Make your combustion process ready for a future with hydrogen.
Optimized Combustion Control for Hydrogen-operated Boiler
Climate neutrality, sustainability and the reduction of CO2 emissions are now global trends. The decarbonization of the energy sector plays an important role in this context, as this sector contributes significantly to CO2 emissions. A promising strategy here is the use of renewable gases, such as biogas or sustainably produced hydrogen gas, or admixtures of renewable gases with natural gas. Thanks to its versatility, hydrogen is a particularly promising candidate for supporting decarbonization efforts, with great potential for the future.
However, operating gas appliances with hydrogen or a hydrogen/natural gas blend poses several challenges and requires several adaptions to ensure devices can operate reliably and safely while remaining energy efficient. Sensirion offers solutions to enable boilers to operate efficiently and safely with 100% hydrogen as well as with varying hydrogen/natural gas blends.
Choose Sensirion as your technology provider to enable your boiler to be ready for a hydrogen future. Our sensor portfolio offers the right products to meet the high requirements for these emerging applications.
Be “H2 Ready”
Sensirion's solutions are available today to ensure combustion appliances such as boilers can become H2 ready.
Would you like to learn more or discuss a specific project with us? Please contact our sensor experts via industrialsensirioncom.
Applications
Ensure energy efficiency for boilers running with H2/natural gas blends by measuring the hydrogen concentration
It is already planned that in the coming years, natural gas will be blended with up to 23% of hydrogen. Studies have shown that this results in a loss of output energy for boilers. This is caused by a sub-optimal combustion process under varying hydrogen concentrations in the fuel.
Sensirion’s sensor solutions can determine the proportion of hydrogen in the H2/natural gas blend as a fraction. This information can be considered as an input signal by the combustion control algorithm and helps to tune the system to always and continuously achieve maximal output power.
Control combustion process of boilers running on 100% hydrogen by measuring the air/gas intake
Existing approaches relying on the ionization node to monitor the combustion process do not work anymore if appliances are operated with 100% H2.
Sensirion’s sensor solution monitors the air and hydrogen intake as well as a the H2/air mixing ratio. This allows for precise control of the combustion process. By monitoring the input parameters, the system can react faster and is therefore more precise.
Measuring Hydrogen with the Microthermal Measurement Principle
Using hydrogen admixtures in particular is a novel practice, and its compatibility with the current gas infrastructure is not yet fully understood, nor has it been investigated in depth. Gas meters are an essential part of the gas infrastructure and are indispensable in reliably and fairly billing gas consumption for all gas customers.
In this article, we will examine the metrological behavior of the microthermal measurement principle for gas meters operating with natural gas mixtures containing significant amounts of hydrogen. We will present measurement data, discuss measurement accuracy and operational safety, and explain why the compact size of microthermal gas meters can be maintained regardless of the hydrogen admixtures, which is a key advantage compared to other meter technologies.
Read the complete specialist article.
Efficient Air and H2 Gas Flow Measurements in Bypass Configuration
Measuring gas flow in applications requiring high precision and cost efficiency is a challenge. Where in the gas flow should a sensor be positioned? And how should the flow guide be designed to achieve the best-possible results while keeping the production processes simple? Experience with many of our customers' applications and endurance tests for product certification give a clear answer: In most cases, a bypass configuration is preferable to placing the sensor in the direct flow. Read our application page on system design in bypass configurations. Read our article here.
Measuring the Concentration of Hydrogen in a H2/Natural Gas Blends
Sensirion’s solutions measure the concentration of hydrogen in a H2/natural gas blends. In order to do this, a compact sensor module is placed directly into the fuel pipeline. Continuous monitoring allows for a precise control. In case the mixing ration changes, the sensor will immediately detect the new concentration. This signal can be used to adapt the combustion process, ensuring that the boiler always runs at optimal performance.
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