Abstract

Nanostructured hybrid materials have the solution to facilitate renewable energy to cover up for anticipated energy gap and related ecological problems. In this work the design of a nano structured ceramic membrane is carried out using ceramic nanoparticles for application in energy security challenges. However the innovation is that a membrane porous network is modified through its immersion in silica based solution. This process helps to pull the gas of interest towards the membrane in this case CO₂ and allows the other gases to pass through. However the development of this hybrid ceramic gas separation membrane in this study elaborates on the recovery of hydrogen from fuel reforming unit for use in fuel cell applications. A detailed production and purification of hydrogen in a fuel processor using the advanced ceramic membrane is presented. A gaseous mixture of hydrogen and carbon dioxide is produced following fuel on-board reforming. To enhance the efficiency of the fuel cell, a clean hydrogen using membranes with a high permeability and selectivity for H₂ over N₂, CO₂ such that H₂ will permeate with high-purity. Accordingly, results obtained show an appreciable high flow rate of 5.045 l/min and 3.71 separation factor of hydrogen gas to CO₂ at relatively low pressure when compared to the other gases. Further confirmation of the dominance of Knudsen and surface flow mechanism in the entire experiments is also presented.

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