Reaction of lithium hydride with water

Journal Article · Wed Dec 25 04:00:00 UTC 1996 · Langmuir

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/la950843h· OSTI ID:458636

Leckey, J H; Nulf, L E ^[1]; Kirkpatrick, J R ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, TN (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

Lithium hydride (LiH) has been shown to react with water at a rate defined by a nonequilibrium thermodynamic-based model. The rate at any time is proportional to the surface area of the LiH multiplied by the difference in chemical activity of the reaction product, lithium hydroxide (LiOH), between the solid phase and the aqueous phase. By measuring the conductivity as a function of time for aqueous solutions resulting from the reaction of LiH with water and comparing the measurements to results from a mathematical model of the dissolution process, the geometric rate constant for the reaction was determined to be 0.0025 cm s{sup -1}, which causes the generation of 6.0 cm{sup 3} (STP) of hydrogen gas cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} at 35 {degree}C. As the reaction proceeds, the resulting solution of LiOH in water becomes more concentrated, and the reaction slows. The rate has been shown to depend only slightly on temperature, and the model predicts only a small LiOH activity coefficient dependence. The derivation of the reaction rate model, experimental results, and solution to the rate equation for some simple geometries are presented in this paper. 7 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 458636
• Journal Information: Langmuir, Journal Name: Langmuir Journal Issue: 26 Vol. 12; ISSN 0743-7463; ISSN LANGD5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
40 CHEMISTRY
66 PHYSICS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
HYDROGEN
LITHIUM HYDRIDES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
NUMERICAL DATA
SOLUTIONS
SURFACE AREA
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
WATER