A hydrogen odorant in any form, is a minute amount of
odorant
An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance, flavoring or flavor, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficien ...
such as
ethyl isobutyrate, with a rotting-cabbage-like smell, that is added to the otherwise
color
Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...
less and almost
odor
An odor (American English) or odour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive ...
less hydrogen gas, so that
leak
A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...
s can be detected before a fire or
explosion
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...
occurs. Odorants are considered non-toxic in the extremely low concentrations occurring in hydrogen gas delivered to the end user.
The approach is not new, for the same safety reasons the odorant
''tert''-butyl mercaptan is used in
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
.
See also
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Hydrogen safety
Hydrogen safety covers the safe production, handling and use of hydrogen, particularly hydrogen gas fuel and liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen possesses the NFPA 704's highest rating of four on the flammability scale because it is flammable when mixed eve ...
*
Odor detection threshold
The odor detection threshold is the lowest concentration of a certain odor compound that is perceivable by the human sense of smell. The threshold of a chemical compound is determined in part by its shape, polarity, partial charges, and mole ...
External links
Odorant for hydrogen based on acrylate and acetophenonePatent WO2004092054. Hydrogen Odorants and Odorant Selection Method
Patentscope. WIPO.
Hydrogen technologies