Today, we will take the time to explain the operating principles of the hydrogen dryer that was designed and manufactured using our own technology and delivered on January 10, 2025.
I think many of you are curious about what a hydrogen dryer is.
So, let’s first find out what a hydrogen dryer is.
A simple explanation of the hydrogen dryer is as follows:
The hydrogen dryer is a device that uses a Pd (palladium) catalyst and an adsorbent to remove moisture and oxygen contained in hydrogen and purify hydrogen to a higher purity.
In order to continuously perform a series of operations for drying hydrogen, the hydrogen dryer performs the process according to the following process and principles.
The hydrogen gas supplied through the inlet side of the hydrogen dryer is heated to about 110~130℃ through the preheating process and the pre-heater (H10) so that the reaction easily occurs in the catalyst tower.
The heated hydrogen gas flows into the catalyst tower (T10), and in the catalyst tower, water is generated through the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen.
The water generated from the catalyst tower along with hydrogen gas is cooled in the water-cooled cooler (GC1) to generate water.
The generated water is temporarily stored in the separator (SP2) equipped with a level sensor and then discharged to the outside through the drain according to the water level.
The cooled hydrogen gas flows into the adsorption tower (AD1, AD2). The AD1 adsorption tower first performs the adsorption process, and hydrogen moves from the bottom to the top of the adsorption tower through the inlet valve (AV1) of the AD1 adsorption tower, and during this process, water is adsorbed by the adsorbent.
The hydrogen dried through this process is supplied to the outside through the outlet of the hydrogen dryer.
While the AD1 adsorption tower performs the drying (adsorption) process, the AD2 adsorption tower performs the regeneration process.
The regeneration process consists of a heating process to desorb moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent and a cooling process to cool the adsorbent after desorption is complete.
The fluid for heating the adsorbent in the regeneration tower uses a portion of the supplied hydrogen.
The heating process uses a certain amount of hydrogen branched from the inlet side, is heated in the regeneration heater (H20), moves from the top to the bottom of the regeneration tower (H20), heats and regenerates the adsorbent, and is then cooled by the regeneration cooler (GC2).
The water generated during the cooling process is temporarily stored in the separator (SP2), and when it reaches a certain level by the level sensor, it is discharged to the outside through the drain.
The hydrogen cooled and regenerated through the regeneration cooler is combined with the inlet-side supply hydrogen.
During the cooling process, the heater stops operating and a certain amount of hydrogen branched from the inlet moves from the bottom to the top of the regeneration tower (AD2).
After cooling and regenerating the adsorbent, it is combined with the inlet-side supply hydrogen through the regeneration cooler and separator.
When the regeneration process is completed, the two towers switch processes.
The AD1 adsorption tower, which previously performed the drying (adsorption) process, will perform the regeneration process, and the AD2 adsorption tower, which has completed the regeneration process, will perform the drying (adsorption) process.
The AD1 adsorption tower, where the regeneration process is in progress, sequentially performs the heating process and cooling process as described above, and when the regeneration process is completed, the adsorption tower is switched again.
This series of processes is performed continuously through sequence control by the PLC.
Today, we learned about the operating principle of the hydrogen dryer.
Thank you.
