Liquid hydrogen facilities

Fig. 1. Over-all process flow diagram, tonnage liquid-hydrogen facility.

Storage of liquid hydrogen is achieved in large well-insulated tanks from which it is dispensed to liquid tankers for transport over the road. The use of hydrogen sensors (mostly flammable sensors) in and around such facilities is a common safety practice today. As hydrogen-specific sensors and solid-state sensors become more reliable, and if their cost is reduced they will replace the more common flammable gas sensors. 

The foregoing observations have direct implications to coal structure. In the present work, the production of liquids is facile below about 15% liquids yield and requires little hydrogen consumption. The processes most probably involve the release of species which are physically trapped or are weakly bonded to the insoluble matrix. At high conversions, the products are derived from the breakdown of the macromolecular network. This phase of conversion requires the cleavage and stabilisation of strong bonds, thereby creating an appreciable demand for hydrogen. 

The treatment of the product of the sodium hydride or sodium amalgam reaction described above with liquid hydrogen chloride at low temperature produces an extremely unstable boron hydride which is shown to be octaborane(14) by elemental analysis and boron-11 nmr 223>. This new hydride decomposes quantitatively to octaborane(12) and hydrogen in minutes at room temperature. The structure proposed 223> on the basis of the boron-11 nmr spectrum violates the topological principles based on hydrogen atom crowding 141> and is thus consistent with this facile decomposition. 

Weintraub, A. A., "Control of Liquid Hydrogen Hazards at Experimental Facilities," May 1965 Health and Safety Laboratory, New York Operations Office, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. 

Fig. 27.6. A typical facility where liquid hydrogen is produced and stored. (Courtesy Air Liquide Canada.)...

Liquid hydrogen storage requires refrigeration to a temperature of 20 K, and the liquefaction process requires an industrial facility expending a minimum... 

These areas of technology growth are illustrated in Table IV by a series of liquid hydrogen production facilities built by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. to serve federal needs over 2 decades, 1957-1977. 

A Small Scale Slush Hydrogen Facility has been constructed by NASA to study ways of optimizing the SLH2 production process and provide a test bed for advanced instrumentation. The tank with a total volume of 0.76 is vacuum jacketed and wrapped in several inches multilayer insulation plus a liquid nitrogen shield in the upper tank part. A 1 kW heater is used to simulate a heat leak or a warming up. The tank also offers the option to install a liquid helium slush auger for research on this method of production. In a 17 m long and 0.05 m diameter vacuum jacketed transfer line, studies on flow characteristics and instrumentation can be conducted [40]. 

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