Hydrogen production and storage with chemical hydride slurry for energy in the 21st century

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2000

OSTI ID:20034376

Breault, R W; McClaine, A W; Rolfe, J; Konduri, R; Miskolczy, G

Hydrogen has immense potential as an efficient and environmentally friendly energy carrier of the future. It can be used directly by fuel cells to produce electricity with >50% efficiency and with zero emissions. Ultra-low emissions are also achievable when hydrogen is combusted with air to power an engine (especially in the new hybrid systems) or to provide process heat, since the only pollutant produced, NO{sub x}, is then easily controlled. To realize this potential, however, cost effective methods for producing, transporting, and storing hydrogen must be developed. Thermo Power Corporation, Advanced Technologies R and D group, is developing a new approach for the production, transmission, and storage of hydrogen. In the approach, a chemical (light metal) hydride/organic slurry is used as the hydrogen carrier and storage media. At the point of storage and use, a metal hydride/water reaction is used to produce high-purity hydrogen. An essential feature of the approach is the recovery and recycle of the spent hydride at centralized processing plants, resulting in a low cost. The approach has two clear benefits: it greatly improves energy transmission and storage characteristics of hydrogen as a fuel, and produces the hydrogen carrier efficiently and economically from a low cost carbon source. Test data on the various process steps presented and used in the economic projections for a commercial size plant. The authors preliminary economic analysis of the proposed process indicates that hydrogen could be produced for $$3.00/10{sup 6} Btu based on a carbon cost of $$2.50/10{sup 6}Btu. This compares to current costs of about $$9.00/10{sup 6}Btu to produce hydrogen from $$3.00/10{sup 6} Btu natural gas and $$25/10{sup 6} Btu to produce hydrogen by electrolysis from $$0.05 per kWh electricity. The present standard for production of hydrogen from renewable energy is photovoltaic-electrolysis at $100 to $150/10{sup 6} Btu. This paper presents experimental findings form tests and the projected economics for the process.

• Research Organization: Thermo Power, Waltham, MA (US)
• OSTI ID: 20034376
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
CARBON BLACK
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
HYDROGEN STORAGE
HYDROGEN-BASED ECONOMY
LITHIUM HYDROXIDES
REGENERATION