JP2005220946A - Hydrogen transportation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hydrogen transportation system capable of transporting hydrogen manufactured in a hydrogen manufacturing plant to target hydrogen consumer facilities easily in a short period of time and using existing facilities. <P>SOLUTION: The hydrogen manufacturing plant 10 manufacturing hydrogen by electrolyzing water by electric power generated by using natural energy is provided, storage means storing the manufacture hydrogen in a plurality of transportation tank 21, a first transportation means 20 loading a plurality of the transportation tanks 21 and transporting the same to port facilities 30 near a hydrogen station 40, and a second transportation means 23 individually transporting the transportation tank 21 unloaded from the transportation means to the target hydrogen station are provided to individually transport hydrogen manufactured in the hydrogen manufacturing plant 10 to the target hydrogen station 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention generates electric power by natural energy such as wind power, solar heat, wave power, tidal power, ocean temperature difference, etc., and efficiently generates hydrogen generated by electrolyzing water using this power to a distant consumer facility. The present invention relates to a transport system for transporting liquid hydrogen.

In recent years, hydrogen energy has attracted attention as an energy resource in place of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Hydrogen energy is expected to expand in terms of cleanliness and prevention of global warming. In general, hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of water, reforming of fossil fuels, etc., but it is preferred that it be produced by electrolysis of water that does not emit CO ₂ , and the electric power required for electrolysis is also wind power. It is preferable to use natural energy such as solar heat, wave power, tidal power, and ocean temperature difference. This hydrogen production technology using natural energy is disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-303454) and the like.
In a hydrogen production plant disclosed in Patent Document 1, a steam turbine that is operated by steam obtained by evaporating seawater by solar heat on an offshore floating body movably suspended on the ocean, and a generator driven by the steam turbine And fresh water obtained by cooling the steam passing through the steam turbine with seawater in a heat exchanger is stored in a water storage tank, and in the water electrolysis apparatus, the fresh water is generated by the steam turbine. Electric power from wind turbines, wind power generation facilities, wave power generation facilities, tidal power generation facilities, etc. are electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen so that mass production of hydrogen and oxygen can be efficiently performed using natural energy It is configured.

The hydrogen produced in this way can be used in a wide range of fields such as fuel for transportation vehicles such as automobiles, ships and aircraft, industrial raw materials such as petrochemical industry, and energy sources for power generation by direct combustion or fuel cells. Can do.
Hydrogen energy has such various uses, and as a result, consumption facilities are scattered throughout the country, so how to improve transportation efficiency is an important issue.
In general, when transporting hydrogen offshore, hydrogen is liquefied into liquid hydrogen at a hydrogen production plant, or pressurized to 150 to 200 atmospheres to form high-pressure gas, and then pumped to a tank loaded on a transport tanker. A method of loading and transporting is considered. On the other hand, when transporting on land, a method of transporting by a lorry vehicle loaded with a high-pressure gas tank or liquid hydrogen tank, a method of transporting by laying a pipeline, and the like are considered.

  Further, a method capable of transporting hydrogen safely and over a long distance is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-293290). The method for transporting hydrogen disclosed in Patent Document 2 is a liquid hydrogen transport tanker in which a liquid hydrogen tank and a gaseous hydrogen tank containing a hydrogen storage alloy are in communication with each other, and liquid hydrogen is loaded on the liquid hydrogen tank. This is a method for transporting liquid hydrogen, which allows the hydrogen-absorbing alloy to absorb hydrogen even when a large amount of hydrogen gas is generated due to evaporation of low-boiling liquid hydrogen during transport. Efficient transportation becomes possible without making it.

JP 2002-303454 A JP-A-6-293290

As mentioned above, although hydrogen is a highly convenient energy resource that can be stored and transported in various forms, it needs to be transported according to the characteristics of hydrogen. Equipment costs such as a heat insulation wall increase, and practical application is difficult.
In addition, when liquid hydrogen is transferred to a tank loaded on a large tanker or the like and transported, it is necessary to fill the tank with hydrogen gas before storage. End up.
Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention can easily transport hydrogen produced in a hydrogen production plant to a target hydrogen consumption facility in a short time, and can use existing equipment. An object is to provide a hydrogen transport system.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the present invention provides:
Provided with a hydrogen production plant that produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water with electric power generated using natural energy, and transports the produced hydrogen to a plurality of hydrogen consuming facilities located at remote locations from the hydrogen production plant In the hydrogen transport system,
Storage means for storing the produced hydrogen in a plurality of transport containers at the hydrogen production plant, first transport means for loading the plurality of transport containers and transporting them collectively to a distribution facility near a consumption facility, and the distribution And a second transportation means for individually transporting the plurality of transport containers from the facility to a plurality of intended consumption facilities.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to transfer the hydrogen once stored in the hydrogen production plant for each transportation means, and it takes less time and can shorten transportation time, thereby greatly improving transportation efficiency. Is possible. In addition, since the distribution facility only moves the transport container, there is no need for a facility for transferring hydrogen, and existing facilities can be used.

The hydrogen production plant is provided on an offshore floating body or a remote island, and the first transport means is a RoRo (Roll on Roll off) ship, and the RoRo ship is mounted on a carriage. The second transport means is a tow vehicle that pulls the cart and individually transports it to the plurality of consumption facilities.
When hydrogen is transported by a tanker equipped with a large tank as in the past, the characteristics of hydrogen, that is, cryogenic conditions are essential for liquid hydrogen, and high-pressure conditions are essential for compressed hydrogen. Since severe conditions must be met, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated large tank and the cost of equipment such as a heat insulation wall increases. However, according to the present invention, an existing RoRo ship is used. In addition, since the port facilities do not require any special facilities and can use existing facilities, the facility costs can be greatly reduced.

In addition, it is preferable that the hydrogen production plant includes a hydrogen liquefaction unit that liquefies hydrogen gas generated by electrolyzing the water to form liquid hydrogen, and the transported hydrogen is liquid hydrogen. According to this, it is possible to transport a larger volume than to transport hydrogen by high-pressure gas.
Furthermore, the first transport means transports fresh water provided to the raw material for the electrolysis as ballast water to a hydrogen production plant along with a carriage carrying the emptied hydrogen transport container on the return path. . Conventionally, a desalination facility has been provided in a hydrogen production plant. However, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide the desalination facility, and the equipment cost can be reduced.

In addition, a central control facility connected to the plurality of consumption facilities via communication means is provided, the central control facility includes means for acquiring hydrogen demand data from each consumption facility, and each consumption facility based on the means Means for determining the type and capacity of the transport container to be transported, and means for giving an instruction of the type and capacity of the transport container to the hydrogen production plant via communication means such as a communication satellite. And
According to the present invention, hydrogen energy can be supplied according to the demand of a consumption facility, and an efficient transportation system can be realized.

Further, the second transportation means comprises a linear motor car that cools the superconducting coil with the liquid hydrogen of the load, and a tow truck that pulls the carriage and individually transports the plurality of hydrogen consumption facilities. To do.
Generally, a superconducting coil is mounted on a linear motor car for levitation and propulsion, and liquid helium is used to cool the superconducting coil. However, liquid helium has a problem that it is very expensive and transportation costs increase. According to the present invention, it is possible to cool the superconducting coil at a very low cost by using the liquid hydrogen of the cargo, and the economic effect is great.

Furthermore, the hydrogen production plant and / or the distribution facility is provided with a hydrogen storage tank for storing at least a part of the produced or transported hydrogen.
Thus, by providing a hydrogen storage tank for storage, it becomes possible to supply hydrogen energy stably in response to fluctuations in consumer demand.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to transfer the hydrogen once stored in the hydrogen production plant for each means of transportation, and it takes less time and can shorten the transportation time, thereby greatly improving transportation efficiency. Is possible. In addition, since the distribution facility only moves the transport container, there is no need for a facility for transferring hydrogen, and existing facilities can be used. Furthermore, according to this invention, hydrogen energy can be supplied according to the demand of a consumption facility.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, but are merely illustrative examples. Not too much.
1 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid hydrogen transport system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a liquid hydrogen transport system according to another embodiment of FIG. 1, and FIGS. It is the schematic which shows the transport system of the liquid hydrogen which concerns on Example 2, 3 of this invention, respectively.
In the present embodiment, a case where liquid hydrogen is transported will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied when transporting hydrogen as a high-pressure gas.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an offshore hydrogen production plant. On an offshore floating body 11 movably suspended on the ocean 100, a power generation facility 12 that generates electric power by natural energy such as wind energy, and power generation by the power generation facility 12 A water electrolysis apparatus 13 that generates hydrogen gas by electrolysis after seawater is desalinated with electric power; a hydrogen liquefaction apparatus 14 that liquefies the hydrogen gas with generated power generated by the power generation facility 12 to produce liquid hydrogen; Furthermore, a configuration is provided in which a not-shown sub-container is provided for subdividing the produced hydrogen into the hydrogen transport tank 21.
The power generation method in the power generation facility 12 is not limited to wind power generation using wind energy, but also solar power generation using solar light energy, tidal power generation that generates power using the difference in tides, It is possible to use a method using natural energy such as wave power generation using the vertical motion of the sea surface due to wave energy, ocean temperature difference power generation that generates power by the temperature difference between hot water and cold water.

In addition, since the power generation facility 12 using natural energy is used in the present embodiment, there are fluctuations due to weather, marine weather, etc., and the power generation facility 12 or the power generation facility 12 is provided in order to eliminate this. It is preferable to install two or more hydrogen production plants 10 at a distance so that fluctuations in the amount of power generation due to natural conditions, and consequently fluctuations in the amount of hydrogen production, are reduced.
Furthermore, it is preferable to install a plurality of liquid hydrogen tanks 15 for storing the produced liquid hydrogen as means for reducing such fluctuations.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a lorry vehicle, which includes a hydrogen transport tank 21 that stores liquid hydrogen, a carriage 22 on which the transport tank 21 is mounted, and a tow truck 23 that pulls the transport tank 21 on the carriage. The hydrogen transport tank 21 has a heat insulating structure, and the inside of the tank is maintained at a predetermined pressure of −253 ° C. or less at which hydrogen can be maintained in a liquid state. Further, the hydrogen transport tank 21 is installed on a carriage and can be easily moved by the towing vehicle 23 which is the second transport means of this embodiment.
Reference numeral 25 denotes a RoRo (Roll on Roll off) ship, which is the first transport means in this embodiment. By adopting a cargo handling method in which cargo is loaded and unloaded while being loaded onto a vehicle using this RoRo ship 25, combined integrated transport is possible in which transport is performed by combining land transport and sea transport.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a port facility installed on the coast of the consumer facility. In this embodiment, an existing port facility can be used. The port facility 30 is a facility for unloading and distributing the tank 21 carried by the RoRo ship 25 serving as the first transportation means.
Further, reference numeral 40 denotes a hydrogen station, which uses hydrogen energy by fuel supply equipment for transportation equipment such as automobiles, ships and aircraft, various factories using hydrogen raw materials such as petrochemical factories, direct combustion or fuel cells. It is a hydrogen consuming facility that uses hydrogen in various forms such as a power generation facility that generates power or a general household that uses hydrogen fuel. A plurality of these hydrogen stations 40 exist in various places at a distance.

In the present embodiment, the liquid hydrogen produced in the floating hydrogen production plant 10 is divided into a plurality of the hydrogen transport tanks 21 by the subdivision storage device, and the transport tank 21 filled with the liquid hydrogen is accommodated in the carriage 22. It is placed on and loaded into the RoRo ship 25. The RoRo ship 25 has means for fixing the transport tank 21 and is configured to withstand rocking during transport. The plurality of hydrogen transport tanks 21 are collectively transported to the port facility 30.
When the RoRo ship 25 arrives at the port facility 30, the transport tank 21 is lowered together with the cart 22, and the cart 22 on which the transport tank 21 is mounted is connected to the towing vehicle 23 as the second transport means. Then, the transport tank 21 is individually transported to each target hydrogen station 40 by the towing vehicle 23.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is not necessary to transfer liquid hydrogen once stored in the hydrogen production plant 10 for each transportation means, and it is possible to shorten the transportation time and to reduce transportation time. Can be significantly improved. Further, since the port facility 30 only moves the transport tank 21, there is no need for equipment for transferring liquid hydrogen, etc., and existing facilities can be used and equipment costs can be reduced.

  Next, another embodiment using the first embodiment will be described. The present embodiment includes the hydrogen production plant 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, a lorry vehicle 20, a RoRo ship 25, a port facility 30, and a hydrogen station 40, and as illustrated in FIG. The central control equipment 40 is provided in the configuration. The central control facility 40 is connected to the hydrogen production plant 10 via a communication line such as a communication satellite 51 via a wireless line, and is connected to each hydrogen station 40 via the Internet network 53. Further, the central controller 40 obtains the hydrogen demand data from each hydrogen station 40 via the Internet 53, and the type and capacity of the transport tank 21 transported to each hydrogen station 40 based on this means. And means for giving an instruction of the type and capacity of the transport tank 21 via the communication satellite 51.

In this embodiment, according to the demand from each hydrogen station 40, the central control facility 50 determines the type and capacity of the transport tank 21 and gives an instruction to the hydrogen production plant 10 side. Thus, liquid hydrogen is subdivided and stored in each transport tank 21.
Thus, by providing the central control facility 50, hydrogen energy can be supplied according to the demand of the hydrogen station 40, and an efficient transportation system can be realized.
In order to cope with fluctuations in demand for the hydrogen station 40, it is preferable to install a plurality of liquid hydrogen tanks 15 for storing the produced liquid hydrogen.

A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the second embodiment, the description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is omitted.
In the second embodiment, a hydrogen production plant 10 that produces liquid hydrogen, a RoRo ship 25 that is a first transportation means, a lorry vehicle 20 that is a second transportation means, and a port facility 30 that distributes a transportation tank 21. And a hydrogen station 40 that uses hydrogen for various purposes.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, on the return path of the RoRo ship 25, the RoRo ship 25 is loaded with a ballast water tank 28 filled with ballast water. The ballast water may be any fresh water and may be loaded in an amount capable of achieving the function as ballast water.

The ballast water is transported to the hydrogen production plant 10 and used as raw water for electrolysis in the hydrogen production plant 10.
According to such an embodiment, it is not necessary to provide a desalination facility as in the prior art, the facility cost can be reduced, and since fresh water having higher electrolysis efficiency than seawater is used, hydrogen generation efficiency is improved. To do.

Example 3 of the present invention is shown in FIG. The third embodiment is applied to a case where liquid hydrogen produced in the hydrogen production plant 10 is transported by land after being transported offshore. In the present embodiment, the description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted.
The hydrogen transport system according to the third embodiment includes a power generation facility 12 that generates power using natural energy, an electrolysis facility 13 that electrolyzes water using the generated power and generates hydrogen gas, Hydrogen production in which a hydrogen liquefier 14 for producing liquid hydrogen by liquefying the produced hydrogen gas, and a sub-container (not shown) for containing the produced liquid hydrogen in a hydrogen transport tank 21 are installed on an offshore floating body. A plant 10, a RoRo ship 25 as a first transportation means, a linear motor car 60 as a second transportation means, and a lorry vehicle 20 equipped with a towing vehicle 23 as another second transportation means, And a hydrogen station 40.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the linear motor car 60 includes a high-temperature superconducting coil 61 that is levitated and propelled. The superconducting coil 61 is built in the hydrogen transport tank 21, and the transport The superconducting coil 61 is cooled by cryogenic liquid hydrogen stored in the tank 21. Thus, in this embodiment, the conventional high temperature superconducting coil 61 cooled with liquid helium is cooled with liquid hydrogen in the transporting hydrogen transport tank 21. Thereby, it becomes possible to cool the superconducting coil at a very low cost by using the liquid hydrogen of the cargo, and it is possible to realize a transportation system having a large economic effect.

In the third embodiment, after the liquid hydrogen produced in the hydrogen production plant 10 is transported to the port facility 30 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) by the RoRo ship 25, the linear motor car 60 is transmitted from the port facility 30. It is characterized by being transported by.
The tank 21 transported by the linear motor car 60 is individually transported to the target hydrogen station 40 by the towing vehicle 23 which is another second transport means. Of course, transportation from the distribution facility 30 to the linear motor car 60 may be performed by the towing vehicle 23. That is, the combination of the second means can be changed as appropriate.
In addition, a storage tank 62 for liquid hydrogen may be installed on the liquid hydrogen transport route, so that hydrogen can be reliably supplied according to the demand of the hydrogen station 40 regardless of fluctuations in the hydrogen production amount and the transport amount. can do.

  In the present embodiment, the RoRo ship that is a tank transportation ship is used as the first transportation means, and the linear motor car or the lorry vehicle (towing vehicle) is used as the second transportation means. It is better to carry out long-distance transportation using an optimal transportation system in combination.

It is the schematic which shows the transport system of the liquid hydrogen which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows embodiment of the transport method of the liquid hydrogen which concerns on another Example of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the transport system of the liquid hydrogen which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the transport system of the liquid hydrogen which concerns on Example 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hydrogen production plant 11 Offshore floating body 12 Power generation equipment 13 Water electrolysis apparatus 14 Hydrogen liquefier 20 Raleigh car 21 Hydrogen transport tank 22 Carriage 23 Towing car (2nd transport means)
28 Ballast water 25 RoRo ship (first transportation)
30 Port Facility 40 Hydrogen Station 60 Linear Motor Car (Second Means of Transport)
61 Superconducting coil

Claims (7)

It has a hydrogen production plant that produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water with electric power generated using natural energy, and transports the produced hydrogen to a plurality of hydrogen consumption facilities located at remote locations from the hydrogen production plant In the hydrogen transport system,
Storage means for storing the produced hydrogen in a plurality of transport containers at the hydrogen production plant; first transport means for loading the plurality of transport containers and transporting them collectively to a distribution facility near a consumption facility; and the distribution A hydrogen transport system comprising: a second transport means for individually transporting the plurality of transport containers from a facility to a plurality of target consumer facilities.   The hydrogen production plant is provided on an offshore floating body or a remote island, and the first transport means is a RoRo (Roll on Roll off) ship, and the RoRo ship carries the transport container mounted on a carriage. 2. The hydrogen transport system according to claim 1, wherein the second transport means is a tow truck that pulls the carriage and individually transports the plurality of consumer facilities.   3. The hydrogen production plant includes hydrogen liquefaction means that liquefies hydrogen gas generated by electrolyzing the water to form liquid hydrogen, and the hydrogen to be transported is liquid hydrogen. The described hydrogen transport system.   The first transport means, on a return path, transports fresh water provided to the electrolysis raw material as ballast water to a hydrogen production plant together with a carriage on which the emptied hydrogen transport container is mounted. 2. The hydrogen transport system according to 2.   Central control equipment connected to the plurality of consumption facilities via communication means is provided, and the central control equipment obtains hydrogen demand data from each consumption facility, and transports to each consumption facility based on this means Means for determining the type and capacity of the transport container, and means for giving an instruction of the type and capacity of the transport container to the hydrogen production plant via communication means such as a communication satellite. The hydrogen transport system according to claim 1.   The second transport means includes a linear motor car that cools a superconducting coil with liquid hydrogen in a load, and a tow truck that pulls the carriage and individually transports the plurality of hydrogen consumption facilities. Item 4. The hydrogen transport system according to Item 3.   The hydrogen transport system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a hydrogen storage tank for storing at least a part of the produced or transported hydrogen is provided in the hydrogen production plant and / or the distribution facility.

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