Robust Membrane Reactor for Hydrogen Production from Industrial Process Stream

75200-The success of the hydrogen economy demands a tremendous amount of cost reduction for hydrogen production and storage, while meeting performance and durability requirements. One of the technological barriers to hydrogen production from fossil fuels is the development of an efficient, low-cost hydrogen separation technology. This project will develop a robust membrane reactor to separate hydrogen from real industrial streams. In particular, previously developed hydrogen separation membranes will be optimized for operation with hydrogen feed streams that contain common impurities such as CO, steam, and trace amounts of sulfur compounds and hydrocarbons. The key issue is to make the hydrogen transport membranes more resistant to these impurities. In Phase I, hydrogen separation through the composite membranes will be tested and optimized with hydrogen feed streams that contain CO, CO2, steam, a small amount of hydrocarbons, and 10-50 ppm sulfur. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The technology should improve hydrogen separation and hydrogen purification from fossil-fuel derived feed streams. In addition, the technology also could be broadly applied to other feedstocks. The advantages of this membrane technology include low cost, robustness, and high efficiency.