Patent ID: 11933458
Assignee: L'AIR LIQUIDE, SOCIETE ANONYME POUR L'ETUDE ET L'EXPLOITATION DES PROCEDES GEORGES CLAUDE
Field: Mechanical elements (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  Y | IPC F

Claim 7:
8. A method for filling tanks of fuel cell electric vehicles with pressurized hydrogen, comprising the steps of:
providing the system of claim 1;
pumping liquid hydrogen from the liquid hydrogen storage vessel with the liquid hydrogen pump to produce a stream of pressurized hydrogen;
pumping a flow of main heat transfer fluid, with the main heat transfer fluid pump, in the heat exchange fluid loop;
dividing the stream of pressurized hydrogen into first and second portions;
vaporizing the first portion in the warming circuit of the first heat exchanger and cooling the flow of main heat transfer fluid in the cooling circuit of the first heat exchanger through heat exchange therebetween to produce a stream of vaporized hydrogen and cooled flow of main heat transfer fluid;
receiving the vaporized hydrogen stream into the vaporized hydrogen circuit;
receiving the second portion into the bypass circuit;
receiving, into the buffer vessel feed conduit, a combined stream comprised of the vaporized hydrogen stream and the second portion from the vaporized hydrogen circuit;
receiving and storing, in the at least one buffer vessel, the combined stream until a fill of a vehicle tank is requested;
when a vehicle tank fill is requested, cooling the combined stream from the buffer vessel feed conduit and/or a stream of pressurized hydrogen from the at least one buffer vessel in the cooling circuit of the second heat exchanger and warming the cooled flow of main heat transfer fluid in the warming circuit of the second heat exchanger through heat exchange therebetween to produce a cooled stream of pressurized hydrogen and warmed flow of main heat transfer fluid;
measuring a temperature, with the temperature sensor, of the combined stream in the buffer vessel feed conduit;
controlling the flow rates or pressures of the vaporized hydrogen stream and the second portion with the first and second temperature control valves, respectively, based upon a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor;
filling the vehicle tank with the cooled stream of pressurized hydrogen;
feeding a stream of gaseous hydrogen from a headspace of the storage vessel to a second warming circuit of the first heat exchanger; and
vaporizing the fed stream of liquid hydrogen in a second warming circuit of the first heat exchanger, and venting the vaporized liquid hydrogen to the ambient atmosphere.