Tech Corner: Reciprocating compressors and the hydrogen economy

Reciprocating compressors have been used in hydrogen service for years, primarily in the refinery and petrochemical industries. Recently, companies have been trying to determine what is required for the energy transition and how they can participate. Companies have come up with several “new” hydrogen applications. These new applications, such as hydrogen storage, hydrogen mobility, and hydrogen blending (with natural gas) will have different requirements for hydrogen compression than have been typical for refinery and petrochemical applications.

This paper will describe the “new” applications, including summarizing the operating conditions and the compressor requirements, along with some of the projects being considered. These can be complex applications and because of that, some users are willing to operate outside of the typical hydrogen operational limits that have been used for years in the refinery and petrochemical industries.