Penn State researchers develop process simplifying purification of hydrogen

April 19, 2022 |

In Pennsylvania, refining metals, manufacturing fertilizers and powering fuel cells for heavy vehicles are all processes that require purified hydrogen. But purifying, or separating, that hydrogen from a mix of other gases can be difficult, with several steps. A Penn State research team demonstrated that the process can be simplified using a pump outfitted with newly developed membrane materials.  

The researchers used an electrochemical hydrogen pump to both separate and compress hydrogen with an 85% recovery rate from fuel gas mixtures known as syngas and 98.8% recovery rate from conventional water gas shift reactor exit stream — the highest value recorded. The team detailed their approach in ACS Energy Letters. 

Category: Research

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