Decarbonisation Technology - November 2021

Decarbonisation through innovation

Explore some of the latest available sustainable technologies

required at pressures below 250 bar, the NEA piston compressors, which have been tried and tested thousands of times, run dry and conform to API 618, are best suited. Well over 10 MW of drive power can be used here with known high efficiency for compression. If the requirement permits low residual oil quantities in the gas, even pressures of up to 1,000 bar are possible. If larger delivery volumes and high discharge pressures are required without oil and technically free of abrasion, the hybrid compressor, which combines the principles of the piston compressor and the diaphragm compressor, represents another suitable hydrogen compressor. Hydrogen is a major topic of the future, particularly in the field of mobility. At HRS, fuel cells are refuelled with gaseous hydrogen. Pressures of up to 1,000 bar are required for this refuelling, and gas impurities and abrasion must not occur during compression. In addition, the compressor used must operate oil-free and leak-free. Depending on the volume flow conveyed, either the TKH or the diaphragm compressor from HOFER is the ideal solution. Pressure vessels, some of which can be used as cylinder batteries or as so-called tube trailers, are often used for the storage and transport of hydrogen. For large transport volumes, around 10,000 Nm 3 /h to 1,000,000 Nm 3 /h, pipelines of various diameters and pressure levels are the suitable transport medium. Large pipelines can also be used as storage tanks. Large-volume piston compressors, capable of compressing more than 800,000 Nm 3 /h from 40 to 80 bar, are usually used as pipeline feeders or transport compressors. Cavern storage facilities in salt domes are ideal for storing very large amounts of energy, which can also be used to bridge a dark period lasting several weeks.

NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP compressor solutions

Compressors for the decarbonisation of energy supply Hydrogen will play a decisive role in decarbonising the energy supply. In terms of weight, it has by far the highest energy content. However, its density in the atmospheric state is very low at around 90g/m 3 , which is why hydrogen must be compressed to achieve a usable energy density. The compressor manufacturer Neuman & Esser Group (NEA) offers various solutions for compressing hydrogen. For example, hydrogen can be compressed with a diaphragm compressor. In the field of diaphragm compressors, NEA has many years of experience with the premium brand Andreas Hofer Hochdrucktechnik (HOFER). With these compressors, small to medium quantities of the clean energy carrier can be compressed efficiently and leakage-free to very high pressures of up to more than 5,000 bar. With continuous operation, the components of the diaphragm compressors achieve a very long diaphragm life. There are many users who run their diaphragms for well over a year in continuous operation, maximising their benefits. For volatile usage scenarios, dry-running, hydraulically driven piston compressors (TKH) from HOFER represent a suitable compressor solution. With its components, the TKH can reach discharge pressures of up to 3,000 bar. With the hydraulics of the TKH, the regulation of the number of strokes is possible. The characteristics of the TKH further include that it is both oil-free and technically abrasion-free. For small delivery volumes, such as at hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) for passenger cars, the TKH is the ideal hydrogen compressor. If large quantities of oil-free hydrogen are