High power water electrolysis plant configuration optimized for sectional maintenance

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant including a rectifier, a first U-bank, and a second U-bank electrically connected in series to the rectifier and to the first U-bank. Each U-bank is formed by a pair of adjacent, longitudinal cell arrays electrically connected to each other. The cell arrays are arranged in a spaced apart, side-by-side arrangement with a service corridor defined therebetween to allow sectional maintenance to be performed on each cell array. Each cell array has a plurality of unipolar water electrolyser cells. Each U-bank has input conduits for delivering water and cooling water to each cell array, output conduits for carrying hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from each cell array. The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant includes a first jumper and a second jumper to isolate the U-bank, an electrical bypass busbar extension and a third jumper to bypass the U-bank.

1 - 34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . A high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant comprising:
 a power supply for supplying DC current;   a first U-bank electrically connected to the power supply;   a second U-bank electrically connected in series to the power supply and to the first U-bank;   the first U-bank being formed by a pair of adjacent, first and second longitudinal cell arrays electrically connected to each other and arranged in a spaced apart, side-by-side arrangement with a service corridor defined therebetween to allow sectional maintenance to be performed on each cell array, the first cell array being disposed on one side of the service corridor and the second cell array being disposed on the other side of the service corridor; each cell array having a plurality of unipolar water electrolyser cells;   the first U-bank having:
 input conduits for delivering feed water and cooling water to the first U-bank, 
 output conduits for carrying hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from the first U-bank; and 
 a fluid bypass arrangement configured to fluidly isolate the first U-bank, the fluid bypass arrangement being operable to direct feed water and cooling water away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant and to fluidly isolate the output conduits from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant, without impeding the flow of feed water and cooling water to the second U-bank and the flow of hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from the second U-bank, thereby permitting the continued operation of the second U-bank; 
 an electrical bypass arrangement operable to electrically isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant and to redirect the DC current away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant, the electrical bypass arrangement including:
 a first jumper being connectable upstream of the first cell array of the first U-bank for electrically isolating the first cell array of the first U-bank; 
 a second jumper being connectable downstream of the second cell array of the first U-bank; the first and second jumpers being operable to isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant; 
 an electrical bypass busbar extension being connectable upstream of the first jumper and downstream of the second jumper for completing the circuit in the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank is electrically isolated; and 
 a third jumper cooperating with the electrical bypass busbar extension and being operable to redirect the DC current away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank is electrically isolated; 
 
   when actuated, the fluid bypass arrangement and the electrical bypass arrangement fluidly and electrically isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant so as to permit sectional maintenance.   
     
     
         36 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the power supply is selected from the group consisting of a rectifier, a rectifier system, solar panels and other direct power generating source connections. 
     
     
         37 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 36  wherein the rectifier system comprises a plurality of rectifiers electrically connected in parallel. 
     
     
         38 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the power supply is a rectifier. 
     
     
         39 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 38  wherein the rectifier is configured to permit its amperage output to be increased to compensate for between 5% to 50% of any reduced hydrogen production output on account of the isolation of the first U-bank during maintenance. 
     
     
         40 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first U-bank and the second U-bank have the same or substantially the same hydrogen production capacity. 
     
     
         41 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first U-bank and the second U-bank have different hydrogen production capacities. 
     
     
         42 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first cell array of the first U-bank has the same hydrogen production capacity as the second cell array of the first U-bank. 
     
     
         43 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first cell array of the first U-bank has a different hydrogen production capacity than the second cell array of the first U-bank. 
     
     
         44 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 43  wherein each cell array of the first U-bank is configured to receive between 2 MW and 125 MW of power to produce hydrogen. 
     
     
         45 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein:
 the second U-bank being formed by a pair of adjacent, first and second longitudinal cell arrays electrically connected to each other and arranged in a spaced apart, side-by-side arrangement with a second service corridor defined therebetween to allow sectional maintenance to be performed on each cell array of the second U-bank, 
 the first cell array of the second U-bank being disposed on one side of the second service corridor and the second cell array of the second U-bank being disposed on the other side of the second service corridor; each cell array of the second U-bank having a plurality of unipolar water electrolyser cells; and 
 the first cell array of the second U-bank has the same hydrogen production capacity as the second cell array of second U-bank. 
 
     
     
         46 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 45  wherein the first cell array of the second U-bank has a different hydrogen production capacity than the second cell array of the second U-bank. 
     
     
         47 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 45  wherein the plurality of unipolar water electrolyser cells in each cell array includes between 2 and 100 unipolar electrolyser cells. 
     
     
         48 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first cell array of the first U-bank has a first end connected to the second U-bank and a second end connected to one of the power supply and the second U-bank. 
     
     
         49 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first U-bank is disposed parallel to the second U-bank with a second service corridor formed therebetween. 
     
     
         50 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first cell array of the first U-bank is disposed parallel to the second cell array of the first U-bank. 
     
     
         51 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the first and second jumpers are selected from the group consisting of switches and busbar segments. 
     
     
         52 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the input conduits of the first U-bank include:
 a feed water input conduit having a first branched portion in fluid communication with the first cell array and a second branched portion in fluid communication with second cell array; and 
 a cold water input conduit having a first branched portion in fluid communication with the first cell array and a second branched portion in fluid communication with second cell array. 
 
     
     
         53 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the input conduits of the first U-bank include a first feed water input conduit in fluid communication with the first cell array, a second feed water input conduit in fluid communication with the second cell array, a first cold water input conduit in fluid communication with the first cell array and a second cold water input conduit in fluid communication with the second cell array. 
     
     
         54 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 53  wherein the fluid bypass arrangement includes a first input valve connected to the first feed water input conduit upstream of the first cell array, a second input valve connected to the first cold water input conduit upstream of the first cell array, a third input valve connected to the second feed water input conduit upstream of the second cell array, and a fourth input valve connected to the second cold water input conduit upstream of the second cell array. 
     
     
         55 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 35  wherein the output conduits of the first U-bank include a first hydrogen gas output conduit in fluid communication with the first cell array, a second hydrogen gas output conduit in fluid communication with the second cell array, a first oxygen gas output conduit in fluid communication with the first cell array, a second oxygen gas output conduit in fluid communication with the second cell array, a first cooling water output conduit in fluid communication with the first cell array and a second cooling water output conduit in fluid communication with the second cell array. 
     
     
         56 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 55  wherein the fluid bypass arrangement includes a first output valve connected to the first cooling water output conduit downstream of the first cell array, a second output valve connected to the first oxygen gas output conduit downstream of the first cell array, a third output valve connected to the first hydrogen gas output conduit downstream of the first cell array, a fourth output valve connected to the second cooling water output conduit downstream of the second cell array, a fifth output valve connected to the second oxygen gas output conduit downstream of the second cell array and a sixth output valve connected to the second hydrogen gas output conduit downstream of the second cell array. 
     
     
         57 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 56  wherein the first U-bank further includes:
 a first water seal connected to the first oxygen gas output conduit and the first hydrogen gas output conduit upstream of the second and third output valves; and 
 a second water seal connected to the second oxygen gas output conduit and the second hydrogen gas conduit upstream of the fifth and sixth output valves. 
 
     
     
         58 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 57  wherein the first U-bank further includes:
 a first vent exhaust for venting oxygen from the first oxygen water seal; 
 a second vent exhaust for venting hydrogen gas from the first hydrogen water seal; 
 a third vent exhaust for venting oxygen gas from the second oxygen water seal; and 
 a fourth vent exhaust for venting hydrogen gas from the second hydrogen water seal. 
 
     
     
         59 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 56  wherein the first U-bank further includes:
 a first mist eliminator connected to the first oxygen gas output conduit upstream of the second output valve; 
 a second mist eliminator connected to the first hydrogen gas output conduit upstream of the third output valve; 
 a third mist eliminator connected to the second oxygen gas output conduit upstream of the fifth output valve; and 
 a fourth mist eliminator connected to the second hydrogen gas output conduit upstream of the sixth output valve. 
 
     
     
         60 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 56  wherein the first U-bank further includes:
 a first isotope (deuterium) enrichment column connected to the first oxygen gas output conduit upstream of the second output valve; 
 a second isotope (deuterium) enrichment column connected to the first hydrogen gas output conduit upstream of the third output valve; 
 a third isotope (deuterium) enrichment column connected to the second oxygen gas output conduit upstream of the fifth output valve; and 
 a fourth isotope (deuterium) enrichment column connected to the second hydrogen gas output conduit upstream of the sixth output valve. 
 
     
     
         61 . A high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant comprising:
 a power supply for supplying DC current;   a first plurality of U-banks electrically connected to the power supply;   a second plurality of U-banks electrically connected in series to the power supply and to the first plurality of U-banks;   each U-bank of the first and second plurality being formed by a pair of adjacent, first and second longitudinal cell arrays electrically connected to each other and arranged in a spaced apart, side-by-side arrangement with a service corridor defined therebetween to allow sectional maintenance to be performed on each cell array, the first cell array being disposed on one side of the service corridor and the second cell array being disposed on the other side of the service corridor; each cell array having a plurality of unipolar water electrolyser cells;   each U-bank of the first plurality having:
 input conduits for delivering feed water and cooling water to each U-bank of the first plurality; 
 output conduits for carrying hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from each U-bank of the first plurality; and 
 a fluid bypass arrangement configured to fluidly isolate each U-bank of the first plurality, the fluid bypass arrangement being operable to direct feed water and cooling water away from each U-bank of the first plurality toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant and to fluidly isolate the output conduits of each U-bank of the first plurality from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant, without impeding the flow of feed water and cooling water to the U-banks of the second plurality and the flow of hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from the U-banks of the second plurality, thereby permitting the continued operation of the second plurality of U-banks; 
 an electrical bypass arrangement operable to electrically isolate each U-bank of the first plurality from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant and to redirect the DC current away from each U-bank of the first plurality toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant, the electrical bypass arrangement including:
 a first jumper being connectable upstream of the first cell array of a first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks; 
 a second jumper being connectable downstream of the second cell array of the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks; the first and second jumpers being operable to isolate the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant; 
 an electrical bypass busbar extension being connectable upstream of the first jumper and downstream of the second jumper for completing the circuit in the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank is electrically isolated; and 
 a third jumper cooperating with the electrical bypass busbar extension and being operable to redirect the DC current away from the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks toward the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks is electrically isolated; 
 
   when actuated, the fluid bypass arrangement and the electrical bypass arrangement fluidly and electrically isolate the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks from the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant so as to permit sectional maintenance to be performed on the first U-bank of the first plurality of U-banks while the remainder of the high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant operates.   
     
     
         62 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 61  wherein the first plurality of U-banks and the second plurality of U-banks are disposed on either side of a central space defined within the plant. 
     
     
         63 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 61  wherein the first plurality of U-banks is laid out according to a first arrangement and the second plurality of U-banks is laid out according to a second arrangement; the first and second arrangements being identical to each other. 
     
     
         64 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 61  wherein the plant is configured to receive between 5 MW and 2 GW of power to produce hydrogen. 
     
     
         65 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 61  wherein the plant is configured to receive between 5 MW and 100 MW of power to produce hydrogen. 
     
     
         66 . The high-power unipolar water electrolysis plant of  claim 61  wherein the plant is configured to receive between 100 MW and 500 MW of power to produce hydrogen. 
     
     
         67 . A high-power water electrolysis plant comprising:
 a power supply for supplying DC current;   a first U-bank electrically connected to the power supply;   a second U-bank electrically connected in series to the power supply and to the first U-bank;   the first U-bank being formed by a pair of adjacent, first and second longitudinal cell arrays electrically connected to each other and arranged in a spaced apart, side-by-side arrangement with a service corridor defined therebetween to allow sectional maintenance to be performed on each cell array, the first cell array being disposed on one side of the service corridor and the second cell array being disposed on the other side of the service corridor; each cell array having a plurality of water electrolyser cells;   the first U-bank having:
 input conduits for delivering feed water and cooling water to the first U-bank, 
 output conduits for carrying hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from the first U-bank; and 
 a fluid bypass arrangement configured to fluidly isolate the first U-bank, the fluid bypass arrangement being operable to direct feed water and cooling water away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant and to fluidly isolate the output conduits from the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant, without impeding the flow of feed water and cooling water to the second U-bank and the flow of hydrogen gas, oxygen gas and cooling water away from the second U-bank, thereby permitting the continued operation of the second U-bank; 
 an electrical bypass arrangement operable to electrically isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant and to redirect the DC current away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant, the electrical bypass arrangement including:
 a first jumper being connectable upstream of the first cell array of the first U-bank; 
 a second jumper being connectable downstream of the second cell array of the first U-bank; the first and second jumpers being operable to isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant; 
 an electrical bypass busbar extension being connectable upstream of the first jumper and downstream of the second jumper for completing the circuit in the high-power water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank is electrically isolated; and 
 a third jumper cooperating with the electrical bypass busbar extension and being operable to redirect the DC current away from the first U-bank toward the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant when the first U-bank is electrically isolated; 
 
   when actuated, the fluid bypass arrangement and the electrical bypass arrangement fluidly and electrically isolate the first U-bank from the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant so as to permit sectional maintenance to be performed on the first U-bank while the remainder of the high-power water electrolysis plant operates.   
     
     
         68 . The high-power water electrolysis plant of  claim 68  wherein the water electrolyser cells are selected from the group consisting of monopolar water electrolyser cells and unipolar water electrolyser cells.