H2scan P&S Catalog 2025 - Flipbook - Page 30
Reprinted from
Spring 2023
David Meyers, H2scan, USA
According to Forbes, the hydrogen economy will soon be ready for takeoff
and other conditions. Care must be taken to ensure that the selected sensor
given the strong global investment and desire to make hydrogen a leading
and underlying technology works for the intended use, for example:
sustainable source of energy.’ Hydrogen sensing will play a critical role in
making this goal a reality. This article will provide insights into the use and
•
impact of hydrogen sensors, both in current applications as well as within
Sensor performance may seem like a straightforward speci昀椀cation,
but the devil is in the details. For example, a quoted measurement
the emerging hydrogen economy.
accuracy of 0.1% could be the maximum error, or it could be the one
sigma error, or it could only be valid at room temperature and one
atmosphere of pressure. Also, the quoted accuracy speci昀椀cation may
What is a hydrogen sensor?
only be met after calibration for a speci昀椀ed period before drifting out
of speci昀椀cation.
Hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe, and
one would think that developing a device to measure its concentration
in a gas or liquid would be simple. Unfortunately, this is not the case; it
•
If other gases are present in the stream being measured, they could
took many years of research and development - from the early days
impact sensor accuracy. For example, carbon monoxide (CO) in a
when canaries were used to detect explosive gases in mines. The 昀椀rst
hydrogen stream can corrupt the hydrogen measurement when
sensor of the modern age was developed in 1926 by Dr. Oliver Johnson of
using certain gas sensing technologies. One must understand the gas
Standard Oil Co. His design measured the heat created by the presence
stream make-up and consider using a hydrogen-speci昀椀c sensor to
of combustible gases in air. This thermal conductivity technology is still
avoid cross-gas sensitivities.
used today, along with a range of new gas sensor technologies that have
been developed over the last 100 years. Each of these technologies (e.g.
•
From a total cost of ownership perspective, sensors should be
gas chromatography, catalytic bead, laser gas analysis, solid-state, etc.)
selected to minimise or avoid calibration, maintenance and service
were developed to address unmet gas sensing needs, and there are many
if possible. Some hydrogen sensor technologies have consumables,
issues to consider when applying these technologies to hydrogen sensing.
such as calibration gases, that must be periodically replaced. Also
common is the need for sensor calibration to maintain long-term
What to consider when selecting a hydrogen sensor for
industrial applications?
accuracy. One should understand the calibration interval and the
associated costs, especially for remote or hazardous locations, or
whether the system needs to be shut down for this maintenance.
Industrial sensing applications generally have challenging performance and
Beyond the upfront cost of the sensor and its installation/connectivity,
operational requirements that must be met over a range of environmental
one should consider the total cost - including the cost of training
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