The opportunity of membrane technology for hydrogen purification in the power to hydrogen (P2H) roadmap: a review

• Published in: Frontiers of chemical science and engineering Vol. 15; no. 3; pp. 464 - 482
• Main Authors: Lu, Hiep Thuan, Li, Wen, Miandoab, Ehsan Soroodan, Kanehashi, Shinji, Hu, Guoping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Higher Education Press 01.06.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Fuel systems; Gas pipelines; Hydrogen; Hydrogen-based energy; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Membrane separation; Membranes; Nanotechnology; Natural gas; Operating temperature; Pressure swing adsorption; Purification; R&D; Research & development; Review; Review Article; Selectivity; Separation; Sustainable development; membrane technology; hydrogen; power to hydrogen; energy
• ISSN: 2095-0179; 2095-0187
• DOI: 10.1007/s11705-020-1983-0

The global energy market is in a transition towards low carbon fuel systems to ensure the sustainable development of our society and economy. This can be achieved by converting the surplus renewable energy into hydrogen gas. The injection of hydrogen (⩽10% v/v) in the existing natural gas pipelines is demonstrated to have negligible effects on the pipelines and is a promising solution for hydrogen transportation and storage if the end-user purification technologies for hydrogen recovery from hydrogen enriched natural gas (HENG) are in place. In this review, promising membrane technologies for hydrogen separation is revisited and presented. Dense metallic membranes are highlighted with the ability of producing 99.9999999% (v/v) purity hydrogen product. However, high operating temperature (⩾300 °C) incurs high energy penalty, thus, limits its application to hydrogen purification in the power to hydrogen roadmap. Polymeric membranes are a promising candidate for hydrogen separation with its commercial readiness. However, further investigation in the enhancement of H 2 /CH 4 selectivity is crucial to improve the separation performance. The potential impacts of impurities in HENG on membrane performance are also discussed. The research and development outlook are presented, highlighting the essence of upscaling the membrane separation processes and the integration of membrane technology with pressure swing adsorption technology.