Experimental study of hydrogen storage with reaction heat recovery using metal hydride in a totalized hydrogen energy utilization system

Experimental results for hydrogen storage tanks with metal hydrides used for load leveling of electricity in commercial buildings are described. Variability in electricity demand due to air conditioning of commercial buildings necessitates installation of on-site energy storage. Here, we propose a totalized hydrogen energy utilization system (THEUS) as an on-site energy storage system, present feasibility test results for this system with a metal hydride tank, and discuss the energy efficiency of the system. This system uses a water electrolyzer to store electricity energy via hydrogen at night and uses fuel cells to generate power during the day. The system also utilizes the cold heat of reaction heat during the hydrogen desorption process for air conditioning. The storage tank has a shell-like structure and tube heat exchangers and contains 50 kg of metal hydride. Experimental conditions were specifically designed to regulate the pressure and temperature range. Absorption and desorption of 5,400 NL of hydrogen was successfully attained when the absorption rate was 10 NL/min and desorption rate was 6.9 NL/min. A 24-h cycle experiment emulating hydrogen generation at night and power generation during the day revealed that the system achieved a ratio of recovered thermal energy to the entire reaction heat of the hydrogen storage system of 43.2% without heat loss. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.