Hydrogen Separation Membranes

目前用于氢分离技术的聚合物膜具有有限的选择性(即，它们不保留某些杂质)，此外，它是热敏性的。后一种限制意味着在分离步骤之前，热气流必须充分冷却。金属膜克服了这些困难，但目前使用的膜是昂贵的，因为它们是由钯-银合金制成的。这项提案概述了使用一种对氢具有高度渗透性的较便宜的钛合金的技术可行性的研究。小型企业创新研究计划下的这项第一阶段研究将重点放在清洁钛合金膜并在其上涂上薄层钯或镍以避免氧化影响的方法。然后，将在典型的工业条件下测试涂层膜的氢渗透率和选择性。私人助理德韦恩·T·弗里森博士和他的雇主Bend Research，Inc.在生产性研究方面建立了出色的记录，非常有资格获得支持。建议按所要求的数额为39866美元，为期六个月。

Polymeric membranes currently in use in hydrogen separation technology have limited selectivity (i.e., they do not retain certain impurities) and, in addition, are heat-sensitive. The latter restriction implies that hot streams of gas must be cooled sufficiently before the separation step. Metallic membranes overcome these difficulties, but the ones used currently are expensive since they are made of palladium-silver alloys. This proposal outlines an investigation of the technical feasibility of using a less expensive titanium alloy that is highly permeable to hydrogen. This Phase I research under the Small Business Innovation Research Program will focus on methods to clean and coat titanium alloy membranes with thin layers of palladium or nickel to avoid oxidation effects. The coated membranes will then be tested for hydrogen permeation rates and for selectivity, under typical industrial conditions. The PI, Dr. Dwayne T. Friesen, and his employer, Bend Research, Inc., have established an excellent record of productive research and are very well qualified for support. Funding at the requested level of $39,866 for six months is recommended.