Disposal/Conversion of Waste Hydrogen Gas

[iHydrogen]

Hi All,

I am constructing an electrolyzer test stand that is going to produce small amounts (< 1 kg/hr) of hydrogen gas. Because of space requirements at my facility, this electrolyzer cannot be situated close enough to an appropriate vent or hood to release the gas into the atmosphere. I have never had this problem before, so I am looking for suggestions on how to safely and inexpensively convert or burn this waste gas.

The hydrogen will be relatively pure, greater than 99% purity, and pressure will be ambient (~1 atm). Flow will be relatively constant, however brief periods of turn down can be expected (so a fuel cell will probably be tough to implement). I've looked into catalytic recombiners but all I could find were ones for nuclear power plants... much larger and more expensive than the <1 kg/hr capacity I am dealing with here.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[moltenmetal]

Sorry, but I'm afraid you probably do need a vent to do this safely.

I'd recommend a Bunsen burner fueled with natural gas, into which the small hydrogen stream is introduced as it is produced. As long as you're not producing a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen from your electrolyzer, and you have a means to detect the flame and stop the hydrogen and natural gas flow if the flame goes out, it should work more reliably than any catalytic device you could kludge together by yourself. You'd still be advised to have a vent in the area, though!