(727b) Palladium Membranes for Portable Power Applications

Hydrogen selective membrane technology offers an opportunity to utilize reformed hydrocarbon feed stocks as hydrogen carriers for low temperature fuel cells.  However, existing membrane technology struggles to meet cost and reliability targets, particularly when considering the challenging portable marketplace where thermal cycling durability and high flux become paramount.  In this work, the latest efforts in engineering a palladium composite membrane optimized for portable power applications is discussed.  The rate limiting mechanism of transport is identified, and membranes are tested under various synthetic reformed fuel atmospheres – such as reformed methanol and water gas shift atmospheres.  Operating under moderate pressures (20psi), the membranes produce ‘fuel cell quality’ hydrogen from the aforementioned reformed fuel atmospheres.  Thermal cycling stability is also discussed.