Metallic Foam-Based Membranes for Hydrogen Separation/Purification

76266-Hydrogen use would increase dramatically if plans to employ it as an environmentally friendly, zero-emission fuel source come to fruition. However, before the widespread use of hydrogen becomes commercially viable, several alternative means of production must be developed, some of which will generate levels of purity that are too low for many applications. For example, in the semiconductor industry, high-purity hydrogen is used extensively, but it is very expensive due to the cost associated with purification. This project will develop a novel metallic foam membrane separation technology, which will dramatically reduce the cost of hydrogen purification by employing inexpensive tantalum metal as the major membrane component. The device will be small and inexpensive, have high throughput, and require no user intervention. Phase I will fabricate the metallic foam purification membrane device and quantify its performance (i.e., throughput, pressure drop, required inlet pressure, operating temperature). Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The proposed metal foam membrane technology should reduce the cost of ultra-pure hydrogen by allowing consumers to buy low-purity hydrogen instead of costly high-purity gas. It also could be used to reclaim hydrogen from exhaust gas streams.