Abstract
This work presents for the first time an integrated hydrogen generation system with storage based on aluminum waste from soda cans to supply hydrogen on-demand to a PEM (proton exchange membrane)-type fuel cell for reliable electricity generation. The raw material that feeds the hydrogen generator consists of distilled water, aluminum from soda cans and sodium hydroxide to remove the oxide layer that passivates the aluminum, a technique known as alkaline activation. The design of the generator was done based on the analysis of the mass and energy balance and its experimental verification. The stainless-steel prototype consisted of a vessel with a capacity of 2.1 L batch reactor, which delivers the gas produced to a column of water to scrub the gas. The three components function as a temporary gas storage system while the fuel is delivered at a regulated pressure. The NaOH container has a maximum storage capacity of 0.45 L, enough for 21 g of aluminum to react and produce 25.7 L (at 0 °C and 105 Pa) of hydrogen; the reaction yield in the generator was 97%. Through the evaluation of the electrical performance at a home-made 9 cm2 PEMFC and extrapolation to 45 W, it was calculated that the generator can supply H2 to the cell for 53 min at that power.
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Acknowledgements
Romeo Moreno-Flores thanks the National Science and Technology Council (CONACyT, México) for the Ph.D. fellowship.
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This work was funded by the National Science and Technology Council (CONACyT, México) providing the Ph.D. fellowship for Romeo Moreno-Flores.
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RMF contributed to design and experiments, writing; FLM contributed to design and writing; EV contributed to writing and corrections; PJ: Sebastian contributed to supervision and editing.
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Moreno-Flores, R., Loyola-Morales, F., Valenzuela, E. et al. Design and performance evaluation of a prototype hydrogen generator employing hydrolysis of aluminum waste. Clean Techn Environ Policy 25, 747–753 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-022-02276-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-022-02276-3