Nickel-Based Amorphous Metal Membranes for Water Gas Shift Reactors

Hydrogen produced today from coal, natural gas, or biomass must be separated and purified outside the reactors using pressure swing absorption (PSA), a process that requires significant additional space and energy. Placing hydrogen-permeable membranes inside the reactors themselves would allow hydrogen to diffuse out, thereby reducing the cost of hydrogen production. In this Phase I effort, Mainstream will demonstrate an innovative new metal membrane for use inside of high-temperature water gas shift membrane reactors. By removing hydrogen continuously as it forms inside these reactors, this new membrane eliminates the need for bulky and expensive downstream pressure swing adsorption purifiers. Specific details on this membrane are included in the proprietary section of the proposal. This approach not only streamlines reformer and gasifier-based hydrogen production, it dramatically lowers the overall cost of hydrogen production. The resulting cost and energy savings would help the domestic natural gas, coal, and biomass industries and move the U.S. closer to the DOE