Development of palladium composite membranes for hydrogen separation
- Stephen N.
- Stephen A.
- Ronny C.
- Frank M.
- Craig R.
Two types of palladium composite membrane were investigated for hydrogen separation. A palladium alloy membrane was prepared by electroless plating a layer of palladium ({approx}20 {micro}m) and then copper onto a commercially available porous (nominal 0.2 {micro}m pores) {alpha}-alumina substrate. The resulting multilayer metal film was annealed at 355 C for several days to promote metallic interdiffusion and alloy formation. During the heat treatment, a maximum hydrogen flux of 0.15 mol (STP)/m{sup 2} {center_dot} s was observed at 355 C and a pressure drop ({Delta}P) across the membrane of 6.8 atm. The H{sub 2}/Ar ideal separation factor was 68 at these conditions, however, the separation factor decreased upon thermal cycling. The other type of membrane fabricated was a palladium coated vanadium-copper alloy foil where the main advantage is the reduction in palladium film coating thickness to 100 nm per side. New methods are being developed for welding the thin foil into modules for testing. The hydrogen flux through a pinhole-free, 75 {micro}m thick Pd/VCu{sub 1.1}/Pd (atomic %) composite membrane was 0.66 mol (STP)/m{sup 2} {center_dot} at 350 C and {Delta}P = 3.5 atm compared to 0.44 mol (STP)/m{sup 2} {center_dot} s for a 71 {micro}m thick Pd/VCu{sub 10}/Pd membrane. Vanadium alloy composition was checked using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES).
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE
- OSTI ID:
- 977439
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-04-0576; LA-UR-04-576
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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