced to about 1/800. While there is a risk of explosion when transporting gaseous hydrogen by compressing it to a high pre