How to Prevent: H2 and O2 mixing in your Separator

Want to prevent hydrogen and oxygen mixing in your separator loop with a flow control system but unsure of the necessary
components? Look no further! Here are the top three ways to do just that. All based on our experience of working with leading electrolysis OEMs.

Customer Problem: 3 Major Challenges

Most electrolyser OEMs and operators tell us they struggle with the following three challenges.

• Complexity & Constraints: Engineers face complex electrolyser system designs which are required to satisfy certification and functionality requirements. To make the overall system function, hundreds of parts are needed, not even mentioning all the piping. Given the recent ramp up of hydrogen infrastructure projects, engineers also face time constraints. And at the same time, they have to ensure they keep up-to-speed with industry developments, evolving standards and growth demands. Things become even more complex when you don’t know how to design a particular sub-system to meet all the safety requirements of your risk analysis .

• Reliability & Serviceability: Once the system is up and running, the operations team may have to grapple with unreliable and difficult to service components, which can lead to unplanned and expensive downtime. In many cases, key components such as valves, regulators and filters were not designed specifically for hydrogen use and have a limited lifetime. And when things fail, servicing them is a complex and time-consuming undertaking. What before seemed simple, like choosing an O-ring, now needs attention. When choosing the proper material for oxygen mixed with KOH in alkaline systems, careful consideration must be given to both ensuring compatibility with the gas and preventing frequent maintenance due to KOH-related corrosion.

• Fragmented supply chains: The significance of the supply chain and purchasing requirements for the electrolyser cannot be understated, along with complex design and operational issues.Due to the large number of components,
  several suppliers must be involved in the design and procurement process. Partnering with businesses that can
  provide a wider portfolio is essential to reducing the time it takes to release a product onto the market and making life easier for the manufacturer of electrolysers.

IMI Solution: 3 Ways to Reduce Complexity and Increase Lifetime

• Electric actuation: An answer to reducing system complication could lie in the specification of electric actuation
  solutions that can help focus on reducing the number of subsystems needed. This provides cost and operational benefits by way of a significant reduction in the total number of components. In turn, delivering fewer potential leak points, higher component reliability and, ultimately, a less complex system design. System solution developments - including those supplied by IMI - are increasingly emerging to seamlessly facilitate a transition to purely electrically operated components. Both OpEx and CapEx considerations can be influenced through having less components to purchase, service, or at risk of failure. Add in the advantages of BUS systems to further reduce wiring complexity and electric actuation should be viewed as a real driver for system improvement across several areas

• Component integration: Again, the typical electrolyser system requires the purchase and implementation
  of many fittings, tubes, pipes, and general assemblies. But is the prescribed way the best way? The promising attributes of manifolds equipped with modular functionality offer a credible solution. Through integration of
  different functions such as valves, regulators, and filters, it is feasible to reduce the overall quantity of fittings and
  piping. This not only eliminates potential leak points in the system, but it also delivers installation timescale benefits, as well as reducing the overall footprint of the system section. Such an approach has already gained traction in the development of natural gas applications as well as traditional hydraulic applications.

• Serviceability: Where servicing is required, the complex electrolyser and purification environments
  where components operate within can often prove problematic. The remedy lies in cartridge type components which can be serviced without the need to remove the entire body from the piping. Again, potentially difficult servicing needs are mitigated, time is saved, and servicing costs minimized. Finally, condition monitoring of essential components can support overall aims to reduce complex system need and increase efficiencies. Integrated solutions that feature sensors and transmitters to monitor pressure and temperature are ideal in this sense. Generated data not only provides a transparent view on the status of the component, but it also enables better informed decision making for predictive maintenance schedules in the future.