Assertions on an “In Situ” Hydrogen-Powered Ride-On Industrial Floor-Cleaning Scrubber

This study proposes a hydrogen-powered industrial ride-on scrubber (IRoS) investigated by using in situ and on-board H2 production. Technological and financial calculations involving conventional liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), an electric battery, and a hydrogen-powered system in IRoS are discussed. Energy consumption, operational costs, financial aspects and environmental impacts are also discussed. Investment payback analyses to replace an LPG machine are discussed. For 10 years, the highest operational costs and downtime costs are of the LPG-powered scrubber (USD ~187k). The two other systems are substantially lower, i.e., ~4% and 7%. CO2 emissions of the three examined scrubbers ranged between 162 and 194, 10 and 13, and 5 and 9 tCO2, respectively. Gravimetric energy density (GED) reveals that the LPG-powered system is ~2× and 10× higher than the battery- and H2-powered systems, respectively. Adequate modulation and control of the produced H2 volume in Al hydrolysis are keys to success in the H2-powered scrubber project. For this purpose, three aspects are important: i. adequate selection of Al-based alloy or mixture powders, ii. the nature and concentration of alkali solution and iii. the quantity of solid (Al-based alloy or mixture powders) per volume of alkali (liquid), designated as S/L ratio.