High density hydrogen production at 100% purity using a reconfigured multi metallic composite membrane reactor
Proof of Concept Award (Round 2)
Potential: The demand for hydrogen at 100% purity is growing at a rate of 7.6% per year. This is likely to increase as the development of fuel cells could make hydrogen the fuel of the future.
However, the lack of a cost-effective technique to 'clean' bulk quantities of readily available hydrogen at 99% purity is a limiting factor. In addition, contaminated gas may reduce the life of the fuel cell. As a result, the search for a cost-effective source of ultrapure hydrogen could play a key part in the future development of fuel cell technology.
Ultrapure hydrogen is required for manufacturing processes across a range of industries. In particular the microelectronics industry requires hydrogen with purity in excess of 99.99999%, which is costly to achieve using existing technologies.
Technology: The technology is based on an enhanced multi metallic composite membrane, which appears to overcome the life cycle limitations of existing membranes for high throughput hydrogen recovery.
Concept: The project will examine the characterisation of the membrane and design of a hydrogen reactor that will permit on-site processing of ultrapure hydrogen at moderate temperatures, using only a tiny amount of precious metal.
The project will also investigate the requirements for a range of target markets with a view to developing appropriate configurations to suit the feed gas, flow rate and purity requirements of each.
Ultimately the aim of the project is to produce a reactor design that is cost-effective, low maintenance and flexible to operate.
Contact: e.gobina@rgu.ac.uk
