Hydrogen Compression and Storage With Metal Hydrides for Lower Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mechanical compressors for hydrogen storage are inefficient, prone to leaks, and generate significant vibration due to dynamic seals, making them unsuitable for efficient hydrogen storage and compression.
Innovation Solution
A solid-state hydrogen compressor using metal alloys that form metal hydrides to store hydrogen, where the composition is optimized using a machine learning model to achieve desired plateau pressures by altering the alloy composition based on properties like ground state volume, covalent radius, Pauling electronegativity, and valence electrons.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional mechanical compressors are used to pressurize hydrogen gas, then hydrogen compression is achieved, but the system suffers from leaks through dynamic seals, significant vibration, and inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical compressors with a solid-state compressor that uses metal hydride reactions. Instead of mechanical moving parts and dynamic seals, the system uses chemical reactions between metal alloys and hydrogen gas to achieve compression, eliminating leaks and vibration associated with mechanical systems
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating parameters by using thermal energy input to drive the metal hydride reaction rather than mechanical energy. By controlling temperature parameters, the system achieves hydrogen compression without the mechanical components that cause vibration and leaks
2Power
If conventional mechanical compressors are used to pressurize hydrogen gas, then hydrogen compression is achieved, but the system requires significant energy input
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical compression with a chemical reaction-based solid-state compressor. The metal hydride system uses thermal energy to drive the hydrogen absorption and release reactions, achieving compression with lower overall energy consumption compared to mechanical compressors that require continuous mechanical power input
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes phase transitions in metal hydrides, where hydrogen atoms transition between being absorbed into the metal lattice and released from it. These phase transitions occur at specific temperature thresholds, allowing the system to store and release hydrogen energy efficiently without continuous mechanical power input
3Reliability
If metal alloy composition is changed to achieve desired plateau pressure, then storage performance is improved, but material selection becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent systematically changes material composition parameters by substituting elements in the metal alloy and adjusting their ratios. By varying the composition parameters (element types and proportions), the system achieves different plateau pressure characteristics, allowing optimization for specific storage requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite metal alloy materials combining multiple elements (such as La-Ni-Al, Ti-V-Cr-Fe-Ni systems) to achieve desired plateau pressure and storage capacity. These composite materials provide tunable properties that can be optimized for specific applications while maintaining reliable performance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The optimized solid-state compressor achieves efficient hydrogen storage and release at desired pressures with minimal moving parts, reducing energy consumption and vibration, and allows for tunable output pressures through staged compression.
Implementation Method 1
These metal alloys interact with gaseous hydrogen to form metal hydrides that capture hydrogen atoms in the atomic lattice of the metal alloy
Implementation Method 2
The hydrogen-charged storage media can be heated to release the hydrogen atoms as gaseous hydrogen
Data Source
AI summary
A hydrogen compressor includes an inlet valve, an outlet valve, a storage container in fluid communication with the inlet valve and the outlet valve, a heat transfer device, and storage media arranged inside the storage container. The storage media is made from an initial composition that includes a first element and a second element. The second element has at least one substitution element that is identified based on at least one of the ground state volume per atom of the elemental solid, the covalent radius, the Pauling electronegativity, and the number of valence electrons of the substitution element.