Analysis of Accidental Hydrogen Releases in the Glass Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

Glass is one of the most ubiquitous materials in the world. Due to the extremely high temperatures required in the melting process, the glass industry is considered a hard-to-abate sector and poses major challenges to meet the net-zero target in the next decades. Since the highest share of emissions from glass production stems from the combustion of natural gas, its replacement with hydrogen is considered a promising solution to reduce the sector's environmental impact. This is the aim of the H2GLASS project, launched by the European Union at the beginning of 2023. In this context, addressing hydrogen-safety-related aspects is a top priority. In fact, due to hydrogen’s peculiar flammability properties (e.g., wide flammability range, low ignition energy), its utilisation in furnaces may pose significant risks. In this study, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model is developed in Ansys Fluent to investigate hydrogen diffusion in enclosures following an accidental release. A grid and time-step sensitivity analyses are carried out to identify the best setup. The model is then validated against experimental data. The results of this work can be used as the starting point to build a CFD model suitable for studying hydrogen releases in large domains, such as glass manufacturing facilities, where obstacles and mechanical ventilation systems are present.