Enhancement of Hydrogen Storage Process Using Heat Pipe

Abstract

Heat transfer from/to the metal hydride bed is a critical factor affecting the performance of metal hydride storage tanks (MHSTs for short). This study examined the  effect of heat pipe on the metal hydride tank by means of heat management. The experimental study explains the use of heat pipe for enhancement the heat transfer in MHSTs, which built using LaNi4.75Al0.25 as the storage media and under various hydrogen pressure supply in the range of 2 to10 bar. This study also presents comparisons between the two different MHSTs which are designed with and without heat pipe. Two configurations of metal hydride tanks are considered and consisted of tubular cylindrical tanks with same base dimensions. The first one is a closed cylinder that exchanges heat through its lateral and base surfaces by means cool with natural convection. Heat pipe is made of copper–methanol combination and situated along the axis of the second reactor. Results show that the usage of heat pipe can be a good choice to increase hydrogen storing performance. The absorption time at 10 bar hydrogen inlet pressure was reduced more than 30%, and the mass of hydrogen storage increased by approximately 10% - 15%.