Performance testing of hydrogen transport membranes at elevated temperatures and211 pressures

摘要

The development of hydrogen transport ceramic membranes offers increased211u001eopportunities for hydrogen gas separation and utilization. Commercial application 211u001eof such membranes will most likely take place under conditions of elevated 211u001etemperature and pressure, where industrial processes producing and or utilizing 211u001ehydrogen occur, and where such membranes are theoretically expected to have the 211u001egreatest permeability. Hydrogen separation membrane performance data at elevated 211u001etemperature is quite limited, and data at elevated pressures is conspicuously 211u001elacking. This paper will describe the design, construction, and recent 211u001eexperimental results obtained from a membrane testing unit located at the U.S. 211u001eDepartment of Energy's Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC). The membrane 211u001etesting unit is capable of operating at temperatures up to 900 C and pressures up 211u001eto 500 psi. Mixed-oxide ceramic ion-transport membranes, fabricated at Argonne 211u001eNational Laboratory (ANL), were evaluated for hydrogen permeability and 211u001echaracterized for surface changes and structural integrity using scanning 211u001eelectron microscopy/X-ray microanalysis (SEM/EDS), X-ray photoelectron 211u001espectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), as a function of 211u001etemperature, pressure, and hydrogen exposure.