Electro Decomposition of Ammonia into Hydrogen for Fuel Cell Use.

摘要

This work was undertaken to create an efficient process for electrolyzing ammonia, by clarifying the electrolytic decomposition path-ways of ammonia and urea. This project demonstrated the feasibility of using ammonia and urea electrolysis technologies to produce hydrogen as a potential fuel source for the fuel Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell back up power for training facilities and soldier camps, under the 'Silent Camp' initiative. This was achieved with scaling of bench scale electrolyzer to a 50 W electrolyzer system known as the 'GreenBox.' The construction of the 50 W GreenBox depended on the development of the catalyst and fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanisms for ammonia and urea electrolysis. Significant progress in catalyst development was achieved by using chemical and electrochemical preparation techniques, and using the various state-of-the-art analytical methods funded through this project. A new synthesized material-nickel hydroxide nanosheets-has shown potential to be catalyst for urea electrolysis and catalyst support for ammonia electrolysis. The energy consumption for the ammonia electrolysis using the nickel based nanostructured electrodes is anticipated to be lower than 8.6 Wh per gram of hydrogen gas produced. The low energy consumption will provide a significant advantage when the GreenBox is combined with fuel cells.