2017 Volume 42 Issue 4 Pages 228-232
Metal hydrides can absorb large quantities of hydrogen at room temperature and ordinary pressure. Metal hydrides become pulverized with absorbing and desorbing hydrogen, and this phenomenon sometimes causes the tank transformation owing to the uneven distribution of powders in the tank. Our metal hydride, named “Hydrage™” was made using a technique of combining the metal hydride powders with polymer materials preventing decrease of the hydrogen absorption and desorption rate. With this technique, the metal hydride powders were immobilized, and strain of the tank was reduced. Furthermore, “Hydrage™” enabled uniform dispersion of the metal hydride powders. These effects achieved high filling density in the tank relative to that of conventional metal hydride tank. As an application of “Hydrage™”, we made a large MH tank system which could store around 100kg of hydrogen. Dimension of one metal hydride tank system with a capacity of 100 kg is 1.8m in width, 3.1m in length, and 2.1m in height. This system consists of 9 cylindrical tanks. Metal hydride tank system, which can store a large amount of hydrogen safely and compactly, has the potential to become popular with various applications in the future.
