KNF at Hydrogen + Fuel Cells Europe

New Maintenance-Free and Energy-Saving NMP Diaphragm Pumps from KNF

KNF will be at booth E03/1 in hall 13, presenting liquid and gas pumps for a variety of tasks in fuel cell and hydrogen systems. New products include the double-headed version of the NMP 830 and NMP 850 micro gas pumps for a low ultimate vacuum of up to 55 mbar abs.

Both pumps are particularly impressive as maintenance-free fuel cell components that require very little of the generated electricity themselves – an advantage that pays off particularly in off-grid applications, i.e. in the power supply of mostly smaller but important systems outside the power grid.

Durable, Controllable KNF NMP Diaphragm Pumps for Cathode Air and Sample Gas

When it comes to durability, the NMP diaphragm pump series sets new benchmarks: With the new KNF Direct Current Brushless Integrated (DC-BI) technology, the expected service life is over 20,000 hours. The BLDC motor developed by KNF is integrated directly into the pump housing; a small number of larger ball bearings make for a reduced mechanical load and promote a very long service life.

The 12 V or 24 V BLDC motor offers comprehensive parameterization and analog control, resulting in a tailored, custom-fit pump curve.

What’s the part of the new KNF NMP diaphragm pumps in fuel cell and hydrogen technology?

• Conveying ambient air to the cathode for complete energy conversion: In particular the working principle of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a hydrogen-oxygen reaction, with the oxygen coming from the ambient air.
• Hydrogen recirculation: The feedback of excess hydrogen for reuse is essential to ensure the economical operation of a fuel cell.
• Extraction and transfer of sample gas for safety equipment: When using hydrogen, reliable and comprehensive gas warning technology is essential.
• Extraction and transfer of wet hydrogen gas for quality and process control: Following electrolysis, hydrogen has to meet a defined quality standard, which is determined by the intended use.

With their unique technical characteristics, the new KNF NMP diaphragm pumps presented in Hannover are ideal for these applications. The materials used withstand high temperatures and condensate and thus typical working conditions of these KNF diaphragm pumps. And since the drive integrated into the pump housing, the design is very compact, with a hard to beat size-to-output ratio.

The small double-headed NMP 830 and NMP 850 models pump up to 8.5 l/min at an operating pressure of up to 2.5 bar rel, and consistently deliver the required volume flow rate.

Thanks to the outstanding pneumatic pump performance response times are short, the operation of the fuel cell is precisely within the parameterized range, and measurement results are immediately available when the pumps are used in analytical devices.

The new NMP series diaphragm pumps are both compact and lightweight, which makes them, among other things, ideal for portable gas detection devices.