Hydrogen production through sodium borohydride ethanolysis

Abstract

In this work, sodium borohydride (SB) ethanolysis was explored for the first time as a method to generate hydrogen for Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells. Ethanolysis by-product was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Metal and acid catalysts were tested. RuCl3·3H2O was the best metal catalyst. Acetic acid was selected for the study because of its effectiveness, low cost and relative greenness. The maximum gravimetric hydrogen density obtained was 2.1% wt. The addition of water produces an increase in hydrogen generation rate and a decrease in conversion. The use of ethanol-methanol mixtures produces an increase in reaction rates in absence of catalyst. As a proof of concept the reaction was performed in a small reactor which operates by the addition of ethanolic acetic acid solutions to solid SB (in the form of granules). The reactor produces stable and constant hydrogen generation in the range of 20–80 ml min−1 during 1 h at constant temperature (around 27–35 °C).