Entropy Production and Filling Time in Hydrogen Refueling Stations: An Economic Assessment

A multi-objective optimization is performed to obtain fueling conditions in hydrogen stations leading to improved filling times and thermodynamic efficiency (entropy production) of the de facto standard of operation, which is defined by the protocol SAE J2601. After finding the Pareto frontier between filling time and total entropy production, it was found that SAE J2601 is suboptimal in terms of these process variables. Specifically, reductions of filling time from 47 to 77% are possible in the analyzed range of ambient temperatures (from 10 to 40 degrees C) with higher saving potential the hotter the weather conditions. Maximum entropy production savings with respect to SAE J2601 (7% for 10 degrees C, 1% for 40 degrees C) demand a longer filling time that increases with ambient temperature (264% for 10 degrees C, 350% for 40 degrees C). Considering average electricity prices in California, USA, the operating cost of the filling process can be reduced between 8 and 28% without increasing the expected filling time.