MOBILE GASEOUS AND LIQUID HYDROGEN REFUELING APPARATUS

Abstract

Disclosed is a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus including a main storage module configured to receive liquid hydrogen from a tank lorry and to generate first gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen, a liquid pumping and transportation module configured to receive the liquid hydrogen from the main storage module, to generate second gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen while pumping the liquid hydrogen, and to deliver the second gaseous hydrogen to the main storage module, and a gas compression and storage module configured to receive at least one of the first gaseous hydrogen or the second gaseous hydrogen from the main storage module, to compress the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and to store the compressed gaseous hydrogen.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0058695, filed on May 20, 2019, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus using a road in a hydrogen filling mode.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is generally known, hydrogen is an element that is the lightest and the most abundant among elements on earth. Specifically, hydrogen occupies 75% of the mass of the universe. Hydrogen is a resource that is capable of being obtained simply by electrolyzing water and is very environmentally friendly since hydrogen emits no pollutants.

In addition, hydrogen has advantages in that hydrogen has very high energy efficiency, and therefore energy efficiency per unit weight of hydrogen is the highest among all resources including competing resources, such as gasoline, diesel, propane, methane, and ethanol.

Hydrogen has high energy efficiency, as described above. Due to recent development of technology, therefore, hydrogen is produced at a production plant in the form of production raw materials (e.g. petroleum, coal, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biofuel, and nuclear energy) and is transported to a point of use (e.g. a filling station, a building, a power plant, and a general house) in a gaseous state or in a liquid state.

Here, gaseous hydrogen has lower energy density per unit weight than liquid hydrogen (liquid hydrogen: 22 MJ/kg, gaseous hydrogen: 4.8 MJ/kg) and lower energy density per unit volume than liquid hydrogen (liquid hydrogen: 7.8 MJ/L (liter), gaseous hydrogen: 2.5 MJ/L (liter)). For these reasons, energy activation is limited in the case in which hydrogen is transported in a gaseous state.

Meanwhile, in a conventional hydrogen filling mode, hydrogen in a gaseous state (hereinafter referred to as “gaseous hydrogen”) is compressed to high pressure by a compressor before being supplied to a point of use. As a result, temperature of the gaseous hydrogen increases due to normal temperature expansion thereof when the gaseous hydrogen is injected into a fuel tank. For this reason, a cooler capable of cooling the gaseous hydrogen to −40° C. is inevitably required.

The compressor and the cooler have high power consumption, and form a complicated structure together with structural components therearound. In addition, hydrogen in a liquid state (hereinafter referred to as “liquid hydrogen”) needs a compressor capable of compressing the liquid hydrogen to high pressure together with an evaporator capable of converting the liquid hydrogen into a gaseous state before being supplied to a point of use.

In the aspect of use of the liquid hydrogen, however, the compressor is connected to the evaporator such that the liquid hydrogen is expanded and then compressed. As a result, components of the compressor and the evaporator easily corrode and suffer from a severe change in pressure, whereby the lifespan of the components is shortened. In addition, stability of the compressor and the evaporator is reduced due to high pressure, and therefore merits in use of the liquid hydrogen are deteriorated.

A mode of filling the gaseous hydrogen is similarly disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2017-0066587 entitled HYDROGEN STATION as a conventional art. A mode of filling the liquid hydrogen is similarly disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2019-0031386 entitled HYDROGEN FILLING APPARATUS as a conventional art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus that is capable of increasing pressure of liquid hydrogen in a main storage tank without using a compressor, whereby it is not necessary to use electric power due to an increase in pressure, that is capable of activating a connection relationship between the main storage tank and a hydrogen fuel consumption structure (e.g. a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility), and that is suitable for positively using a byproduct of liquid hydrogen in order to convert liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus including a main storage module configured to receive liquid hydrogen from a hydrogen liquefaction plant, a liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank, or a tank lorry and to generate first gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen, a liquid pumping and transportation module configured to receive the liquid hydrogen from the main storage module, to generate second gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen while pumping the liquid hydrogen, and to deliver the second gaseous hydrogen to the main storage module, a gas compression and storage module configured to receive at least one of the first gaseous hydrogen or the second gaseous hydrogen from the main storage module, to compress the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and to store the compressed gaseous hydrogen, and a gas conversion and transportation module configured to receive the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the liquid pumping and transportation module and the gas compression and storage module, respectively, to perform heat exchange between the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen to generate gaseous hydrogen filling gas from the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen, and to deliver the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to a gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank of a hydrogen gas filling station, wherein the main storage module pressurizes the liquid hydrogen based on pressure of the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and directly supplies the pressurized liquid hydrogen to a fuel tank of a hydrogen fuel consumption structure or to a liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station, even before or after being connected to the hydrogen gas filling station via the gas conversion and transportation module.

The main storage module may include a main storage tank surrounded by a protective wall, a first pipe line, a second pipe line, and a third pipe line, the main storage tank may individually communicate with the first pipe line, the second pipe line, and the third pipe line, each of the first pipe line and the third pipe line may be formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere, the second pipe line may be formed of a single pipe in order to allow heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere, and the liquid hydrogen may have an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar.

The first pipe line may be fixed to the main storage tank, may receive the liquid hydrogen from the hydrogen liquefaction plant, the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank, or the tank lorry, and may inject the liquid hydrogen into the main storage tank.

The second pipe line may be fixed to the upper part and the lower part of the main storage tank, may surround the main storage tank at one side of the main storage tank, and may have a zigzag pressure build-up unit under the main storage tank, and the second pipe line may phase-change the liquid hydrogen into the first gaseous hydrogen through heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere performed by the pressure build-up unit during flow of the liquid hydrogen from the lower part of the main storage tank, and may deliver the first gaseous hydrogen to the upper part of the main storage tank.

The third pipe line may be fixed to the main storage tank, and may inject the liquid hydrogen into the fuel tank of the hydrogen fuel consumption structure or into the liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station during pressurization of the at least one gaseous hydrogen into the liquid hydrogen in the main storage tank, and the hydrogen fuel consumption structure may include a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility, configured to receive the liquid hydrogen in the fuel tank and to be driven using the liquid hydrogen.

The liquid pumping and transportation module may include a high-pressure liquid pump, a fourth pipe line, and a fifth pipe line, the high-pressure liquid pump may be individually connected to the fourth pipe line and the fifth pipe line, and may communicate with a main storage tank of the main storage module via the fourth pipe line and the fifth pipe line, the fourth pipe line may be formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere, the fifth pipe line may be formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the second gaseous hydrogen and the atmosphere, and the liquid hydrogen may have an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar.

The fourth pipe line may be fixed to one side of the main storage tank of the main storage module, may communicate with the main storage tank, may connect the main storage tank and the high-pressure liquid pump to each other, may receive the liquid hydrogen from one side of the main storage tank, and may inject the liquid hydrogen into the high-pressure liquid pump.

The high-pressure liquid pump may receive the liquid hydrogen from the main storage tank of the main storage module through the fourth pipe line, may pump the liquid hydrogen to generate the pumped liquid hydrogen and the second gaseous hydrogen, and may deliver the pumped liquid hydrogen and the second gaseous hydrogen to the gas conversion and transportation module and the fifth pipe line, respectively, and the pumped liquid hydrogen may have a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

The fifth pipe line may be fixed to the other side of the main storage tank of the main storage module, may communicate with the main storage tank, may connect the main storage tank and the high-pressure liquid pump to each other, may receive the second gaseous hydrogen from the high-pressure liquid pump, and may inject the second gaseous hydrogen into the main storage tank.

The gas compression and storage module may include a compressor, a buffer storage tank, a sixth pipe line, and a seventh pipe line, the compressor and the buffer storage tank may be connected to each other via the sixth pipe line and the seventh pipe line and may communicate with the main storage tank of the main storage module, and each of the sixth pipe line and the seventh pipe line may be formed of a single pipe.

The sixth pipe line may be fixed to the main storage tank, may communicate with the main storage tank, may be located between the main storage tank and the compressor, may receive the at least one gaseous hydrogen from the main storage tank, and may inject the at least one gaseous hydrogen into the compressor.

The compressor may receive the at least one gaseous hydrogen from the sixth pipe line, may compress the at least one gaseous hydrogen to generate the compressed gaseous hydrogen, and may supply the compressed gaseous hydrogen to the seventh pipe line, and the compressed gaseous hydrogen may have density, pressure, and heat higher than density, pressure, and heat of the at least one gaseous hydrogen, respectively.

The seventh pipe line may connect the compressor and the buffer storage tank to each other on the seventh pipe line, may have a plurality of buffer storage tanks located on the seventh pipe line so as to be connected to each other in parallel, may receive the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the compressor, and may inject the compressed gaseous hydrogen into the buffer storage tanks, and the compressed gaseous hydrogen may have a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

The gas conversion and transportation module may include a thermal absorber, a radiator, an eighth pipe line, a ninth pipe line, and a tenth pipe line, each of the eighth pipe line, the ninth pipe line, and the tenth pipe line may be formed of a single pipe, the eighth pipe line may be connected to the high-pressure liquid pump of the liquid pumping and transportation module and may extend toward the tenth pipe line via the thermal absorber, the ninth pipe line may be connected to the buffer storage tank of the gas compression and storage module and may extend toward the tenth pipe line via the radiator, and the tenth pipe line may be connected to the eighth pipe line and the ninth pipe line around the thermal absorber and the radiator.

The eighth pipe line may receive the pumped liquid hydrogen from the high-pressure liquid pump of the liquid pumping and transportation module and may inject the pumped liquid hydrogen into the thermal absorber, and the eighth pipe line may receive heat from the thermal absorber to phase-change the pumped liquid hydrogen into the gaseous hydrogen filling gas and may deliver the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to the tenth pipe line.

The thermal absorber may surround the eighth pipe line, may communicate with the radiator, may receive heat from the radiator and the atmosphere, and may deliver the heat to the eighth pipe line.

The ninth pipe line may receive the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the buffer storage tank of the gas compression and storage module, may inject the compressed gaseous hydrogen into the radiator, may deliver heat of the compressed gaseous hydrogen to the radiator to convert the compressed gaseous hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen filling gas, and may deliver the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to the tenth pipe line.

The radiator may surround the ninth pipe line, may communicate with the thermal absorber, and may deliver heat of the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the ninth pipe line to the thermal absorber during rotation of a blowing fan of the radiator.

The tenth pipe line may receive the gaseous hydrogen filling gas from the eighth pipe line or the ninth pipe line and may inject the gaseous hydrogen filling gas into the gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station, a plurality of gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tanks or a plurality of liquid hydrogen storage and filling tanks may be located under the ground or on the ground at the hydrogen gas filling station, and the gaseous hydrogen filling gas may haves a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an image schematically showing a hydrogen industry supply chain according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an image schematically showing components of a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing in detail a connection relationship between the components of the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a main storage module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a liquid pumping and transportation module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a gas compression and storage module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a gas conversion and transportation module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 8 and 9 are images schematically illustrating a method of using the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the most preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that the present invention can be easily embodied by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

FIG. 1 is an image schematically showing a hydrogen industry supply chain according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the hydrogen industry supply chain according to the present invention includes a hydrogen liquefaction plant 10, a liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15, a tank lorry 20, a mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170, a hydrogen fuel consumption structure (not shown), and a hydrogen gas filling station (not shown). The hydrogen liquefaction plant 10 generates and liquefies hydrogen gas using production raw materials (e.g. petroleum, coal, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biofuel, and nuclear energy) to produce liquid hydrogen.

The liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15 receives and stores the liquid hydrogen from the hydrogen liquefaction plant 10, and distributes the liquid hydrogen to hydrogen use markets as needed. The tank lorry 20 receives the liquid hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15, stores the liquid hydrogen in a tank, and delivers the liquid hydrogen to the hydrogen use markets. However, the hydrogen liquefaction plant 10, the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15, and the tank lorry 20 may individually supply liquid hydrogen to the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 in addition to the supply connection relationship therebetween described above.

The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 supplies liquid hydrogen or gaseous hydrogen to the hydrogen fuel consumption structure or the hydrogen gas filling station on a road. That is, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may inject liquid hydrogen into a fuel tank of a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility, which is the hydrogen fuel consumption structure (see the arrow accompanied by LH2 in FIG. 2 or 9).

Here, the hydrogen fuel flight means includes a drone 189, the hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means includes a train 193, a ship 186, or a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190, and the hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility includes a general electronic device for home use. In addition, at the hydrogen gas filling station, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may inject liquid hydrogen into a liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank 200 (see the arrow accompanied by LH2 in FIG. 2 or 8) or may inject gaseous hydrogen into a gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank 210 (see the arrow accompanied by GH2 (also referred to as “gaseous hydrogen filling gas”) in FIG. 2 or 8).

A plurality of liquid hydrogen storage and filling tanks 200 and a plurality of gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tanks 210 may be located under the ground or on the ground at the hydrogen gas filling station.

FIG. 2 is an image schematically showing components of the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a system diagram showing in detail a connection relationship between the components of the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a main storage module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a view showing a liquid pumping and transportation module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a gas compression and storage module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3.

In addition, FIG. 7 is a view showing a gas conversion and transportation module extracted from the system diagram of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 includes a main storage module 60, a liquid pumping and transportation module 80, a gas compression and storage module 110, and a gas conversion and transportation module 160, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Here, as shown in FIG. 1 or 4, the main storage module 60 receives liquid hydrogen LH2 (see FIG. 4) from the hydrogen liquefaction plant 10, the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15, or the tank lorry 20, and generates first gaseous hydrogen GH2 (see FIG. 4) from the liquid hydrogen LH2.

The liquid pumping and transportation module 80 receives the liquid hydrogen LH2 from the main storage module 60, generates second gaseous hydrogen GH2 (see FIG. 5) from the liquid hydrogen LH2 while pumping the liquid hydrogen LH2, and delivers the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 to the main storage module 60.

The gas compression and storage module 110 receives at least one of the first gaseous hydrogen GH2 or the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 from the main storage module 60, compresses the at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2, and stores the compressed gaseous hydrogen, as shown in FIG. 6.

The gas conversion and transportation module 160 receives the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ (see FIG. 7) and the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ (see FIG. 6 or 7) from the liquid pumping and transportation module 80 and the gas compression and storage module 110, respectively, performs heat exchange between the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ and the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ to generate gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 (see FIG. 7) from the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ and the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+, as shown in FIG. 2 or 7, and fills the gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank 210 of the hydrogen gas filling station (not shown) with the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 under a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

Here, the main storage module 60 may pressurize the liquid hydrogen based on the pressure of the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and may directly supply the pressurized liquid hydrogen to a fuel pack of the fuel tank of the hydrogen fuel consumption structure (e.g. the hydrogen fuel flight means, the hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or the hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility), or may directly supply the pressurized liquid hydrogen to the liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank 200 of the hydrogen gas filling station, even before or after being connected to the hydrogen gas filling station via the gas conversion and transportation module 160.

More specifically, referring first to FIGS. 3 and 4, the main storage module 60 includes a main storage tank 40 surrounded by a protective wall 30, a first pipe line L1, a second pipe line L2, and a third pipe line L3. The main storage tank 40 individually communicates with the first pipe line L1, the second pipe line L2, and the third pipe line L3.

Each of the first pipe line L1 and the third pipe line L3 is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen LH2 and the atmosphere. The second pipe line L2 is formed of a single pipe in order to allow heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen LH2 and the atmosphere. Here, the liquid hydrogen LH2 has an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar.

The first pipe line L1 is fixed to the main storage tank 40, receives the liquid hydrogen LH2 from the hydrogen liquefaction plant 10, the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank 15, or the tank lorry 20 along a flow line F1, and injects the liquid hydrogen LH2 into the main storage tank 40. The second pipe line L2 is fixed to the upper part and the lower part of the main storage tank 40, surrounds the main storage tank 40 at one side of the main storage tank 40, and has a zigzag pressure build-up unit 50 under the main storage tank 40.

In addition, the second pipe line L2 phase-changes the liquid hydrogen LH2 into first gaseous hydrogen GH2 through heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen LH2 and the atmosphere performed by the pressure build-up unit 50 during flow of the liquid hydrogen LH2 from the lower part of the main storage tank 40, and delivers the first gaseous hydrogen GH2 to the upper part of the main storage tank 40. Here, the second pipe line L2 has a vent stack configured to discharge the first gaseous hydrogen GH2 to the outside through a plurality of safety valves at a predetermined pressure or higher.

The third pipe line L3 is fixed to the main storage tank 40, and injects liquid hydrogen LH2 into the fuel tank of the hydrogen fuel consumption structure 183, 186, 189, or 190 (see FIG. 1 or 4) or into the liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank 200 of the hydrogen gas filling station along a flow line F2 during pressurization of at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2 into the liquid hydrogen LH2 in the main storage tank 40. The hydrogen fuel consumption structure includes a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility, which is configured to receive liquid hydrogen LH2 in a fuel tank thereof and to be driven using the liquid hydrogen LH2.

More specifically, referring to the system diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 5, the liquid pumping and transportation module 80 includes a high-pressure liquid pump 70, a fourth pipe line L4, and a fifth pipe line L5. The high-pressure liquid pump 70 is individually connected to the fourth pipe line L4 and the fifth pipe line L5, and communicates with the main storage tank 40 of the main storage module 60 via the fourth pipe line L4 and the fifth pipe line L5. The fourth pipe line L4 is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen LH2 and the atmosphere.

The fifth pipe line L5 is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 and the atmosphere. Here, the liquid hydrogen LH2 has an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar. The fourth pipe line L4 is fixed to one side of the main storage tank 40 of the main storage module 60, communicates with the main storage tank 40, connects the main storage tank 40 and the high-pressure liquid pump 70 to each other, receives the liquid hydrogen LH2 from one side of the main storage tank 40, and injects the liquid hydrogen LH2 into the high-pressure liquid pump 70.

The high-pressure liquid pump 70 receives the liquid hydrogen LH2 from the main storage tank 40 of the main storage module 60 through the fourth pipe line L4, pumps the liquid hydrogen LH2 to generate pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ (see FIG. 7) and second gaseous hydrogen GH2, and delivers the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ and the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 to the gas conversion and transportation module 160 and the fifth pipe line L5, respectively. Here, the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

The fifth pipe line L5 is fixed to the other side of the main storage tank 40 of the main storage module 60, communicates with the main storage tank 40, connects the main storage tank 40 and the high-pressure liquid pump 70 to each other, receives the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 from the high-pressure liquid pump 70, and injects the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 into the main storage tank 40.

In addition, more specifically, referring to the system diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 6, the gas compression and storage module 110 includes a compressor 90, a buffer storage tank 100, a sixth pipe line L6, and a seventh pipe line L7. The compressor 90 and the buffer storage tank 100 are connected to each other via the sixth pipe line L6 and the seventh pipe line L7, and communicate with the main storage tank 40 of the main storage module 60. Each of the sixth pipe line L6 and the seventh pipe line L7 is formed of a single pipe.

The sixth pipe line L6 is fixed to the main storage tank 40, communicates with the main storage tank 40, is located between the main storage tank 40 and the compressor 90, receives at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2 from the main storage tank 40, and injects the at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2 into the compressor 90. The reason for this is that the first gaseous hydrogen GH2 and the second gaseous hydrogen GH2 may be simultaneously or individually generated by the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 as needed.

The compressor 90 receives the at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2 from the sixth pipe line L6, compresses the at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2 to generate compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+, and supplies the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ to the seventh pipe line L7. The compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ has density, pressure, and heat higher than those of the at least one gaseous hydrogen GH2.

The seventh pipe line L7 connects the compressor 90 and the buffer storage tank 100 to each other on the seventh pipe line L7, has a plurality of buffer storage tanks 100 located on the seventh pipe line L7 so as to be connected to each other in parallel, receives the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ from the compressor 90, and injects the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ into the buffer storage tanks 100. Here, the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

In addition, more specifically, referring to the system diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 7, the gas conversion and transportation module 160 includes a thermal absorber 130, a radiator 150, an eighth pipe line L8, a ninth pipe line L9, and a tenth pipe line L10. Each of the eighth pipe line L8, the ninth pipe line L9, and the tenth pipe line L10 is formed of a single pipe.

As shown in FIG. 3, the eighth pipe line L8 is connected to the high-pressure liquid pump 70 of the liquid pumping and transportation module 80, and extends toward the tenth pipe line L10 via the thermal absorber 130. As shown in FIG. 3, the ninth pipe line L9 is connected to the buffer storage tank 100 of the gas compression and storage module 110, and extends toward the tenth pipe line L10 via the radiator 150. The tenth pipe line L10 is connected to the eighth pipe line L8 and the ninth pipe line L9 around the thermal absorber 130 and the radiator 150.

Here, the eighth pipe line L8 receives the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ from the high-pressure liquid pump 70 of the liquid pumping and transportation module 80, and injects the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ into the thermal absorber 130. In addition, the eighth pipe line L8 receives heat from the thermal absorber 130 to phase-change the pumped liquid hydrogen LH2+ into gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2, and delivers the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 to the tenth pipe line L10.

The thermal absorber 130 surrounds the eighth pipe line L8, communicates with the radiator 150, receives heat from the radiator 150 and the atmosphere, and delivers the heat to the eighth pipe line L8. The ninth pipe line L9 receives the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ from the buffer storage tank 100 of the gas compression and storage module 110, injects the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ into the radiator 150, delivers heat of the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ to the radiator 150 to convert the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ into gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2, and delivers the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 to the tenth pipe line L10.

The radiator 150 surrounds the ninth pipe line L9, communicates with the thermal absorber 130, and delivers the heat H (see FIG. 2) of the compressed gaseous hydrogen GH2+ from the ninth pipe line L9 to the thermal absorber 130 during rotation of a blowing fan 145 of the radiator 150.

The tenth pipe line L10 receives the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 from the eighth pipe line L8 or the ninth pipe line L9, and injects the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 into the gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank 210 of the hydrogen gas filling station along a flow line F3 (see FIG. 3). A plurality of liquid hydrogen storage and filling tanks 200 or a plurality of gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tanks 210 is located under the ground or on the ground at the hydrogen gas filling station. The gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are images schematically illustrating a method of using the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 8, in a hydrogen filling mode according to a first embodiment of the present invention, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may be connected to the gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank 210 via the tenth line L10 of the gas conversion and transportation module 160, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7.

The gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank 210 may receive gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 from the buffer storage tank 100 (see FIG. 6) of the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 through the tenth line L10 along the flow line F3, may store the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2, and may deliver the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 to a filling terminal 220 along a flow line F4 in response to the request of a driver of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190. In this case, the filling terminal 220 may inject the gaseous hydrogen filling gas GH2 into the fuel tank of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190 along a flow line F7.

In addition, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may be connected to the liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank 200 via the third line L3 of the main storage module 60, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank 200 may receive liquid hydrogen LH2 from the main storage tank 40 (see FIG. 4) of the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 through the third line L3 along a flow line F5, may store the liquid hydrogen LH2, and may deliver the liquid hydrogen LH2 to the filling terminal 220 along a flow line F6 in response to the request of the driver of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190.

In this case, the filling terminal 220 may inject the liquid hydrogen LH2 into a fuel pack of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190 along the flow line F7.

Next, referring to FIG. 9, in a hydrogen filling mode according to a second embodiment of the present invention, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may directly inject liquid hydrogen LH2 into the fuel tank or the fuel pack of the hydrogen fuel flight means, including the drone 189, on a road, or may directly inject liquid hydrogen LH2 into the fuel tank or the fuel pack of the hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, including the train 183, the ship 186, or the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

In this case, the liquid hydrogen LH2 may be injected from the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 into the fuel tank or the fuel pack of the train 183, the ship 186, the drone 189, or the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle 190 through the third line L3 of the main storage tank 40. In addition, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus 170 may directly inject the liquid hydrogen LH2 into the fuel tank or the fuel pack of the hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility, including the general electronic device for home use.

As is apparent from the above description, the mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to the present invention includes a main storage tank, a high-pressure liquid pump, and a thermal absorber, wherein the pressure of liquid hydrogen in the main storage tank is increased using the high-pressure liquid pump, and the pumped liquid hydrogen is delivered to the thermal absorber, and therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to reduce power consumption to 1/10 through the use of the high-pressure liquid pump, whereby it is possible to improve hydrogen filling performance, compared to the use of a compressor in the conventional art, as is known to those skilled in the art.

The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to the present invention further includes a pipe line surrounding a portion of the main storage tank in addition to the main storage tank, wherein the pipe line absorbs heat from the atmosphere to phase-change liquid hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen during flow of the liquid hydrogen from the main storage tank to the pipe line, and the gaseous hydrogen is delivered to the main storage tank such that the liquid hydrogen is pressurized in the main storage tank based on pressure of the gaseous hydrogen, whereby it is possible to directly fill a fuel tank or a fuel pack of a hydrogen fuel consumption structure (e.g. a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility) with the liquid hydrogen.

The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to the present invention further includes a compressor, a buffer storage tank, and a radiator in addition to the main storage tank, the high-pressure liquid pump, and the thermal absorber, wherein at least one of first gaseous hydrogen generated by partially phase-changing liquid hydrogen in the main storage tank or second gaseous hydrogen generated as a byproduct during pumping of the liquid hydrogen by the high-pressure liquid pump is compressed by the compressor and is stored in the buffer storage tank, whereby it is possible to perform heat exchange between the compressed gaseous hydrogen and the pumped liquid hydrogen through the thermal absorber and the radiator, and therefore it is possible to convert both the compressed gaseous hydrogen and the pumped liquid hydrogen into gases hydrogen filling gas.

Although the present invention has been described in detail based on the concrete embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited thereto and that various modifications, additions, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus comprising:

a main storage module configured to receive liquid hydrogen from a hydrogen liquefaction plant, a liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank, or a tank lorry and to generate first gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen;

a liquid pumping and transportation module configured to receive the liquid hydrogen from the main storage module, to generate second gaseous hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen while pumping the liquid hydrogen, and to deliver the second gaseous hydrogen to the main storage module;

a gas compression and storage module configured to receive at least one of the first gaseous hydrogen or the second gaseous hydrogen from the main storage module, to compress the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and to store the compressed gaseous hydrogen; and

a gas conversion and transportation module configured to receive the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the liquid pumping and transportation module and the gas compression and storage module, respectively, to perform heat exchange between the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen to generate gaseous hydrogen filling gas from the pumped liquid hydrogen and the compressed gaseous hydrogen, and to deliver the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to a gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank of a hydrogen gas filling station, wherein

the main storage module pressurizes the liquid hydrogen based on pressure of the at least one gaseous hydrogen, and directly supplies the pressurized liquid hydrogen to a fuel tank of a hydrogen fuel consumption structure or to a liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station, even before or after being connected to the hydrogen gas filling station via the gas conversion and transportation module.

2. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the main storage module comprises a main storage tank surrounded by a protective wall, a first pipe line, a second pipe line, and a third pipe line,

the main storage tank individually communicates with the first pipe line, the second pipe line, and the third pipe line,

each of the first pipe line and the third pipe line is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and an atmosphere,

the second pipe line is formed of a single pipe in order to allow heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere, and

the liquid hydrogen has an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar.

3. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first pipe line is fixed to the main storage tank, receives the liquid hydrogen from the hydrogen liquefaction plant, the liquid hydrogen storage and distribution tank, or the tank lorry, and injects the liquid hydrogen into the main storage tank.

4. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the second pipe line is fixed to an upper part and a lower part of the main storage tank, surrounds the main storage tank at one side of the main storage tank, and has a zigzag pressure build-up unit under the main storage tank, and

the second pipe line phase-changes the liquid hydrogen into the first gaseous hydrogen through heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and the atmosphere performed by the pressure build-up unit during flow of the liquid hydrogen from the lower part of the main storage tank, and delivers the first gaseous hydrogen to the upper part of the main storage tank.

5. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the third pipe line is fixed to the main storage tank, and injects the liquid hydrogen into the fuel tank of the hydrogen fuel consumption structure or into the liquid hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station during pressurization of the at least one gaseous hydrogen into the liquid hydrogen in the main storage tank, and

the hydrogen fuel consumption structure comprises a hydrogen fuel flight means, a hydrogen fuel land and sea movement means, or a hydrogen fuel industrial power generation house facility, configured to receive the liquid hydrogen in the fuel tank and to be driven using the liquid hydrogen.

6. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the liquid pumping and transportation module comprises a high-pressure liquid pump, a fourth pipe line, and a fifth pipe line,

the high-pressure liquid pump is individually connected to the fourth pipe line and the fifth pipe line, and communicates with a main storage tank of the main storage module via the fourth pipe line and the fifth pipe line,

the fourth pipe line is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the liquid hydrogen and an atmosphere,

the fifth pipe line is formed of a double insulative vacuum pipe in order to prevent heat exchange between the second gaseous hydrogen and the atmosphere, and

the liquid hydrogen has an absolute temperature of 20K (=−253° C.) and a pressure of 5 bar.

7. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the fourth pipe line is fixed to one side of the main storage tank of the main storage module, communicates with the main storage tank, connects the main storage tank and the high-pressure liquid pump to each other, receives the liquid hydrogen from one side of the main storage tank, and injects the liquid hydrogen into the high-pressure liquid pump.

8. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the high-pressure liquid pump receives the liquid hydrogen from the main storage tank of the main storage module through the fourth pipe line, pumps the liquid hydrogen to generate the pumped liquid hydrogen and the second gaseous hydrogen, and delivers the pumped liquid hydrogen and the second gaseous hydrogen to the gas conversion and transportation module and the fifth pipe line, respectively, and

the pumped liquid hydrogen has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

9. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the fifth pipe line is fixed to the other side of the main storage tank of the main storage module, communicates with the main storage tank, connects the main storage tank and the high-pressure liquid pump to each other, receives the second gaseous hydrogen from the high-pressure liquid pump, and injects the second gaseous hydrogen into the main storage tank.

10. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the gas compression and storage module comprises a compressor, a buffer storage tank, a sixth pipe line, and a seventh pipe line,

the compressor and the buffer storage tank are connected to each other via the sixth pipe line and the seventh pipe line, and communicate with the main storage tank of the main storage module, and

each of the sixth pipe line and the seventh pipe line is formed of a single pipe.

11. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the sixth pipe line is fixed to the main storage tank, communicates with the main storage tank, is located between the main storage tank and the compressor, receives the at least one gaseous hydrogen from the main storage tank, and injects the at least one gaseous hydrogen into the compressor.

12. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the compressor receives the at least one gaseous hydrogen from the sixth pipe line, compresses the at least one gaseous hydrogen to generate the compressed gaseous hydrogen, and supplies the compressed gaseous hydrogen to the seventh pipe line, and

the compressed gaseous hydrogen has density, pressure, and heat higher than density, pressure, and heat of the at least one gaseous hydrogen, respectively.

13. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the seventh pipe line connects the compressor and the buffer storage tank to each other on the seventh pipe line, has a plurality of buffer storage tanks located on the seventh pipe line so as to be connected to each other in parallel, receives the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the compressor, and injects the compressed gaseous hydrogen into the buffer storage tanks, and

the compressed gaseous hydrogen has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.

14. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the gas conversion and transportation module comprises a thermal absorber, a radiator, an eighth pipe line, a ninth pipe line, and a tenth pipe line,

each of the eighth pipe line, the ninth pipe line, and the tenth pipe line is formed of a single pipe,

the eighth pipe line is connected to a high-pressure liquid pump of the liquid pumping and transportation module, and extends toward the tenth pipe line via the thermal absorber,

the ninth pipe line is connected to a buffer storage tank of the gas compression and storage module, and extends toward the tenth pipe line via the radiator, and

the tenth pipe line is connected to the eighth pipe line and the ninth pipe line around the thermal absorber and the radiator.

15. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein

the eighth pipe line receives the pumped liquid hydrogen from the high-pressure liquid pump of the liquid pumping and transportation module, and injects the pumped liquid hydrogen into the thermal absorber, and

the eighth pipe line receives heat from the thermal absorber to phase-change the pumped liquid hydrogen into the gaseous hydrogen filling gas, and delivers the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to the tenth pipe line.

16. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the thermal absorber surrounds the eighth pipe line, communicates with the radiator, receives heat from the radiator and an atmosphere, and delivers the heat to the eighth pipe line.

17. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the ninth pipe line receives the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the buffer storage tank of the gas compression and storage module, injects the compressed gaseous hydrogen into the radiator, delivers heat of the compressed gaseous hydrogen to the radiator to convert the compressed gaseous hydrogen into gaseous hydrogen filling gas, and delivers the gaseous hydrogen filling gas to the tenth pipe line.

18. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the radiator surrounds the ninth pipe line, communicates with the thermal absorber, and delivers heat of the compressed gaseous hydrogen from the ninth pipe line to the thermal absorber during rotation of a blowing fan of the radiator.

19. The mobile gaseous and liquid hydrogen refueling apparatus according to claim 14, wherein

the tenth pipe line receives the gaseous hydrogen filling gas from the eighth pipe line or the ninth pipe line, and injects the gaseous hydrogen filling gas into the gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tank of the hydrogen gas filling station,

a plurality of gaseous hydrogen storage and filling tanks or a plurality of liquid hydrogen storage and filling tanks is located under a ground or on the ground at the hydrogen gas filling station, and

the gaseous hydrogen filling gas has a pressure of 500 bar or higher.