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China Science Fortune Sea’s PSA high-purity hydrogen production facility comes online Author/Source: Gas Separation Date: 2022-01-19 Clicks: 15 On January 16, the hydrogen PSA purification and recovery facility, invested in and built by Anhui China Science Haohai Gas Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Science Fortune Sea, was successfully put into operation. The hydrogen produced has a purity of 99.999%, meeting the quality requirements for high-purity hydrogen as specified by national standards as well as those for hydrogen used in fuel cells. Anhui Zhongke Haohai Gas Technology Co., Ltd. was established in January 2019. It is a holding subsidiary of Beijing Zhongke Fuhai Cryogenic Technology Co., Ltd., and is located in Yingdong District, Fuyang City, Anhui Province. The company focuses on investing in the development of high-purity specialty electronic gases as well as advanced hydrogen energy projects; the high-purity specialty electronic gas production facility was successfully put into operation in 2021 ； The high-end hydrogen project has a total investment of 64.93 million yuan, and includes a hydrogen purification unit with a capacity of 2,000 m3/h as well as a hydrogen liquefaction unit with a capacity of 1.5 T/D. The hydrogen purification unit put into operation this time can produce 9,760,000 Nm3 of high-purity hydrogen per year (on a standard condition basis). The hydrogen liquefaction unit is under accelerated construction, and it is expected to be able to produce qualified liquid hydrogen by mid-2022; once completed, it will have an annual production capacity of 3,240,000 Nm3 of liquid hydrogen (on a standard condition basis). In addition to serving hydrogen refueling stations for fuel cell vehicles, thanks to the significantly higher purity achieved after the vaporization of liquid hydrogen, it will also meet the demand for hydrogen with a purity level of 6N or higher in industries such as optical fibers, semiconductors, and integrated circuits. It is reported that the pressure swing adsorption hydrogen purification equipment developed by Zhongke Fuhai features PLC/DCS automatic control, thereby enhancing the automation level as well as the overall management efficiency of the process units and auxiliary facilities ； Highly efficient and reliable programmable valves, adsorption towers, and other equipment are used to ensure the safe and stable operation of the system over extended periods of time. The hydrogen used in this project comes from the chemical by-product hydrogen produced by Anhui Haoyuan Group; it contains a high level of impurities and has a complex composition. In particular, the argon component present in this hydrogen source is difficult to remove using conventional pressure swing adsorption methods. Based on the conditions of the feed gas, Zhongke Fuhai selects the appropriate type and ratio of adsorbents, thereby ensuring the purity and yield of the hydrogen product as well as the lifespan of the adsorbents ； Given the high purity requirements for argon in electronic-grade hydrogen, a specialized adsorbent has been developed; this adsorbent has a much higher capacity to adsorb argon than hydrogen ； Multiple adsorption performance tests were conducted to achieve a separation coefficient of over 10N, ultimately overcoming the technical challenge of hydrogen-argon separation. At the same time, the pressure swing adsorption hydrogen purification technology developed by Zhongke Fuhai can effectively increase the hydrogen recovery rate, reduce the consumption of raw gas, and lower energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. It plays a vital role in helping the refining and modern coal chemical industries improve their efficiency, reduce emissions, and promote the adoption of green technologies, thereby contributing to China’s achievement of its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.