I-Corps: Efficient Methane-Hydrogen Separation on Metal Hydrides

I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可能更安全、更改进的氢能源储存和从氢-甲烷气体混合物中分离的方法。氢因其储量丰富、能量密度高、转化效率高等优点，已成为碳基化石燃料的潜在替代能源载体。到2050年，全球石油和天然石油的使用量将大幅减少，为应对气候变化，有必要发展氢经济。最终用途的氢气生产、储存和分离是发展氢经济的关键挑战。标准的气体储存方法是在罐内高压下压缩气体，这可能会导致安全问题。一个潜在的解决方案是将氢气与天然气混合用于特定用途，然后在接收地点将其分离。I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种潜在更安全的瞬态氢储存和高密度运输技术。这项技术可能是一种低压、低温的储存和分离系统，可以整合到电力、化学和运输部门，以帮助实现全球能源系统的脱碳。氢是一种能量载体，但它不含碳；因此，燃烧产生的二氧化碳（CO2）排放量为零。氢气部署已经确定了多个问题，包括气体储存、运输和交付。一种选择是重新利用现有的天然气网络，在商业管道中以所需的比例将氢气与天然气混合，并在目的地分离。一类金属氢化物及其合金是金属间化合物，已知在受控温度下发生可逆的吸氢/解吸反应，可以形成高效和高选择性的天然气/氢分离系统。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of a possibly safer and improved approach to hydrogen energy storage and separation from a hydrogen-methane gas mixture. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising potential alternative energy carrier to carbon-based fossil fuels due to its advantages including abundance, high energy density, and high conversion efficiency. It is necessary to develop a hydrogen economy as global oil and natural oil use are could be drastically reduced by 2050 to help address climate change. Hydrogen production, storage, and separation for end-use are critical challenges in developing a hydrogen economy. The standard gas storage method, which is to compress it under high pressure in a tank, can lead to perceived safety issues. A potential solution is to blend hydrogen with natural gas for specific uses and then separate it at the receiving site.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a potentially safer transient hydrogen storage and high-density transport technology. This technology which may be a low-pressure, low-temperature storage and separation system could be integrated into the power, chemical, and transportation sectors to assist with reaching the decarbonization of global energy systems. Hydrogen is an energy carrier, but it is devoid of carbon; hence it has zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from combustion. Multiple issues have been identified for hydrogen deployment including gas storage, transport, and delivery. One option is to repurpose the existing natural gas network where hydrogen gas could be mixed with natural gas in the desired ratio in a commercial pipeline and separated once at the destination. A class of metal hydrides and their alloys that are intermetallic compounds are known to undergo reversible hydrogen absorption/desorption reactions under controlled temperature and could form an efficient and highly selective Natural gas/Hydrogen separation system.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.