Identification and treatment of hydrogen leaks in hydrogenation units
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The hydrogen-related systems in hydrogenation units may be at risk of hydrogen leaks. How do colleagues in the industry identify and address such leaks during daily operations? In many cases, using soapy water doesn’t work, while the hydrogen detector keeps giving alarms. Have you encountered such situations? How should these issues be dealt with? Welcome to in-depth discussions
For low temperatures, use soapy water to check for bubbles; for high temperatures, use a combustible gas detector. Leaks will gradually be contained. The concern is that sand holes might form in the pipes or pipe fittings, which would make things difficult to fix
If the high-pressure system leaks, a large amount of leakage will produce a sound. If the leak is small but still triggers an alarm on the combustible gas analyzer, it is possible to determine the location of the leak by measuring the concentration of combustible gases and relying on practical experience. Or enter the area around the leak from the upwind side to conduct an inspection. High-temperature areas can be located using an infrared imaging device.
Minor hydrogen leaks are entirely unavoidable; as long as they are within acceptable levels of airtightness and there are no large individual leaks, there is no need to worry too much about them
Use a hydrogen gas detector, combined with wind direction analysis
Does your workplace not conduct inspections with the lights turned off?
I encountered a situation where hydrogen was not airtight; the platform design was unreasonable, making it impossible to wrap tape around it, and it was also difficult to reach areas with soapy water. Fortunately, I had a combustible gas detector with me~~~~ The top cover of the buffer tank at the new hydrogen inlet had its high-pressure flange not properly tightened, which reduced the level of airtightness for hydrogen. A full set of anti-explosion wrenches was used to tighten everything properly. Generally, hydrogen is airtight and the temperature isn’t too high; we use tape for wrapping, make a small hole after half an hour, and use a combustible gas detector for monitoring.
LDAN’s factory-specific leak detection tool – worth giving it a try