Hydrogen permeance and the effect of H2O and CO on the permeability of Pd0.75Ag0.25 membranes under gas-driven permeation and plasma-driven permeation

The hydrogen permeance of Pd0.75Ag0.25 membranes was measured in the presence of pure H-2 or mixtures of H-2 with CO and H2O at temperatures in the range of 300-773 K and at atmospheric pressure under gas-driven permeation (GDP) and plasma-driven permeation (PDP). The Arrhenius plots of the permeability through these membranes versus the inverse temperature showed a small peak in the intermediate temperature range and different activation energies in the low and high temperature ranges. The experimental data also indicated a more pronounced effect of CO on the permeability than H2O, and a similar effect of GDP and PDP. The stronger inhibition by CO was due to the strong interaction between CO and Pd, and this effect was eliminated at temperatures higher than 623 K. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.