Process Modeling and Risk Assessment of Ammonia and Hydrogen Storage and Transport Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Ammonia and hydrogen are seen as important energy carriers for a low-carbon future. They offer promising ways to store renewable energy for a long time and transport it over long distances. However, for them to be widely used, we need storage and transport systems that are safe, efficient, and affordable. Hydrogen has a low energy density by volume, so it usually requires high-pressure compression (350–700 bar) or cooling down to very low temperatures (−253 °C). Ammonia is easier to turn into a liquid, but it is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Process modeling is a practical and cost-effective way to simulate how these systems behave—looking at things like flow, heat transfer, phase changes, and how the system responds to normal or unexpected conditions. At the same time, standard risk assessment methods—such as quantitative risk analysis (QRA), consequence modeling, and hazard reviews like HAZOP and LOPA—help us understand what could go wrong, including leaks, dispersion, fires, explosions, and domino effects. By combining process modeling with risk assessment, engineers can better design systems, set up safety measures, decide on safe distances, and plan emergency responses. This helps speed up the deployment of ammonia and hydrogen infrastructure.

This Special Issue on “Process Modeling and Risk Assessment of Ammonia and Hydrogen Storage and Transport Systems” seeks high quality works focusing on the development and application of modeling and risk-based approaches to address safety, reliability, and performance challenges across the entire value chain. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Dynamic simulation of ammonia and hydrogen storage and transportation systems;
• CFD modeling of accidental releases, dispersion, jet fires, vapor cloud explosions, and toxic dispersion of ammonia and hydrogen;
• Hydrogen embrittlement and material compatibility in storage and transport components;
• Process safety of liquid ammonia and liquid hydrogen storage and transportation system;
• Process design and optimization of ammonia decomposition hydrogen production and storage system;
• Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) and consequence analysis for storage facilities, refueling stations, pipelines, and transport vehicles;
• Safety zoning, mitigation strategies, and emergency response planning based on probabilistic risk metrics.

Thank you and we look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Pengbo Yin
Dr. Chongzheng Sun
Dr. Ying Zhen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ammonia storage and transportation
• hydrogen storage and transportation
• process modeling
• risk assessment
• cryogenic storage
• CFD simulation
• hydrogen embrittlement
• quantitative risk assessment (QRA)
• process safety
• ammonia decomposition