Abstract
Hydrogen can be the key to decarbonisation, even for energy-intensive industries. The glass
sector, for instance, burns natural gas to reach high temperatures necessary to melt the raw materials,
leading to a considerable amount of CO2 emissions. Introducing hydrogen in a new sector brings many
challenges in technological development, but of no less importance are the safety issues due to its hazardous
properties. Hydrogen is highly flammable and can interact with many metals. Avoiding hydrogen leaks or,
even worse, preventing catastrophic losses should be a priority: adopting proper maintenance planning is
an effective means. In this study, a comparison of two different maintenance approaches is proposed in a
line supplying hydrogen to the furnace case study. Time-based maintenance is a consolidated technique
that programs the operations based on the reliability of the data on the pieces of equipment. On the other
hand, the Risk-Based Maintenance approach leads to planning the maintenance activities based on the risk
evaluation. Applying this approach to a hydrogen facility for the first time represents the novelty of this
study. The advantages of adopting a methodology based on risk evaluation when handling a safety-critical
system are highlighted.
Keywords: Hydrogen, Glass manufacturing, Maintenance, Risk-Based Maintenance, Time-Based
Maintenance, Hydrogen Safety.
sector, for instance, burns natural gas to reach high temperatures necessary to melt the raw materials,
leading to a considerable amount of CO2 emissions. Introducing hydrogen in a new sector brings many
challenges in technological development, but of no less importance are the safety issues due to its hazardous
properties. Hydrogen is highly flammable and can interact with many metals. Avoiding hydrogen leaks or,
even worse, preventing catastrophic losses should be a priority: adopting proper maintenance planning is
an effective means. In this study, a comparison of two different maintenance approaches is proposed in a
line supplying hydrogen to the furnace case study. Time-based maintenance is a consolidated technique
that programs the operations based on the reliability of the data on the pieces of equipment. On the other
hand, the Risk-Based Maintenance approach leads to planning the maintenance activities based on the risk
evaluation. Applying this approach to a hydrogen facility for the first time represents the novelty of this
study. The advantages of adopting a methodology based on risk evaluation when handling a safety-critical
system are highlighted.
Keywords: Hydrogen, Glass manufacturing, Maintenance, Risk-Based Maintenance, Time-Based
Maintenance, Hydrogen Safety.
