Effect of composition on hydrogen permeation through palladium based membranes

Multi-component synthetic gas (syngas) mixtures produced from the gasification of coal, low-grade fuel, waste and biomass offers a novel source of hydrogen production. Gasification also eliminates much of the pollutant emissions from the combustion of these fuels. Palladium based membranes present a promising method for extracting hydrogen from syngas. Experimental results are presented from a lab scale experimental facility designed and built to examine various types of palladium and palladium alloy membranes used to harvest hydrogen from syngas. The membrane examined had a 10µm Pd layer supported on porous stainless-steel. This study used a mixture of pure gasses including hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide to simulate syngas of different compositions. The focus aimed to determine whether composition of syngas affected hydrogen separation performance under various operating conditions. It was concluded that in addition to the hydrogen partial pressure, the partial pressure other gas species were major controllers of membrane performance.