{"id":38326,"date":"2024-03-26T16:38:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T16:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alicat.com\/?post_type=article&p=38326"},"modified":"2026-01-28T15:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:57:17","slug":"druckwechsel-adsorptions-wasserstoffgas","status":"publish","type":"support","link":"https:\/\/www.alicat.com\/de\/support\/pressure-swing-adsorption-hydrogen-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Automatisierung der Druckwechseladsorption von Wasserstoffgas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_heading title=”Automating pressure swing adsorption of hydrogen gas” _builder_version=”4.23.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_heading][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Why is hydrogen gas purification\u00a0<\/strong>necessary?<\/h2>\n

The growth of the hydrogen economy is driven by the development of many hydrogen sources, including blue, gold, green, yellow, red, turquoise, brown, black, orange, and white hydrogen.<\/p>\n

Depending on which production source is used, the refinement and purification of hydrogen gas may be a required postproduction step for hydrogen\u2019s use in various industrial processes. Whereas hydrogen gases generated by electrolysis (including green, yellow, and pink) are typically extremely pure (> 99% H2<\/sub>), other types such as white and orange hydrogen may require separation from other trace gases to become as concentrated.<\/p>\n

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA)<\/a> is a reliable technique to purify hydrogen and other gases (such as oxygen or nitrogen) to high concentrations at ambient temperatures, often above 99%. PSA works by adding mixed gases to selective adsorbents with high affinity for specific gases under pressure. In other words, pressure swing adsorption causes some gases to stick to adsorbents under pressure, allowing for free gases to be separated from the stuck ones.<\/p>\n

Alicat\u2019s mass flow meters or controllers can improve the tracking and automation of inlet and outlet gas flow for PSA systems operating under 20 barG while Alicat\u2019s pressure controllers can regulate the pressure or flow of any of these PSA systems under all operating conditions. The following discusses how this works in depth, using the purification of hydrogen gas as an example.<\/p>\n

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) of hydrogen gas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>The four main steps in hydrogen pressure swing adsorption (PSA) include adsorption, depressurization, regeneration, and repressurization.<\/p>\n

Adsorption<\/h3>\n

After prefiltering, in the first stage of adsorption, mixed inlet gases are flowed into a chamber containing a series of adsorbents such as zeolite minerals and pressurized with the gas source to a high pressure (typically between 10-40 bar, depending on the specific system). The inlet is closed. Under this high pressure, ambient gases in the mix, or those besides hydrogen, adsorb, or cling to the surfaces of the zeolite minerals, separating them from the hydrogen gas.<\/p>\n

In some hydrogen PSA systems, this is reversed such that the hydrogen or other gases you are trying to purify stick to the adsorbent while the unwanted gases remain in gas form in the chamber. Modifications in design include single, double, or multi-chamber PSA configurations.<\/p>\n

During this stage, either mass flow controllers or pressure controllers can be used to regulate gas inflow or chamber pressure conditions, providing control loop automation with totalizing and batching features for continuous operation. Alternatively, a mass flow meter such as M-Series<\/a> running in a control loop with electronic valves could also be used for PSA flow or chamber pressure regulation.<\/p>\n

If using controllers, either a MC-Series<\/a> running in pressure control mode (restricted as a choice only for under 20 barG systems) or a PC-Series<\/a> are ideal choices for this use, with additional specs and features including:<\/p>\n