Simulation and experiment of a hydrogen liquefaction test rig using a multi-component refrigerant refrigeration system

A small-scale laboratory hydrogen liquefaction plant that contains a new innovative MR (multi-component refrigerant) refrigeration system is proposed. A test rig was constructed to verify the simulation of this system. Initial experiments indicated that the rig were able to adequately cool normal hydrogen gas from 25 °C to −158 °C at a flow rate of 0.6 kg/h using a simplified five-component MR mixture refrigeration system. The power consumption of pre-cooling from the MR compressor was 1.76 kW h per kilogram of feed hydrogen gas. After two weeks, the lowest temperature was about −180 °C when a few additional grams of nitrogen gas were charged into the rig. The simulation and experimental data were in good agreement, and the primary conclusion was that pre-cooling hydrogen gas with the MR refrigeration system resulted in a lower energy consumption per kilogram of feed hydrogen gas compared to conventional refrigeration systems.