As temperature records are broken year by year, we can see that extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent. In this context, governments around the world are taking increasingly clear actions to fulfill their commitments made in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming.

For a long time in the future, fossil fuels will continue to be the main energy source in the energy consumption structure, and hydrogen energy, as the link between fossil fuels and renewable energy, will help achieve a sustainable cycle of transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Compression is an important component of the hydrogen industry chain, necessary for the movement, storage, and utilization of hydrogen gas. From producing hydrogen gas to consuming hydrogen gas, different types of compression are required. In this field, we do not ‘focus‘ on the‘ color ‘and production method of hydrogen gas, we only consider compression issues based on its physical properties.

Reciprocating compressors have inherent advantages for applications with low molar mass. According to downstream application requirements, it is estimated that about 50% of compressors use oil-free lubrication; In other application scenarios, using oil lubricated compressors will result in higher compression efficiency, higher compression ratio, and lower operating costs.

Choosing the right hydrogen compressor lubricant will provide you with a better product experience. Based on the experience accumulated by Krupp lubricants in hydrogen compression applications, the following three factors are the selection criteria for lubricants for hydrogen reciprocating compressors:

1. Compressor shutdown time

Under hydrogen conditions, horizontal reciprocating compressors often unexpectedly shut down due to frequent valve replacement and excessive wear of cylinder rings and packing. This is often related to one or more factors such as lubricant absorption of hydrogen, incorrect selection of ISO viscosity grade, and improper control of feed rate.

Some lubricants are susceptible to hydrogen absorption in high-pressure environments (commonly at the end of the compression process), leading to changes in performance. To compensate for this deficiency, a common approach is to increase the lubricant supply to the high-pressure cylinder and/or increase the viscosity. This can lead to excessive wear of the cylinder ring and packing, valve jamming, decreased efficiency, and even premature failure.

2. Impact on downstream

Oil lubricated compressors cannot avoid the situation where lubricating oil mixes with hydrogen gas and enters downstream processes. How to reduce the impact of lubricants on downstream processes and ensure compatibility with downstream processes, especially catalysts, is a necessary consideration for hydrogen compressor lubricating oil.

3. Cost analysis

Cost analysis needs to be considered from multiple perspectives, which requires comprehensive consideration of multiple aspects: reducing feed rate to reduce consumption, improving compressor operation time and efficiency, extending the service life of key components, increasing the average time between failures, and improving catalyst efficiency. A comprehensive evaluation of these factors is necessary to accurately determine which lubricant is the more economical choice.

 

Kl ü ber Summit DSL 125 XM is a hydrogen compressor lubricant with UOP process certification, helping hydrogen compressors operate economically and sustainably. A customer in the chemical industry originally used a certain brand of P150 compressor oil. These compressors undergo standard maintenance once a year, and the valves are disassembled and cleaned every six months. Due to blockage, wear and damage occur, and the air valves need to be replaced irregularly. Kluber recommends Summit DSL 125 XM, a high-performance compressor lubricant designed for hydrogen compressors. The air valve remains in good condition even after six months of continuous use, significantly reducing the need for parts replacement; After using DSL 125XM lubricant, the compressor no longer needs to be shut down due to valve replacement, and production efficiency has been significantly improved. At the same time, we have observed a decrease in lubricant consumption, and the lubrication efficiency of each compressor is currently in a continuous optimization stage. However, a 5% to 8% reduction in lubricant consumption has been observed.