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Hydrogen Recovery Process Using New Membrane Materials--Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., 1360 Willow Road, Suite 103, Menlo Park, CA  94025-1516; 650-328-2228

Dr. Andre Da Costa, Principal Investigator

Ms. E. G. Weiss, Business Official

DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-00ER83046

Amount:  $100,000

 

Increasingly, U.S. refineries are short of hydrogen.  Untapped sources include off-gas and fuel gas streams generated on site.  Membranes have been used for this application, but membrane failure caused by plasticization and condensation of heavy hydrocarbons has led to shutdown of a number of plants.  In this project a new class of membrane material that is completely inert to hydrocarbon liquids will be developed.  These membranes do not fail after exposure to vapors or condensed liquids.  This will allow hydrogen-permeable membranes to be widely used in refinery applications to recover hydrogen.  In Phase I the reliability of the membrane will be demonstrated in bench-scale module tests with gas mixtures known to cause failure of current membranes.  A technical and economic analysis of refinery and petrochemical plant hydrogen recovery processes using these membranes will be performed.

 

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:  Hydrogen-permeable membranes have not been widely used in refinery applications because of poor reliability.  Development of hydrocarbon-resistant membranes will allow economical recovery of hydrogen from refinery waste gas streams.