Energy, exergy, economic and environmental assessments on a simple hydrogen liquefaction process under variable working conditions

作者：Ke Yang, Shihao Wei, Tianyu Sun, Xinyan Zhang, Jinhui Zhang, Qin Wang, Xinyue Hao, Jielin Luo, Hongxing Yang · 发表于：Energy Conversion and Management · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121341 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analyses of Power and Cooling Systems、Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems、Catalysts for Methane Reforming

As a promising clean energy carrier, hydrogen can help reduce the dependence on fossil fuels for a cleaner future. Nevertheless, its large-scale utilization remains challenged by the considerable energy consumption and costs of liquefaction. Although several energy-efficient process concepts have been proposed, their practical implementation is restricted by system complexity and insufficient evaluation under variable working conditions. To address this gap, a novel hydrogen liquefaction process with simple structure is proposed, which is simulated based on Aspen HYSYS and optimized by genetic algorithm. A specific energy consumption of 5.412 kW∙h/kg is achieved, representing reductions of over 26.0% versus other simple-structured systems. The annual energy performance factor is investigated to evaluate system performance under variable working conditions, yielding an average of 5.200 kW∙h/kg globally. Benefiting from great temperature matching in heat exchangers, an exergy efficiency of 54.9% is achieved. A specific liquefaction cost of 0.69 $/kg is obtained in Beijing, with lower cost than most of existing studies. A global average specific CO 2 emission of 3.245 kg/kg is found, corresponding to a reduction of 29.3% versus the reference. The influence of pressure drops is also investigated, with SEC deviations of less than 9.0% found. Cryogenic pressures impact energy performance most, and an overall system uncertainty of 6.1% is found. The findings highlight a simple and e...