Hydrogen storage system by catalytic dehydrogenation of amines

Abstract

The current disclosure is directed to a hydrogen-storage system that employs catalytic dehydrogenation of low-molecular-weight amines in a hydrogen reactor. The hydrogen-storage system comprises aliphatic amines and di-amines as organic carriers that store hydrogen covalently, a hydrogen reactor that releases and separates hydrogen gas from the carrier, and metal or metal-oxide catalysts that promote a dehydrogenation reaction to release hydrogen. In certain implementations, a metal or metal-oxide catalyst may be carried on high-surface-area support materials, such as gamma-alumina and metal-organic-framework materials, to enhance catalytic properties. The hydrogen reactor may be a packed-bed reactor, a monolith reactor, or a flow-through hydrogen-membrane reactor. In one implementation, the flow-through hydrogen-membrane reactor comprises an inlet through which the organic hydrogen carrier flows into the reactor, a hydrogen-separation membrane selectively permeable to hydrogen, a recirulation outlet for removing unspent organic carrier, and a hydrogen outlet for releasing hydrogen and reaction byproducts. The spent organic carrier are collected and hydrogenated to regenerate the original fuel.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.