NFPA Journal - Summer 2022 - 27

Dispatches
intended to help users determine what
they're dealing with when a leak is
detected. " It should be used as a first
approximation of the outcome of a
particular hydrogen release scenario,
which is especially helpful in looking
at scenarios that are of greatest
concern for users-like a really big
leak, " said Sreenivasan Ranganathan,
an FPRF project manager. " If more
information is required beyond the
screening tool predictions, the user
can turn to more accurate and configuration-specific
models. "
Researchers from the University
Hydrogen-powered vehicles are expected to drive the global
hydrogen fuel cell market, which is predicted to grow from a
roughly $2 billion industry today to $130 billion by 2030.
INDUSTRIAL HAZARDS
LEAK SMARTS
A NEW ONLINE TOOL GIVES USERS AN EASY, INEXPENSIVE
WAY TO PREDICT THE OUTCOME OF HYDROGEN FUEL LEAKS
By Angelo Verzoni
W
ith the global market
for hydrogen fuel cells
poised for rapid expansion,
experts say giving
facility managers, authorities having
jurisdiction, and others a quick and
inexpensive way to predict how hydrogen
will behave in the event of a leak
is a critical part of safely growing the
hydrogen market.
A new tool born out of a recent
project by the Fire Protection Research
Foundation (FPRF), NFPA's research
affiliate, is designed to do just that.
Hydrogen fuel cells work by combining
hydrogen-a colorless, odorless gas
under most conditions-with oxygen to
produce electricity. There's just one problem:
Hydrogen is extremely flammable,
ranking four out of four for flammability
on the NFPA hazard diamond outlined
in NFPA 704, Standard System for the
Identification of the Hazards of Materials
for Emergency Response.
The new tool, known as the Hydrogen
Dispersion Screening Tool, is
CONFERENCE
SESSION
Managing Hydrogen Hazards:
Risk Mitigation Strategies for a
Critical Component of the Clean
Energy Economy
Tuesday, June 7, 8-9 a.m.
Amy Theis and Paul Osterberg,
DEKRA
of Texas at Austin developed the tool,
writing in a recent paper that it " provides
a user-friendly and accessible way
to quickly compare hydrogen release
scenarios. " Utilizing web-based software,
users input leak parameters such
as the release pressure, temperature
of the hydrogen, and the diameter of
the opening that hydrogen is escaping
from; with that information, the tool
generates graphs showing the concentration
of hydrogen at certain distances
from where the leak originated and
other critical information to help users
determine the safest course of action.
The timing for this kind of resource
is critical. A market research report
published in February determined that
the global hydrogen fuel cell market is
predicted to grow from a roughly $2
billion industry today to $130 billion
by 2030, with hydrogen-powered vehicles
expected to account for more than
a third of that market value.
The tool will serve as a valuable
asset in conducting safety evaluations
and establishing code compliance
at sites where hydrogen gas is used,
Ranganathan said. Certain sections of
codes like NFPA 2, Hydrogen Technologies
Code, and NFPA 55, Compressed
Gases and Cryogenic Fluids Code, for
instance, include requirements for
ventilation systems and separation
distances based on the lower flammability
limit of particular gases-a
measurement based on the gas's concentration
in air.
The tool, which is free for anyone to
use, was released in April and can be
found at nfpa.org/hydrogentool.
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NFPA Journal - Summer 2022

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