In energy supply systems with a surplus of electrical energy from renewable sources, hydrogen can be produced cost-effectively by electrolysis and later serve as an energy reserve when needed. PEM electrolysis is a widely used electrochemical process for the production of hydrogen in industry. The proton exchange membrane is used to split water (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2).
The ET 282 trainer contains all the components needed to investigate hydrogen production on an industrial scale. The typical process stages are divided into: water treatment, hydrogen production and hydrogen treatment and storage.
Water treatment uses an ion exchanger to produce ultrapure water for the process. Hydrogen is produced in a PEM electrolyser, which is supplied via an electrical DC voltage source.
The hydrogen, which is heavily saturated with water, is then treated with water separators, a cooling section and a drying unit for intermediate storage in a buffer tank. The hydrogen from the buffer tank can be filled into a gas cylinder for further use. Unused or excess hydrogen is safely released via a vent line. As a safety procedure, the pipes are purged with nitrogen before the system is shut down (N2 not included in delivery).
Two adsorber filters are installed in parallel for maintenance of the drying unit. The remaining service life of the filters is recorded and displayed.
The experimental plant is controlled and operated via GUNT software (external PC required). Level, temperature and conductivity of ultrapure water are monitored. The measured values for hydrogen flow rate, temperature and pressure, as well as current and voltage at the electrolyser are also recorded. The GUNT software is used to analyse the energy balance.
