On-Demand Hydrogen System Ready To Roll

The University of North Dakota's Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has announced development of a catalytic process that produces high-pressure hydrogen gas as needed from any type of liquid hydrocarbon, improving the prospects for using H₂ as a fuel. The on-demand system, covered under U.S. patent 20060225348, can be used like a regular gasoline pump to fill up fuel-cell-powered vehicles, construction machinery, and electronic equipment with H₂ while it is made from natural gas, gasoline, or renewable fuels such as bioethanol or biodiesel, EERC Associate Director of Research Thomas A. Erickson notes. This approach improves hydrocarbon fuel efficiency, permits easier trapping of CO₂ and pollutants during H₂ production, and avoids the need for a national H₂ distribution infrastructure, Erickson adds. The steam-reforming process uses commercially available catalysts to strip hydrogen from carbon and purify it, similar to steam methane reforming in oil refineries. What makes the method unique, Erickson points out, is the ability to maintain H₂ at pressures up to 12,000 psi, rather than isolating H₂ at ambient pressure and then compressing it before use. EERC is working with industry partners and the U.S. military to commercialize the technology