Hydrogen Production via a Commercially Ready Inorganic Membrane Reactor. Semi-Annual Technical Progress Report Reporting Period: October 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007

摘要

The commercial stainless steel (SS) porous substrate (i.e., ZrO2/SS from Pall Corp.) was evaluated comprehensively as substrate for the deposition of the CMS membrane for hydrogen separation. The CMS membrane synthesis protocol we developed originally for the ceramic substrate was adapted here for the stainless steel substrate. Unfortunately no successful hydrogen selective membranes had been prepared during Yr I of this project. The characterization results indicated two major sources of defect present in the stainless steel substrate, which may contribute to the poor CMS membrane quality. They include (i) leaking from the crimp boundary of the stainless steel substrate, and (ii) the delamination of the ZrO2 layer deposited on the stainless steel substrate during CMS membrane preparation. Recently a new batch of the stainless steel substrate (as the 2nd generation product) was received from the supplier. Our characterization results confirm that leaking of the crimp boundary no longer exists. The thermal stability of the ZrO2/stainless steel substrate under the CMS membrane preparation condition will be evaluated during the remaining period of the project. Our goal here is to determine the suitability of the 2nd generation ZrO2/SS as substrate for the preparation of the CMS membrane for hydrogen separation by the end of this project period.