Hydrogen fuel based on the simple molecular gas, H2, derived from natural gas, water electrolysis, or biomass processing, represents a domestic, environmentally �green� fuel that could be produced in sufficient abundance to largely supplant our 14 million barrels of oil per day transportation dependency. Its gravimetric energy density is unmatched at 51,590 Btu/lb; however, because it is a gas under standard conditions, it must be stored on-board in heavy pressurized cylinders. In plain language, it is difficult to carry enough H2 on the vehicle to go very far. One way to enable facile H2 storage is to convert it to the solid state. Lithium borohydride, LiBH4, is a white crystalline solid that reacts spontaneously with water to generate H2 and metaborate:LiBH4 + 2 H2O ? LiBO2 + 4 H2The storage density of H2 in LiBH4 is 69% greater than pure H2 in liquid cryogenic form. One gram of LiBH4 liberates 4.11 liters of hydrogen gas at STP. One could envision developing an on-board �H2 on demand� delivery system based on this reaction for either a fuel cell or a H2-burning internal combustion engine power train. The challenges are how to control the rate of H2 generation and how to regenerate the borohydride from the metaborate. For both processes, the development of new catalysts to promote the respective processes is key. Typical energy consumption rates for a mid-size vehicle lie in the 25-50 kW range. That translates to a H2? consumption rate of 2.5-5.0 L/s. Supported by funding through YSU's Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering, a team of chemistry and chemical engineering students is dividing the system into modules and addressing the technical challenges and design ramifications. Results accumulated to date will be reported.

Development of an on-board H<sub>2</sub> storage and recovery system based on lithium borohydride

246th National Meeting (2013)

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Development of an on-board H2 storage and recovery system based on lithium borohydride

Development of an on-board H₂ storage and recovery system based on lithium borohydride