Coupling of exothermic and endothermic hydrogen storage materials

Chemical hydrogen storage (CHS) materials are a high-storage-density alternative to the gaseous compressed hydrogen currently used to provide hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. One of the challenges of CHS materials is addressing the energy barriers required to break the chemical bonds and release the hydrogen. Coupling CHS reactions that are endothermic and exothermic during dehydrogenation can improve onboard energy efficiency and thermal control for the system, making such materials viable. Acceptable coupling between reactions requires both thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. In this work, models were developed to predict the reaction enthalpy and rate required to achieve high conversions for both reactions based on experimental measurements. Modeling results show that the coupling efficiency of exothermic and endothermic reactions is more sensitive to the ratio of the exothermic and endothermic enthalpies than to the ratio of the rates of the two steps. Modeling results also show that a slower endothermic step rate is desirable to permit sufficient heating of the reactor by the exothermic step. We look at two examples of a sequential and parallel reaction scheme and provide some of the first published insight into the required temperature range to maximize the hydrogen release from 1,2-BN cyclohexane and indoline. •Chemical hydrogen storage materials provide high hydrogen storage densities.•Coupling endothermic and exothermic reactions improves system efficiency.•A model was developed to predict conversions for sequential and parallel reactions.•Coupling of reaction is more sensitive to reaction enthalpies than reaction rates.•A slow endothermic step is desirable to allow heating of the exothermic step.