Review of sampling and analysis of particulate matter in hydrogen fuel

Abstract

This review presents state-of-the-art for representative sampling of hydrogen from hydrogen refueling stations. Documented sampling strategies are presented as well as examples of commercially available equipment for sampling at the hydrogen refueling nozzle. Filter media used for sampling is listed and the performance of some of the filters evaluated. It was found that the filtration efficiency of 0.2 and 5 μm filters were not significantly different when exposed to 200 and 300 nm particles. Several procedures for gravimetric analysis are presented and some of the challenges are identified to be filter degradation, pinhole formation and conditioning of the filter prior to measurement. Lack of standardization of procedures was identified as a limitation for result comparison. Finally, the review summarizes results including particulate concentration in hydrogen fuel quality data published. It was found that less than 10% of the samples were in violation with the tolerance limit.