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Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (17 August 2023) | Viewed by 15907

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Interests: renewable energy; hydrogen energy storage; metal hydrides thermal management; constructal theory and design; phase-change heat transfer
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to invite submissions to this Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of “Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications”. Metal hydrides have been regarded as a promising solution to hydrogen energy storage thanks to their low storage pressure and high volumetric capacity. At the same time, however, they require an effective method to manage the heat associated with the exothermic/endothermic reactions. In line with the rapid development of hydrogen energy systems, advances in metal hydride hydrogen storage technology are required.

The Special Issue will deal with advances in metal hydrides hydrogen storage, the cooling and heating of metal hydrides, and the utilization of waste heat (or cold). Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Material development and characterization;
  • Thermal conductivity of metal hydrides;
  • Design of reactor vessels;
  • Cooling and heating during hydrogen absorption and desorption;
  • Use of waste heat

Prof. Dr. Sunwoo Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Metal hydride
  • Hydrogen
  • Thermal management
  • Energy storage

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3214 KiB  
Article
Phase Change Cooling of a Metal Hydride Reactor for Rapid Hydrogen Absorption
by Matthew Duncan Keith, Vamsi Krishna Kukkapalli and Sunwoo Kim
Energies 2022, 15(7), 2490; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15072490 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1984
Abstract
As the world is keen on cleaner and sustainable energy, hydrogen energy has the potential to be part of the green energy transition to replace fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. However, hydrogen energy storage is a difficult task since physical storage in [...] Read more.
As the world is keen on cleaner and sustainable energy, hydrogen energy has the potential to be part of the green energy transition to replace fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. However, hydrogen energy storage is a difficult task since physical storage in the form of compressed gas under high pressure is associated with safety issues. Another form of hydrogen storage is material-based storage, which is the safest way to store hydrogen energy in a particulate matter, known as metal hydrides. Metal hydrides can store hydrogen at room temperature and use less volume to store the same amount of hydrogen compared to classical gas tanks. The challenges with the metal hydrides reactor are their slow charging process and the requirement of proper thermal management during the charging process. In this study, a metal hydride reactor model is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics, and the associated heat transfer simulations are performed. The main objective of this research is to optimize the cooling channel design in the metal hydride reactor, where the R-134a coolant rejects heat through both latent and sensible heat transfer. The study showed that the phase-changing coolant and varying convection coefficient along the length of tubes significantly reduce the hydrogen charging time and the peak temperature of the reactor during hydrogen absorption. The pumping power analysis for the R-134a flow was also conducted. The computation results reveal that coolant channel configurations with nine or more tube-passes require significantly large pumping power. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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12 pages, 2829 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Hydrogenation and Corrosion Behaviour of LaNi5-xGex (x = 0.3 and 0.6) Alloys
by Krystyna Giza and Edyta Owczarek
Energies 2021, 14(17), 5285; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14175285 - 26 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1531
Abstract
The capacitive and kinetic parameters of hydride electrodes obtained on the basis of single-phase LaNi5-xGex alloys (x = 0.3 and 0.6) were related to their corrosive properties. The content of the article is important from the point of [...] Read more.
The capacitive and kinetic parameters of hydride electrodes obtained on the basis of single-phase LaNi5-xGex alloys (x = 0.3 and 0.6) were related to their corrosive properties. The content of the article is important from the point of view of the improvement of LaNi5 type materials for hydrogen energy storage used as anodes in NiMH batteries. The presence of large amounts of germanium (10% at.) in the alloy results in much less surface degradation compared to the low-germanium alloy (5% at.), which, on the one hand, leads to an improvement in the resistance of the high-germanium LaNi4.4Ge0.6 alloy to long-term cycling, but on the other hand, contributes to lower hydrogen absorption by this material. The maximum discharge capacity of 293 mAh g−1 was obtained for the low-germanium alloy using a charge/discharge current density of 185 mA g−1. The studied electrode also shows a lower tendency to self-discharge and a clearly higher exchange current density. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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Review

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34 pages, 7941 KiB  
Review
Calcium Borohydride Ca(BH4)2: Fundamentals, Prediction and Probing for High-Capacity Energy Storage Applications, Organic Synthesis and Catalysis
by Cezar Comanescu
Energies 2023, 16(11), 4536; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114536 - 05 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2594
Abstract
Calcium borohydride (Ca(BH4)2) is a complex hydride that has been less investigated compared to its lighter counterpart, magnesium borohydride. While offering slightly lower hydrogen storage capacity (11.5 wt% theoretical maximum, 9.6 wt% under actual dehydrogenation conditions), there are many [...] Read more.
Calcium borohydride (Ca(BH4)2) is a complex hydride that has been less investigated compared to its lighter counterpart, magnesium borohydride. While offering slightly lower hydrogen storage capacity (11.5 wt% theoretical maximum, 9.6 wt% under actual dehydrogenation conditions), there are many improvement avenues for maximizing the reversible hydrogen storage that have been explored recently, from DFT calculations and polymorph investigations to reactive hydride composites (RHCs) and catalytic and nanosizing effects. The stability of Ca(BH4)2, the possibility of regeneration from spent products, and the relatively mild dehydrogenation conditions make calcium borohydride an attractive compound for hydrogen storage purposes. The ionic conductivity enhancements brought about by the rich speciation of borohydride anions can extend the use of Ca(BH4)2 to battery applications, considering the abundance of Ca relative to alkali metal borohydrides typically used for this purpose. The current work aims to review the synthetic strategies, structural considerations of various polymorphs and adducts, and hydrogen storage capacity of composites based on calcium borohydrides and related complex hydrides (mixed anions, mixed cations, additives, catalysts, etc.). Additional applications related to batteries, organic and organometallic chemistry, and catalysis have been briefly described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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27 pages, 3181 KiB  
Review
Thermal Management Techniques in Metal Hydrides for Hydrogen Storage Applications: A Review
by Vamsi Krishna Kukkapalli, Sunwoo Kim and Seth A. Thomas
Energies 2023, 16(8), 3444; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16083444 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3091
Abstract
Metal hydrides are a class of materials that can absorb and release large amounts of hydrogen. They have a wide range of potential applications, including their use as a hydrogen storage medium for fuel cells or as a hydrogen release agent for chemical [...] Read more.
Metal hydrides are a class of materials that can absorb and release large amounts of hydrogen. They have a wide range of potential applications, including their use as a hydrogen storage medium for fuel cells or as a hydrogen release agent for chemical processing. While being a technology that can supersede existing energy storage systems in manifold ways, the use of metal hydrides also faces some challenges that currently hinder their widespread applicability. As the effectiveness of heat transfer across metal hydride systems can have a major impact on their overall efficiency, an affluent description of more efficient heat transfer systems is needed. The literature on the subject has proposed various methods that have been used to improve heat transfer in metal hydride systems over the years, such as optimization of the shape of the reactor vessel, the use of heat exchangers, phase change materials (PCM), nano oxide additives, adding cooling tubes and water jackets, and adding high thermal conductivity additives. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the latest, state-of-the-art techniques in metal hydride reactor design and heat transfer enhancement methodologies and identifies key areas for future researchers to target. A comprehensive analysis of thermal management techniques is documented, including performance comparisons among various approaches and guidance on selecting appropriate thermal management techniques. For the comparisons, the hydrogen adsorption time relative to the reactor size and to the amount of hydrogen absorbed is studied. This review wishes to examine the various methods that have been used to improve heat transfer in metal hydride systems and thus aims to provide researchers and engineers working in the field of hydrogen storage with valuable insights and a roadmap to guide them to further explore the development of effective thermal management techniques for metal hydrides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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23 pages, 2419 KiB  
Review
A Review on Thermal Coupling of Metal Hydride Storage Tanks with Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers
by Sera Ayten Cetinkaya, Tacettin Disli, Gamze Soyturk, Onder Kizilkan and C. Ozgur Colpan
Energies 2023, 16(1), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010341 - 28 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2823
Abstract
Hydrogen is one of the energy carriers that has started to play a significant role in the clean energy transition. In the hydrogen ecosystem, storing hydrogen safely and with high volumetric density plays a key role. In this regard, metal hydride storage seems [...] Read more.
Hydrogen is one of the energy carriers that has started to play a significant role in the clean energy transition. In the hydrogen ecosystem, storing hydrogen safely and with high volumetric density plays a key role. In this regard, metal hydride storage seems to be superior to compressed gas storage, which is the most common method used today. However, thermal management is a challenge that needs to be considered. Temperature changes occur during charging and discharging processes due to the reactions between metal, metal hydride, and hydrogen, which affect the inflow or outflow of hydrogen at the desired flow rate. There are different thermal management techniques to handle this challenge in the literature. When the metal hydride storage tanks are used in integrated systems together with a fuel cell and/or an electrolyzer, the thermal interactions between these components can be used for this purpose. This study gives a comprehensive review of the heat transfer during the charging and discharging of metal hydride tanks, the thermal management system techniques used for metal hydride tanks, and the studies on the thermal management of metal hydride tanks with material streams from the fuel cell and/or electrolyzers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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22 pages, 9349 KiB  
Review
An Overview of the Recent Advances of Additive-Improved Mg(BH4)2 for Solid-State Hydrogen Storage Material
by Muhammad Amirul Nawi Ahmad, Noratiqah Sazelee, Nurul Amirah Ali and Mohammad Ismail
Energies 2022, 15(3), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15030862 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2889
Abstract
Recently, hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a superior energy carrier that has the potential to replace fossil fuel. However, storing H2 under safe and operable conditions is still a challenging process due to the current commercial method, i.e., H2 [...] Read more.
Recently, hydrogen (H2) has emerged as a superior energy carrier that has the potential to replace fossil fuel. However, storing H2 under safe and operable conditions is still a challenging process due to the current commercial method, i.e., H2 storage in a pressurised and liquified state, which requires extremely high pressure and extremely low temperature. To solve this problem, research on solid-state H2 storage materials is being actively conducted. Among the solid-state H2 storage materials, borohydride is a potential candidate for H2 storage owing to its high gravimetric capacity (majority borohydride materials release >10 wt% of H2). Mg(BH4)2, which is included in the borohydride family, shows promise as a good H2 storage material owing to its high gravimetric capacity (14.9 wt%). However, its practical application is hindered by high thermal decomposition temperature (above 300 °C), slow sorption kinetics and poor reversibility. Currently, the general research on the use of additives to enhance the H2 storage performance of Mg(BH4)2 is still under investigation. This article reviews the latest research on additive-enhanced Mg(BH4)2 and its impact on the H2 storage performance. The future prospect and challenges in the development of additive-enhanced Mg(BH4)2 are also discussed in this review paper. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review paper that focuses on the additive-enhanced Mg(BH4)2 for solid-state H2 storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Hydrides Hydrogen Storage, Thermal Management, and Applications)
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