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

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.