With the continuous transformation of China's energy structure to clean and low-carbon, the proportion of fossil fuels in terminal energy will gradually decrease, and the possibility of hydrogen gradually replacing coke as reducing agent and fuel in the steel industry will continue to increase, or partially replacing natural gas and other energy sources in industrial heating and other application scenarios, showing huge development space. According to the calculations of the China Hydrogen Energy Alliance, under the scenario of achieving carbon neutrality in 2060, my country's annual hydrogen demand will increase to about 0.13 billion tons, and its proportion in terminal energy consumption is expected to reach about 20%. In the field of transportation, the global number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at the end of 2022 is 67300, which has achieved a certain scale of application, mainly commercial vehicles. In the field of domestic buildings, natural gas can be reused with existing pipes and stoves, and hydrogen fuel cells supply heating to help reduce fossil fuel use. Driven by the goal of "double carbon", the hydrogen energy industry is accelerating towards clean and large-scale development. As the core equipment of green hydrogen production, hydrogen production machine has attracted much attention for its technical iteration and quality control.

However, from the point of view of the hydrogen production process, the equipment is not tightly sealed when electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen, the performance fluctuation of the electrolyzer diaphragm or the failure of the purification system, as well as the influence of reaction by-products and purification links in the hydrogen production of fossil energy, may introduce oxygen. These seemingly trace oxygen impurities not only have potential safety hazards (long-term accumulation or risk amplification under fluctuation of working conditions) due to the explosion limit of hydrogen and oxygen (4.5-95% volume fraction), but also catalyze side reactions in downstream fuel cells, precision manufacturing and other scenarios, reducing hydrogen energy utilization efficiency and increasing operation and maintenance costs. At the same time, they face the restrictions of national standards and industry standards on hydrogen purity and impurity content. Therefore, the integration of micro oxygen detection function of hydrogen machine has become a necessary measure to ensure the quality of hydrogen energy from the source of production and meet the needs of the industry. It is not only the direction of technological upgrading, but also the "hidden threshold" of market competition ".

Faced with the urgent demand for accurate detection of micro oxygen in the hydrogen production link, the traditional electrochemical oxygen sensor is difficult to support the whole process quality control of the hydrogen production machine from coarse purification to fine purification due to its short boards such as poor compatibility of hydrogen environment, lagging response speed and insufficient accuracy limit. For this specific industry and professional application, electrochemical micro oxygen sensor can be applied with appropriate benefits. In the application of hydrogen generator, it is mainly used to detect and monitor the oxygen content in the generated hydrogen. Because it is very important to ensure the purity of the product gas in the hydrogen production process, especially to control the content of impurity gases such as oxygen therein, since even a small proportion of oxygen mixed into the hydrogen gas may bring about a safety hazard such as an increased risk of explosion, or affect the use effect of the hydrogen gas as a fuel or an industrial raw material.

The working principle of electrochemical micro oxygen sensor

The electrochemical micro oxygen sensor works based on the principle of a fuel cell. The sensor contains an electrode (precious metal) that is sensitive to oxygen. When oxygen in the environment diffuses into the sensor and contacts the electrode, a redox reaction will occur, generating a small current. The magnitude of this current is proportional to the oxygen concentration, so the oxygen concentration can be determined by measuring the current intensity.

Application of electrochemical oxygen sensor in hydrogen production machine

       1.Real-time monitoring: Electrochemical micro oxygen sensor can provide real-time data of oxygen content in hydrogen, which is very important to ensure the continuity and safety of hydrogen production.

       2.Improve safety: By accurately monitoring the oxygen content in hydrogen, potential safety hazards can be discovered in time and measures can be taken to prevent accidents.

       3.Quality control: For some applications that require high hydrogen purity, such as the electronics industry and food processing, precise control of the oxygen content in hydrogen is the key to ensuring product quality.

       4.Optimize operating parameters: According to the feedback information provided by the sensor, the operating conditions of the hydrogen generator can be adjusted to achieve the best hydrogen production rate and purity.

       5.Maintenance: Long-term monitoring of the changing trend of oxygen content in hydrogen can also help predict equipment maintenance needs and prevent failures.

Advantages of electrochemical micro oxygen sensor in hydrogen production machine

       1. High sensitivity and accuracy: The sensor can detect extremely low concentrations of oxygen (ppmlevel), which is essential to ensure hydrogen purity. Even trace amounts of oxygen can affect the quality of hydrogen, especially in applications that require extremely high hydrogen purity.

       2. Fast response time: This can give accurate readings in a short time, making real-time monitoring possible. This helps to detect and deal with any oxygen infiltration problems in a timely manner, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the production process.

       3. Cost-effective: Compared with other types of sensors (such as optical sensors), the sensor is more economical and the maintenance cost is relatively low. This makes them more attractive for industrial applications, especially where a large number of sensors are required.

       4. Miniaturized design: The sensor is very compact and easy to integrate into existing hydrogen production systems without significantly increasing system complexity or taking up too much space.

       5. Good long-term stability: The sensor has a long service life under normal use conditions, and its performance changes little over time, which can provide reliable data for a long time and reduce the need for frequent replacement.

       6. Strong adaptability: The sensor can adapt to different environmental conditions, including changes in temperature, humidity, etc., to ensure stable operation in various working environments.

Here, Shenzhen Science and Technology recommend you with a micro oxygen electrochemical sensor GPR-12-333-H for hydrogen energy scenarios. The sensor is a micro oxygen sensor owned by Analytical Industrial Inc.(AII) in the United States. It can realize ppm level high precision, realize accurate capture of micro oxygen impurities, and its stable performance of hydrogen interference resistance is suitable for complex working conditions such as high humidity and high pressure. At the same time, it is small in size, fast in response and high in sensitivity, integration that can be directly embedded in the control system is the best choice for hydrogen production and oxygen detection.

The following is the agent of the United States AII brand micro oxygen electrochemical sensor GPR-12-333-H the main parameters:

Please consult for details.