DOE Awards $1.9M Grant for Study of High-Density, Lower-Pressure Adsorbed Hydrogen Storage Tanks from Corncobs
10 October 2008
The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded a $1.9 million grant to researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) and Midwest Research Institute (MRI) to continue developing a high-density, lower-pressure nanoporous biocarbon hydrogen storage system derived from corncobs.
Peter Pfeifer, professor and chair of the Department of Physics at MU will work with M. Frederick Hawthorne, professor of radiology, chemistry and physics and director of the MU International Institute for Nano and Molecular Medicine; Carlos Wexler, associate professor of physics; Galen Suppes, professor of chemical engineering; and researchers at MRI in Kansas City to develop the hydrogen storage material.
The research is a continuation of previous studies during which Pfeifer and his colleagues found that corncobs, when reduced to carbon briquettes and doped with boron, have a unique ability to store natural gas with high capacity at low pressure, a discovery that allows for more flexible and less bulky fuel tank designs. (Earlier post.)
Developmental hydrogen vehicles exist today but current designs require large, bulky tanks of compressed hydrogen gas to hold the fuel. The tanks also have a relatively small range, only holding enough fuel to travel up to 200 miles. We will be working on reducing the size and weight of the tank and increasing the storage capacity by developing storage materials that hold hydrogen at a much lower pressure than the current high-pressure tanks. The new tanks will store hydrogen on the surface of appropriately engineered carbons.
—Peter Pfeifer
First, Suppes will create carbon briquettes with high surface areas from corncobs in a special multi-step process. The high surface area, where one gram of carbon has an area comparable to a football field, is key to a high storage capacity, Pfeifer said. In the second step of the process, Hawthorne will dope the briquettes with boron. Previous research found that adding boron to the carbon greatly increases its storage capacity. Finally, Pfeifer and Wexler will design carbon and boron structures that maximize the storage capacity and will test the storage capacity.
MRI researchers will support the team by designing and constructing the doping system as well as a low temperature hydrogen uptake fixture that is used to determine how much hydrogen is stored per standard liter. MRI also will assist with project management responsibilities for the team.
This MU-MRI project is one of 10 cost-shared hydrogen storage research and development projects recently announced by the DOE. (Earlier post.)
Resources
P. Pfeifer, J.W. Burress, M.B. Wood, C.M. Lapilli, S.A. Barker, J.S. Pobst, R.J. Cepel, C. Wexler, P.S. Shah, M.J. Gordon, G.J. Suppes, S.P. Buckley, D.J. Radke, J. Ilavsky, A.C. Dillon, P.A. Parilla, M. Benham, and M.W. Roth (2008) High-Surface-Area Biocarbons for Reversible On-Board Storage of Natural Gas and Hydrogen. In: Life Cycle Analysis for New Energy Conversion and Storage Systems, eds. V.M Fthenakis, A.C. Dillon, and N. Savage, Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 1041, 1041-R02-02
Mikael Wood (University of Missouri) Hydrogen Storage on Nanoporous Biocarbon, 2007 March Meeting of the American Physical Society, Denver
CO2 recycle is a more compact method than H2 storage. There are companies that seem to be able to burn Ammonia in engines. There is no doubt that ammonia can be decomposed into Hydrogen and nitrogen with high heat. Perhaps it is a better hydrogen carrier.
It should be emphasised that many small tanks of pressurized gas do not weigh any more theoretically than one large tank. There is no weight advantage to large tanks so small ones can be used in every crack and crevice. There remains a question if spherical tanks are more weight efficient than cylindrical. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 10 October 2008 at 11:16 PM