As global warming is causing problems such as climate change, abnormal climate, and sea level rise, the government is focusing on fostering the hydrogen industry, which is a new and renewable energy that is capable of perfect carbon neutrality and hig...
As global warming is causing problems such as climate change, abnormal climate, and sea level rise, the government is focusing on fostering the hydrogen industry, which is a new and renewable energy that is capable of perfect carbon neutrality and high energy efficiency, to implement greenhouse gas emission reduction policies. In 2019, related ministries such as the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Environment announced a plan to build 1,200 hydrogen refueling stations by 2040. However, due to anxiety over hydrogen refueling stations that store hydrogen gas of more than 150kg and compress it to a pressure of 900 bar, and a lack of construction sites, Currently, hydrogen infrastructure construction is not progressing smoothly.
Nevertheless, as the supply of hydrogen cars is activated, the number of hydrogen refueling stations will also increase. so an accident response training program should be established in advance to effectively improve the initial response of related workers to prevent explosion accidents and minimize damage at hydrogen refueling stations.
By analyzing precedent studies on the risk and safety evaluation of hydrogen refueling stations and the development of accident response training, risk factors of hydrogen refueling stations, the necessity of accident response training programs to prevent accidents from spreading from leakage accidents to explosions, and the distinction from precedent studies were confirmed. And in order to confirm the suitability and effectiveness of applying virtual reality (VR) technology to hydrogen refueling station accident response training, precedent studies on VR training programs applied to ship enclosed spaces and chemical accident sites were analyzed.
As for the current status of hydrogen refueling stations in Korea, 93% of hydrogen refueling stations are off-site hydrogen refueling stations, and 58% are complex hydrogen refueling stations. Considering this, the hydrogen refueling station construction trend is expected to be constructed in the form of a complex hydrogen refueling station with an off-site supply method that requires a relatively small area due to the restriction of securing a construction site. Therefore, in this study, a complex hydrogen refueling station with a tube trailer supply method was selected as a refueling station for training.
In order to deduce the accident situation to be applied to the accident response training program, 10 detailed accident situations from the facility were selected by reviewing and analyzing the precedent research, hydrogen refueling station safety management regulations, manuals, and domestic and foreign accident cases. accident-causing equipment are specific facilities (compressors, dispensers), high-pressure gas pipes, storage containers, and tube trailers, and the details of each facility are selected as accident situations with different corresponding manuals or high risk as a result of precedent studies and accident case analysis.
In order to prioritize the derived accident situations, priority selection techniques such as AHP, MAUT, and risk assessment were compared and analyzed, and a survey was conducted using AHP suitable for the study. The survey subjects were selected for workers related to chemical plants who had knowledge of the characteristics of hydrogen gas and expertise in process facilities such as high-pressure gas pipes, compressors, and pressure containers. In addition, it was guided to evaluate the risk in consideration of the frequency of accidents and the extent of damage in the situation rather than the process importance of the facility.
As a result of the priority evaluation, gas leakage and fire occurrence in high-pressure and medium-pressure storage containers were derived as the first priority, followed by specific facilities, tube trailers, and high-pressure gas pipes. This is the same as the result of the frequency of accidents by facility announced in the 15-year accident statistics by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2019.
As for the detailed accident situation of each facility, the gas leakage and fire situation generated from the valves and connections of the hydrogen gas storage container showed relative importance in the storage container. In certain facilities, it was found that accident situations due to rupture and separation of the dispenser charging hose should be produced more preferentially with a slight difference (0.07) than the accident caused by the compressor connection pipe or valve. In the dispenser, gas leakage and fire conditions caused by vehicle accidents were evaluated as the most important factors to be considered.
Based on the critical accident situations selected through the above priority evaluation, a virtual reality (VR) accident response training program should be established to enhance safety by enhancing the initial responsiveness of workers related to hydrogen refueling stations.