JP6378632B2 - Hydrogen unloading method and hydrogen station - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hydrogen unloading method for unloading hydrogen from a hydrogen station, and a hydrogen station.

  As a conventional hydrogen station, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, a pressure accumulating unit that stores hydrogen at a high pressure, and a pressure increasing unit (compressor) that pressurizes hydrogen supplied from outside and fills the pressure accumulating unit. And a dispenser for filling the vehicle with hydrogen of the pressure accumulator are known. In the hydrogen station described in Patent Document 1, various devices are appropriately arranged in a cabinet in order to improve safety and workability.

JP 2013-167288 A

  By the way, in the hydrogen station as described above, for example, when hydrogen is transported by a moving body such as a trailer from a facility different from the hydrogen station, and this hydrogen is stored in the pressure accumulator (so-called off-site type is adopted). ) In this case, when unloading the hydrogen from the moving body, even if the hydrogen pressure in the container of the moving body is sufficiently high, the hydrogen in the container is usually once depressurized by, for example, a pressure reducing valve. The pressure is increased by the pressure increasing unit and accumulated in the pressure accumulating unit. Therefore, there is a possibility that the operating cost is deteriorated.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and makes it a subject to provide the hydrogen unloading method and hydrogen station which can reduce an operating cost.

  The hydrogen unloading method according to the present invention unloads the hydrogen from a mobile body having a container for storing hydrogen to a hydrogen station including a pressure accumulating unit for storing hydrogen and a pressure increasing unit for increasing the pressure of hydrogen. A hydrogen unloading method comprising a pressure detection process for detecting the pressure in a container of a moving body, and an unloading process for unloading based on a detection result in the pressure detection process. In the unloading process, When the pressure in the container detected in the pressure detection step is higher than the threshold value, the first unloading step of transferring the hydrogen in the container to the pressure accumulating portion is performed by the differential pressure between the container and the pressure accumulating portion, When the pressure in the container detected in the pressure detection process is equal to or lower than the threshold value, a second unloading process is performed in which hydrogen in the container is sucked by the pressure increasing unit.

  A hydrogen station according to the present invention includes a pressure accumulating unit for storing hydrogen, a pressure increasing unit for increasing hydrogen, a pressure detecting unit for detecting a pressure in a container of a mobile body having a container for storing hydrogen, and a pressure accumulating unit from the container A first hydrogen line through which hydrogen flows through the first on-off valve, a second hydrogen line through which hydrogen flows through the second on-off valve from the container to the suction side of the pressurization unit, and detection by the pressure detection unit And a control unit that controls the first and second on-off valves based on the result, and the control unit includes the first on-off valve when the pressure in the container detected by the pressure detection unit is higher than the threshold value. When the pressure in the container detected by the pressure detector is below a threshold value, the second on-off valve is opened when the pressure in the container is transferred to the pressure accumulator by the differential pressure between the container and the pressure accumulator. Then, the hydrogen in the container is sucked by the pressurizing unit.

  In such a hydrogen unloading method and hydrogen station, when the pressure in the container of the moving body is less than the threshold value, hydrogen can be sucked by the pressure increasing unit, while the pressure in the container of the moving body exceeds the threshold value. In this case, hydrogen can be transferred to the pressure accumulating portion with a differential pressure between the container and the pressure accumulating portion. Therefore, it is possible to unload hydrogen without relying on the boosting unit (without operating the boosting unit), and it is possible to reduce the operating cost, and at a flow rate faster than the flow rate limited by the boosting unit. Hydrogen can be transferred to the pressure accumulator.

  Further, in the hydrogen unloading method according to the present invention, in the second unloading step, the pressure inside the container is sucked by the pressure rising portion, and the hydrogen is transferred to the suction side of the pressure increasing portion other than the pressure accumulating portion or the pressure increasing portion. It may be transferred. As described above, the hydrogen in the container sucked by the pressurizing unit in the second unloading process can be transferred to the suction side of the pressure accumulating unit or the other pressurizing unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a hydrogen unloading method and a hydrogen station capable of reducing operating costs and transferring hydrogen at a higher flow rate.

It is a system configuration figure showing a hydrogen station concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a system block diagram which shows the principal part of the hydrogen station of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement including the hydrogen unloading method in the hydrogen station of FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a hydrogen station 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the hydrogen station 100 according to the present embodiment is a facility for supplying hydrogen to a filling target. The hydrogen station 100 here employs a so-called off-site type in which hydrogen is purified and transported by a trailer (moving body) T in a facility different from the hydrogen station. Examples of the filling target include a hydrogen vehicle such as a fuel cell vehicle, a fuel cell forklift, and a fuel cell motorcycle.

  The hydrogen station 100 includes a hydrogen receiving unit 1 that receives hydrogen from the outside, a first boosting unit (boosting unit) 2 that boosts hydrogen on the front side, and a first pressure accumulating unit (accumulating pressure) that stores hydrogen on the front side. Part) 3, a second boosting part (another boosting part) 4 for boosting hydrogen on the rear stage side, a second pressure accumulating part 6 for storing hydrogen on the rear stage side, and for filling the filling target with hydrogen And a dispenser 7. In the present embodiment, the hydrogen automobile M is exemplified as the filling target.

  The hydrogen receiving unit 1 is connected to a plurality or a single hydrogen container bank 11 loaded on the trailer T, and receives hydrogen stored in the hydrogen container bank 11. The hydrogen receiving unit 1 is connected to the first pressure accumulating unit 3 through a line L21 and is connected to the first boosting unit 2 through a line L22. The 1st pressure | voltage rise part 2 is comprised by the compressor which compresses hydrogen. The first booster 2 here is constituted by a low-pressure compressor whose compression pressure is lower than that of the second booster 4.

The compressor which comprises the 1st pressure | voltage rise part 2 can compress hydrogen, for example to 20-45 Mpa, and can pump hydrogen by 300 Nm < ³ > / hr. The first booster 2 is connected to the first accumulator 3 via a line L2.

  The 1st pressure accumulation part 3 is comprised by the pressure accumulator 8 which stores hydrogen. The maximum filling pressure of the pressure accumulator 8 is set to 20 to 45 MPa. The pressure accumulator 8 is constituted by a plurality of or a single container. In FIG. 1, the first pressure accumulator 3 includes the pressure accumulator 8, but the number of the pressure accumulators 8 included in the first pressure accumulator 3 is not particularly limited. A line L31 is drawn out from the outlet side of the pressure accumulator 8, and the line L31 is connected to a line L3 that circulates hydrogen to the suction side of the second booster 4.

The 2nd pressure | voltage rise part 4 is comprised by the compressor which compresses hydrogen. Here, the second booster 4 is configured by a high-pressure compressor having a higher compression pressure than the first booster 2. The compressor which comprises the 2nd pressure | voltage rise part 4 can compress hydrogen, for example to 70-95 Mpa, and can pump 300-1200 Nm < ³ > / hr hydrogen.

  The second pressure accumulator 6 is composed of a plurality of pressure accumulators 9 that store hydrogen. The maximum filling pressure of the pressure accumulator 9 is set to 70 to 95 MPa. The pressure accumulators 9 are each constituted by a plurality of or a single container. In FIG. 1, the second accumulator 6 includes three accumulators (banks) 9, but the number of the accumulators 9 is not particularly limited.

  A line L5 for distributing hydrogen to each pressure accumulator 9 is connected to the second booster 4. The line L5 is branched to lines L6 to L8, and these lines L6 to L8 are connected to the inlet side of each pressure accumulator 9, respectively. Lines L10 to L12 are drawn from the outlet side of each pressure accumulator 9, and these lines L10 to L12 are connected to the line L13. The line L13 is connected to the dispenser 7 via the line L14.

  Of the three pressure accumulators 9 shown in FIG. 1, the pressure accumulator 9A functions as a pressure accumulator for filling hydrogen at a high pressure (hereinafter referred to as “high pressure bank 9A” for explanation). The vessel 9C functions as a pressure accumulator (hereinafter referred to as “low pressure bank 9C”) for charging hydrogen at a lower pressure than the high pressure bank 9A, and the pressure accumulator 9B is a pressure between the high pressure bank 9A and the low pressure bank 9C. It functions as a pressure accumulator (hereinafter referred to as “intermediate pressure bank”) for charging hydrogen.

  Incidentally, as illustrated, a line L9 for connecting the line L5 and the line L13 may be further provided. Thereby, the hydrogen pumped from the second pressure raising unit 4 can be supplied to the dispenser 7 without the pressure accumulator 9. Further, a line L4 that connects the first booster 2 and the line L3 may be further provided. Thereby, for example, when the pressure accumulator 8 is full (reach the maximum filling pressure), the hydrogen boosted by the first booster 2 is directly supplied to the second booster 4 via the line L4 and the line L3. Can supply.

  With the above configuration, on the front stage side of the hydrogen station 100, the hydrogen received by the hydrogen receiving unit 1 from the hydrogen container bank 11 of the trailer T is transferred to the pressure accumulator 8 of the first pressure accumulating unit 3 by the differential pressure. Or stored in the pressure accumulator 8 of the first pressure accumulating unit 3 (details will be described later). The hydrogen stored in the first pressure accumulator 3 is supplied to the second pressure booster 4 on the rear stage side of the hydrogen station 100 via the line L3.

  On the rear stage side of the hydrogen station 100, hydrogen supplied from the front stage side is stored in each pressure accumulator 9 of the second pressure accumulator 6. At this time, it is necessary to keep the residual pressure high in the order of the high pressure bank 9A, the intermediate pressure bank 9B, and the low pressure bank 9C. The supplied hydrogen is first supplied to the high pressure bank 9A and then the intermediate pressure bank 9A. 9B and finally to the low-pressure bank 9C.

  When the hydrogen vehicle M is filled with the dispenser 7, the hydrogen stored in the pressure accumulator 9 of the second pressure accumulator 6 is filled in the hydrogen vehicle M via the dispenser 7. Specifically, after the hydrogen in the low-pressure bank 9C or the intermediate-pressure bank 9B is filled into the hydrogen automobile M, the hydrogen automobile M is filled with hydrogen in the high-pressure bank 9A maintained at a high pressure as finish filling. Or the hydrogen pumped from the 2nd pressure | voltage rise part 4 may pass the line L9, and may be directly filled into the hydrogen vehicle M.

  Here, the principal part of the hydrogen station 100 of this embodiment is demonstrated concretely, referring FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram showing a main part of the hydrogen station 100 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the hydrogen station 100 is connected to the hydrogen container bank 11 of the trailer T via the hydrogen receiving unit 1, the downstream side of the line L20, and the inlet side of the pressure accumulator 8. A line L21, a line L22 connected to the downstream side of the line L20 and the suction side of the first booster 2, and a line L2 connected to the discharge side of the first booster 2 and the inlet side of the pressure accumulator 8. It is equipped with.

  A connection valve 12 is provided in the line L20. The connection valve 12 controls the connection related to the hydrogen flow with the hydrogen container bank 11 by allowing or blocking the flow of hydrogen on the line L20. As the connection valve 12, various valves (valves) such as an electromagnetic valve can be adopted (the same applies to the following connection valves). The line L21 distributes the hydrogen flowing through the line L20 to the pressure accumulator 8, and the connection valve 13 is provided in the line L21. The connection valve 13 controls the connection related to the hydrogen flow with the pressure accumulator 8 by allowing or blocking the flow of hydrogen on the line L21.

  The line L22 circulates the hydrogen flowing through the line L20 to the suction side of the first booster 2, and the connection valve 14 is provided in the line L22. The connection valve 14 controls the connection related to the hydrogen flow with the suction side of the first booster 2 by allowing or blocking the flow of hydrogen on the line L22. The line L2 distributes the hydrogen boosted by the first booster 2 to the pressure accumulator 8, and a connection valve 16 is provided in the line L2. The connection valve 16 controls the connection related to the hydrogen flow on the discharge side of the first booster 2 by allowing or blocking the flow of hydrogen on the line L2.

  The hydrogen station 100 also includes a line L31 connected to the outlet side of the pressure accumulator 8, and a line L3 connected to the suction side of the second booster 4. A connection valve 15 is provided in the line L31. The connection valve 15 controls the connection related to the hydrogen flow between the pressure accumulator 8 and the second booster 4 by allowing or blocking the flow of hydrogen on the line L31.

  Furthermore, the hydrogen station 100 includes a pressure gauge 18 and a control unit 19. The pressure gauge 18 is a pressure detection unit that detects the pressure of hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11. The pressure gauge 18 outputs the detection result to the control unit 19. The pressure gauge 18 is not particularly limited, and various pressure gauges can be used as long as the pressure in the hydrogen container bank 11 can be detected.

  The control unit 19 controls the opening and closing of the connection valves 13 to 16 based on the detection result by the pressure gauge 18. For example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory) are provided. It is comprised by the computer containing.

  Specifically, when the pressure detected by the pressure gauge 18 is higher than the threshold value α, the control unit 19 opens the connection valve 13 and closes the connection valve 14 to thereby close the hydrogen container bank 11 and the pressure accumulator 8. The hydrogen is transferred to the pressure accumulator 8 by the pressure difference between the two. On the other hand, when the pressure detected by the pressure gauge 18 is equal to or less than the threshold value α, the control unit 19 opens the connection valve 14 and closes the connection valve 13, thereby causing the first pressure increase unit 2 to close the hydrogen container bank 11. Hydrogen is sucked and increased in pressure and accumulated in the accumulator 8.

  The threshold value α is preset and stored in the control unit 19 based on, for example, the maximum filling pressure of the hydrogen container bank 11 and the pressure accumulator 8, or the minimum suction pressure of the second pressure increasing unit 4. As the threshold value α, any value in the range of 20 MPa to 40 MPa can be adopted, and here it is set to 35 MPa. Incidentally, as will be described later, the hydrogen station 100 of the present embodiment can adopt a configuration of a manual switching mechanism that does not include the control unit 19.

  Next, an example of an operation (operation by the control unit 19) including the hydrogen unloading method in the hydrogen station 100 described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing operations including a hydrogen unloading method in the hydrogen station 100 of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, first, the high pressure unloading of hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11 is started by opening the connection valve 12 of the trailer T with the hydrogen container bank 11 (S1). Subsequently, the pressure of hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11 is detected by the pressure gauge 18, and it is determined by the control unit 19 whether or not the pressure is greater than the threshold value α (S2: pressure detection step).

  When the pressure in the hydrogen container bank 11 is larger than the threshold value α (in the case of Yes in S2 above), the control unit 19 opens the connection valve 13 with the pressure accumulator 8, and The connection valve 14 is closed (S3). Thereby, with the differential pressure between the hydrogen container bank 11 and the pressure accumulator 8, the hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11 is transferred to the pressure accumulator 8 and accumulated (S4: first unloading step). As a result, for example, the pressure in the pressure accumulator 8 is in a state close to that in the hydrogen container bank 11. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the differential pressure between the pressure accumulator 8 and the hydrogen container bank 11 is less than a certain value (5 MPa) (S5). When the pressure difference between the pressure accumulator 8 and the hydrogen container bank 11 is less than a certain value (YES in the upper S5), the process proceeds to S10 described later.

  When the differential pressure between the pressure accumulator 8 and the hydrogen container bank 11 is equal to or greater than a certain value (NO in S5), the control unit 19 opens the connection valve 15 to the suction side of the second booster 4. As a result, hydrogen in the pressure accumulator 8 is supplied to the suction side of the second booster 4 (S6). As a result, the hydrogen in the pressure accumulator 8 is sucked and boosted by the second pressure boosting unit 4, and the hydrogen is appropriately stored in each pressure accumulator 9 of the second pressure storage unit 6 (S7). When each pressure accumulator 9 (second pressure accumulator 6) reaches the maximum filling pressure, the second pressure booster 4 is stopped (S8). Then, the unloading of hydrogen from the hydrogen container bank 11 of the trailer T is continued while the connection valve 13 to the pressure accumulator 8 is kept open (S9). Alternatively, when the pressure difference between the pressure accumulator 8 and the hydrogen container bank 11 becomes less than a constant value (5 MPa) in the process of S4 and S6 to S8, the process proceeds to S10 described later.

  On the other hand, when the pressure in the hydrogen container bank 11 is equal to or less than the threshold value α (in the case of No in S2), the control unit 19 opens the connection valves 14 and 16 with the first pressure increasing unit 2 and the pressure accumulator. 8 is closed (S10). As a result, the hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11 is sucked and boosted by the first pressurizing unit 2, and the hydrogen is stored in the pressure accumulator 8 (S11: second unloading step).

  Subsequently, the control unit 19 opens the connection valve 15 with the suction side of the second booster 4 to supply hydrogen in the pressure accumulator 8 to the suction side of the second booster 4 (S12). ). As a result, the hydrogen in the pressure accumulator 8 is sucked and boosted by the second pressure increasing unit 4, and the hydrogen is appropriately stored in each pressure accumulator 9 of the second pressure accumulating unit 6 (S13). When each pressure accumulator 9 (second pressure accumulator 6) reaches the maximum filling pressure, the second pressure booster 4 is stopped (S14). Then, the unloading of hydrogen is continued in the pressure accumulator 8 (first pressure accumulating portion 3) with the first pressure boosting portion 2 while the connection valve 14 with the first pressure boosting portion 2 is kept open (S15).

  After S9 and S15, the process proceeds to S2 again until it is determined that the pressure of the pressure accumulator 8 has reached the maximum filling pressure, while it is determined that the pressure of the pressure accumulator 8 has reached the maximum filling pressure. In this case, the connection valves 13, 14, and 16 are closed, and the operation is finished (S16, S17).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the pressure in the hydrogen container bank 11 exceeds the threshold value α, hydrogen can be transferred to the accumulator 8 by differential pressure transfer. That is, when the pressure in the hydrogen container bank 11 is larger than the threshold value α, the hydrogen in the hydrogen container bank 11 is differentially transferred to the accumulator 8 via the line L21 bypassing the first pressurizing unit 2, and the hydrogen container bank 11 to the pressure accumulator 8 can be transferred directly. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to unload hydrogen without using the first booster 2 (without operating the first booster 2), and it is possible to reduce operating costs. Become. At the same time, when the flow rate of hydrogen is limited in the first pressurizing unit 2, hydrogen can be transferred to the first pressure accumulating unit 2 (pressure accumulator 8) at a flow rate faster than the limited flow rate.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The present invention is modified without departing from the scope described in the claims or applied to others. It may be.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the control unit 19 is provided, and the control unit 19 controls the opening and closing of the connection valves 13, 14, and 16 based on the detection result of the pressure gauge 18. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The part 19 may not be provided. In this case, for example, the above-described effects can be realized by appropriately controlling the opening and closing of the connection valves 13, 14, and 16 based on the detection value of the pressure gauge 18 by the operator. In short, the present invention executes the first unloading step of transferring hydrogen to the accumulator 8 by differential pressure transfer when the pressure in the hydrogen vessel bank 11 is higher than the threshold value α, and the pressure in the hydrogen vessel bank 11 Is equal to or less than the threshold value α, the second unloading step of sucking hydrogen by the first boosting unit 2 may be executed.

  The hydrogen container bank 11 of the above embodiment may be configured to include, for example, a high-pressure bank having an internal pressure greater than 35 MPa and a low-pressure bank having an internal pressure of 35 MPa or less, for example. In this case, after the hydrogen is transferred from the high pressure bank of the hydrogen vessel bank 11 to the pressure accumulator 8 or simultaneously with the transfer of the differential pressure, the hydrogen is accumulated from the low pressure bank of the hydrogen vessel bank 11 by the first booster 2. The pressure may be accumulated in the vessel 8.

  In the above, the line L20 and the line L21 constitute a first hydrogen line, the line L20 and the line L22 constitute a second hydrogen line, the connection valve 13 constitutes a first on-off valve, and the connection valve 14 constitutes a second The on-off valve is configured.

  2 ... 1st pressure | voltage rise part (pressure | voltage rise part), 3 ... 1st pressure accumulation part (pressure accumulation part), 4 ... 2nd pressure | voltage rise part (other pressure | voltage rise parts), 11 ... Hydrogen container bank (container), 13 ... Connection Valve (first on-off valve), 14 ... connection valve (second on-off valve), 16 ... connection valve (discharge valve of the first booster), 18 ... pressure gauge (pressure detector), 19 ... controller , 100 ... hydrogen station, L2 ... line (discharge line of the first booster), L21 ... line (first hydrogen line), L22 ... line (second hydrogen line), M ... hydrogen automobile (moving body).

Claims (3)

A pressure accumulator for storing hydrogen;
A hydrogen unloading method for unloading the hydrogen from a mobile body having a container for storing hydrogen, with respect to a hydrogen station including a pressure increasing unit that pressurizes hydrogen,
A pressure detection step of detecting the pressure in the container of the moving body;
An unloading step of unloading based on the detection result in the pressure detection step,
In the unloading process,
When the pressure in the container detected in the pressure detection step is higher than a threshold value, a first unloading that transfers hydrogen in the container to the pressure accumulating part by a differential pressure between the container and the pressure accumulating part. Execute the process,
A hydrogen unloading method, wherein when the pressure in the container detected in the pressure detection step is equal to or lower than the threshold value, a second unloading step of sucking hydrogen in the container by the pressure increasing unit is executed.   In the second unloading step, hydrogen in the container is sucked by the boosting unit, and the hydrogen is supplied to a suction side of another boosting unit different from the pressure accumulating unit or the boosting unit. The hydrogen unloading method described. A pressure accumulator for storing hydrogen;
A booster for boosting hydrogen;
A pressure detecting portion for detecting a pressure in the container of a moving body having a container to store hydrogen,
A first hydrogen line through which hydrogen flows from the container to the pressure accumulator through a first on-off valve;
A second hydrogen line through which hydrogen flows from the container to the suction side of the pressurizing unit via a second on-off valve;
A control unit for controlling the first and second on-off valves based on a detection result by the pressure detection unit,
The controller is
When the pressure in the container detected by the pressure detection unit is higher than a threshold value, by opening the first on-off valve, hydrogen in the container is caused by a differential pressure between the container and the pressure accumulating unit. Is transferred to the pressure accumulating section,
A hydrogen station that, when the pressure in the container detected by the pressure detection unit is equal to or lower than the threshold value, opens the second on-off valve to suck the hydrogen in the container by the boosting unit.

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