Composites for Energy Applications: Materials for Renewable Energy Applications 2022: Hydrogen and Thermal Energy Storage
Sponsored by: TMS Structural Materials Division, TMS: Composite Materials Committee
Program Organizers: Patrick Ward, Savannah River National Laboratory; Joseph Teprovich, California State University Northridge; Anthony Thompson, Savannah River National Laboratory; Simona Hunyadi Murph, Savannah River National Laboratory
Tuesday 2:30 PM
March 1, 2022
Room: 210D
Location: Anaheim Convention Center
Session Chair: Patrick Ward, SRNL
2:30 PM Invited
Sulfur-based High Temperature Thermal Energy Storage: Kaiyuan Jin1; 1University of California-Los Angeles
Element sulfur with high thermal stability and low cost can be promising thermal energy storage (TES) medium for future high temperature power systems. In comparison to the current state of art molten salt TES, sulfur-based TES (SulfurTES) can provide a significantly wider operating temperature range, higher energy density, and lower system costs, while maintaining moderate material compatibility and thermal charge and discharge rate. The current presentation will introduce the recent studies of thermal performance characterization, corrosion rate quantification, and pilot-scale test system demonstration for this technology. Multiple system designs that are applicable in MW- to GW-scale thermal infrastructures will be discussed. The results will pave the way to scale up SulfurTES for future high-temperature energy storage and concentrated solar power industry.
3:00 PM Invited
Design of Novel Composites by Using Bioplastics and Biomass: Surojit Gupta1; 1University of North Dakota
There is a critical requirement for materials derived from sustainable sources. Bioplastics fill that requirement as it is derived from renewable sources and can be recycled. In addition, bioplastics can biodegradable as well. In this invited presentation, I will present the design paradigm for synthesis and characterization of novel composites by using bioplastics filled with active constituents from biomass (for example, lignin, cellulose etc.). I will present some of the recent developments in my research on the design of these composites. Detailed microstructural and characterization of these composites will be presented. It is expected that these novel composites can be used for different energy related applications.
3:30 PM Invited
Energetics of the Reversible Dehydrogenation of Magnesium Borohydride and Mg(BH4)2-THF Composite to Magnesium Boranes: Craig Jensen1; Sunil Shrestha1; Kazuumi Fujioka1; Rui Sun1; Phuong Nguyen1; Tom Autrey2; 1University of Hawaii; 2Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Magnesium borohydride has been extensively studied as a potentially viable, practical hydrogen storage material. The dehydrogenation of the composite material resulting from the addition of sub-stoichiometric amounts tetrahydrofuran exhibits much more rapid kinetics than those of pure Mg(BH4)2 and results in selective formation Mg(B10H10) rather than Mg(B3H8)2 (hydrogen cycling capacity 2.7 vs 8.1 wt %). In order to better understand the energetic parameters associated responsible for the divergent reactivities of pure and Mg(BH4)2(THF)0.25, we have obtained isothermal kinetic data for the reversible dehydrogenation of these materials in the 180-240 ˚C range and conducted kinetic modeling studies. Excellent fits with the experimental data have been obtained employing models that assume the dehydrogenation reaction is readily reversible. This talk will present the activation energies for the dehydrogenation and hydrogenation reactions that have been deduced from these studies as well as the enthalpies of dehydrogenation that are indicated by these results.
4:00 PM
Development and Characterization of High Capacity Hydrogen Energy Storage Materials: Zachary Duca1; Patrick Ward1; Hector Colon-Mercado1; Henry Sessions1; Dustin Olson1; Joseph Teprovich2; 1Savannah River National Laboratory; 2California State University Northridge
Due to their significantly increased energy densities, hydrogen fuel cells powered by hydrogen storage systems have become intriguing replacements for other energy storage systems, such as lithium ion batteries. In fact, several designs for hydrogen systems in vehicles utilizing pressurized hydrogen are currently utilized. Being high-pressure systems, safety concerns regarding the burst and ignition potential of the pressurized hydrogen tank have arisen, and there has been a motivation to create safer and more energy efficient hydrogen storage methods, such as the Li3N hydrogen storage system. However, even this system is susceptible to performance loss due to the nature of the surface of the fuel cells, which utilize proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) that are vulnerable to poisoning via reaction with NH3 generated from the Li3N system. This research seeks to develop techniques to mitigate impurity limitations for safer and more improved hydrogen fuel cells powered by appropriate hydrogen storage materials.
4:20 PM Concluding Comments