【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】From 1986 to 2008, a professor from Zhejiang University developed the world’s largest hydrogen storage tank with a capacity of 5 cubic meters

Thread Content

The chemical processing industry has seen significant development over the past decade; let’s celebrate the prosperity and strength of modern China. By contributing our ideas, we can foster more active participation from everyone. HaiChuan becomes even better with your involvement – we welcome everyone to join in the discussions on this forum. ********************************************* At the beginning of 2008, hydrogen fuel-powered demonstration vehicles appeared on the streets of Beijing, showcasing the concepts of \"green technology\" and \"green Olympics\" to friends both at home and abroad. These high-tech vehicles were powered by the world’s largest hydrogen storage tank, with a capacity of 5 cubic meters. It is 11 times larger than the largest high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks in the United States (the most advanced technology there allows such tanks to have a volume of 0.411 cubic meters). 　　The world’s largest high-pressure hydrogen storage tank was developed by a research team led by Professor Zheng Jinyang from the Institute of Chemical Machinery at Zhejiang University. 　　Currently, many countries around the world are testing hydrogen-powered vehicles and gradually moving towards their industrialization. Because hydrogen is used as a fuel for cars, the cars emit water vapor, resulting in virtually no pollution. Moreover, there are various raw materials for hydrogen production, including oil, natural gas, solar energy, water, wind power, and more. 　　But for hydrogen-powered vehicles to be truly accessible to the general public, in addition to reducing costs and improving reliability, the filling process needs to be as simple and fast as refueling a conventional car. 　　A few years ago, it took a whole day and night just to refill a hydrogen fuel cell bus with hydrogen. Increasing the internal pressure of the hydrogen storage tank can speed up the hydrogen filling process; however, as the pressure rises, the volume of the tank is limited, resulting in relatively small sizes. The most advanced technology in the United States allows high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks to have a volume of 0.411 cubic meters. It’s like having a limited supply of diesel; the cars don’t get enough fuel. To enable them to travel longer distances, several hydrogen storage tanks need to be connected together to supply hydrogen to the cars, but this increases the number of potential leakage points, making it unsafe. Because hydrogen is a flammable and explosive gas, in confined spaces its flammability and explosiveness are much higher than those of oil. So the hydrogen storage tank must be large in size. 　　Now, it only takes 15 minutes to fill a bus using the hydrogen storage tank developed by Professor Zheng and his team. These days, scientists from the United States, Japan, Germany, and other countries have flocked to Beijing to see the world’s largest hydrogen storage tank.