Hydrogen Generation

About

Technology Andrei G. Fedorov and David Damm from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech have developed a novel method and apparatus for generating hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels at high power density and adaptive throughput with a very low (CO) concentration (<10 ppm), thus eliminating the need for separate CO-cleanup units. The technology combines the processes of fuel reforming, water gas shift, compression, and hydrogen separation into a single, scalable unit. It is ideal for use with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and power plants operating between 1 W and 100 kW. A unique aspect of the innovation is its piston and cylinder assembly that operates in a four-stroke cycle to generate hydrogen at a highly selective and scalable manner. The reactors offer precisely controlled volume, pressure, temperature, and reaction time. Precision actuators move reactants and products in and out of the chamber at the appropriate times. The walls of the reactor and/or actuator may be selectively permeable to one or more of the reaction products, resulting in product purification as well as shifting of reaction equilibrium in a favorable direction. Each reactor unit is optimized for performing a specific reaction or multiple reactions and/or separation steps. Scale-up to required power is achieved by parallel operation of multiple identical units. Applications Portable power generation Automotive applications Distributed power generation and chemical production Point-of-use energy generation Advantages Controlled operation: Achieves maximum conversion of fuel to hydrogen and CO2 Optimal sizing: Performs at most favorable operating conditions to optimize output Rapid scale-up: Allows reactors to be stacked for increased processing capacity Seamless integration: Combines multiple reactions in a single operating unit