Micro-design and optimization of a hydrogen compressor, purifier and water purifier for generation of hydrogen from water electrolysis

Objectives of the Project The major objective of this project is to design facilities serving as pre- and post- processor, i.e. RotoH2OPure for supplying the hydrogen generation system with cooling and purified water and RotoH2Comp&Pure for compressing an d purification of produced hydrogen for further storage and/or utilization purpose. At the stage of schematic design, models with different mechanisms will be tested and compared by numerical simulation with prototype manufacturing and verification of key parameter impacts based on which systematic optimization will be carried out for the next stage. Critical R&D challenges 1. Apart from the design of traditional centrifugal compressors which usually acquires large amount of CFD and field tests and theref ore become very consuming, the current project focuses on designs based on non-conventional compressing mechanisms theoretically feasible with few commercial applications in niche areas, e.g. rotating heat pipes with no blade gap loss or Tesla pump using boundary layer effects as driving force. Moreover, the applicability for enhancing thermodynamic performance needs proving especially for the first stage design of RotoH2Comp&Pure where Taylor vortices are involved in the heat transfer process. 2. The pro cess of separating and purifying hydrogen is of key importance to the extensive utilization of hydrogen energy with regard but not limited to the requirement for storage and safety concerns. Some technologies e.g. membrane/film with porous supporting mate rials are getting more and more satisfactory consensus while catalytic oxidization in the current case needs more fundamental work. 3. In the current design of RotoH2OPure, the major concern should probably be the system pressure control, backwashing of t he internal walls to fulfill the purity requirements and creating low pressure region for water evaporation and further distillation by using artificial G-force lacking referential experience in concerned courses.