SBIR Phase I: Amorphous High-Temperature Hydrogen Membranes

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the use of amorphous alloys as hydrogen permeable membranes. There has been enormous interest in hydrogen separation from reformed hydrocarbon fuels. While hydrogen selective membranes have been used in these areas, their use has generally been limited because of cost constraints and membrane susceptibility to cracking and poisoning. Amorphous alloys have vastly improved mechanical properties and resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. If amorphous alloys can be engineered for hydrogen permeability, membrane reactors with longer life cycles would be feasible. This proposal will investigate promising amorphous alloy compositions through atomistic modeling, molecular dynamic simulation and catalytic property modification (by near-surface alloying), to yield superior hydrogen-related behavior. The proposed project will engineer and fabricate amorphous hydrogen permeable membranes with resistance to sulfur and other poisoning mechanisms. Promising amorphous alloys will be fabricated as thin-film membranes and tested for hydrogen permeability. Once hydrogen-permeable alloy compositions have been identified, these selected compositions will be further tested for hydrogen separation and purification from synthetic hydrocarbon reformate. Membrane engineering and characterization will be completed in Phase I, and the selected membrane system will be integrated into a compact mini-channel fuel reformer in Phase II of this project. The final product of Phase I and II will be a membrane reformer, capable of reforming commercially available, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels to high-purity hydrogen, for use in fuel cells.