A review on hydrogen production using aluminum and aluminum alloys

The hydrogen economy has been identified as an alternative to substitute the non-sustainable fossil fuel based economy. Ongoing research is underway to develop environmentally friendly and economical hydrogen production technologies that are essential for the hydrogen economy. One of the promising ways to produce hydrogen is to use aluminum or its alloys to reduce water or hydrocarbons to hydrogen. This paper gives an over-view on these aluminum-based hydrogen production methods, their limitations and challenges for commercialization. Also, a newly developed concept for cogeneration of hydrogen and electrical energy is discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.