Metal/ceramic composites with high hydrogen permeability
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
InventorsStephen E. Dorris, Tae H. Lee, Uthamalingam Balachandran
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Abstract
A membrane for separating hydrogen from fluids is provided comprising a sintered homogenous mixture of a ceramic composition and a metal. The metal may be palladium, niobium, tantalum, vanadium, or zirconium or a binary mixture of palladium with another metal such as niobium, silver, tantalum, vanadium, or zirconium.
Claims18
A method for extracting hydrogen from a fluid stream, the method comprising:
- contacting hydrogen feedstock with a first surface of a metal composite membrane;
- allowing hydrogen molecules to dissociate to hydrogen atoms through the first surface;
- passing the hydrogen atoms through the metal composite membrane to a second surface;
- and collecting the hydrogen atoms.
A membrane for separating hydrogen from fluids by the transport of hydrogen atoms, the membrane comprising a sintered homogeneous mixture of a ceramic powder and a metal powder, wherein the membrane has no interconnected porosity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.