Hydrogen for Use as Fuel Cell Energy Source

Introduction

The question of how to supply fuel cells with hydrogen has been a subject of intensive research for many years. Now a group at the Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed a high performance catalyst that decomposes methane directly into carbon and hydrogen. The new catalyst works more than twice as efficiently as the group's previous efforts, producing 2 litre of hydrogen gas per minute per gram of catalyst. Moreover, the reaction yields hydrogen of such high purity that it can be supplied directly to a fuel cell without worry of impurities degrading the fuel cell's electrodes. The new catalyst is made from a mesh of thin carbon fibers studded with nanoparticles of a nickel compound. When methane gas flows through the mesh at a temperature of around 500 oC (932 F), the carbon and hydrogen atoms that make up the methane molecules separate. The carbon atoms accumulate as protrusions on the mesh, leaving the hydrogen gas free for use as a fuel cell energy source. The carbon can be utilized in reinforced plastics.

Main Application: Energy

Contact for more information:

Science & Technology Wing Embassy of India
2-2-11, Kudan Minami, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0074, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3262-2391 to 97,
Fax: +81-3-3234-4866
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