Development of a continuous hydrogen generator fueled by ammonia borane for portable fuel cell applications

Abstract

Thermally-induced dehydrogenation from a mixture of ammonia borane (AB) and a chemical promoter, tetraethyleneglycol dimethylether (T4EGDE) (AB:T4EGDE = 79:21, wt%) has been demonstrated as an efficient method for hydrogen production at 85-145 degrees C. We further build on these prior results to create a continuous H-2 generator fueled by solid AB beads. The as-developed H-2 generator releases ca. 2 equiv of hydrogen autothermally during operation by utilizing excess heat produced from AB dehydrogenation without any external heater. A purifying system equipped with acidic filter materials is further utilized to remove gaseous byproducts other than hydrogen. The H-2 generator shows a rapid H-2-release rate up to 3.3 l(H-2) min(-1) with fast load-following capability. The as-developed H-2 generator is ultimately integrated with a commercial 200 W-e polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to test its capability. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.