Hydrogen gas transport device and purging method for compressor

A purging method for a compressor that is provided at a transport pipe for hydrogen gas and sends out the hydrogen gas, the compressor including:

• a drive source;
• a compression chamber that includes a compression element for the hydrogen gas and is connected to the transport pipe;
• a drive shaft that connects the drive source and the compression element to each other;
• and
• a housing that accommodates the drive shaft,
• the housing having a first purging chamber that is adjacent to the compression chamber and receives supply of the hydrogen gas as purge gas, a second purging chamber that is adjacent to the first purging chamber and receives supply of inert gas as purge gas, a first partition that separates the compression chamber and the first purging chamber from each other, and a second partition that separates the first purging chamber and the second purging chamber from each other,
• the drive shaft penetrating through the first partition and the second partition and being provided with a first shaft seal at a penetration portion of the drive shaft through the first partition and a second shaft seal at a penetration portion of the drive shaft through the second partition, the purging method comprising:
• supplying the hydrogen gas to the first purging chamber from a first purging pipe branching from the transport pipe when no pressure reduction is detected in the transport pipe;
• supplying the hydrogen gas to the first purging chamber from a second purging pipe communicating with a predetermined hydrogen gas supply source when a pressure reduction is detected in the transport pipe;
• and
• supplying inert gas to the second purging chamber through a third purging pipe.