Membrane Structures for Hydrogen Separation

Hydrogen can be produced from coal, natural gas, biomass, and biomass derivatives through the use of gasification, pyrolysis, reforming, and shift technologies.  In all of these processes, the initial product is a hydrogen-rich producer gas or syngas, from which the hydrogen must be separated and purified.  This project will will develop a low cost hydrogen-permeable membrane, which produces permeated hydrogen with purity high enough for PEM fuel cell usage. The work will focus on achieving thin palladium-alloy membranes, for which the alloy film is free of porosity or defects. Phase I will produce palladium-alloy membranes of varying thicknesses on a permeable metallic support. The membranes will be tested for structural integrity in a membrane module, in order to also measure the flux.. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: A reliable, high-purity-output hydrogen purification unit should enable the broad commercialization of integrated fuel cell systems. Near term applications should include building reformers for remote power applications, military power generation, and fuel cells used in transportation (e.g., H2 refueling stations, on-vehicle reformers for public buses)