• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.282-287
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• 2005

Palladium membranes, which are permselective to hydrogen separation, were used for the hydrogen purification and in membrane reactors for improving conversions by shifting the reaction equilibrium. Palladium/ceramic composite membranes were prepared by electroless plating technique and then etched in titanium chloride ($TiCl_4$) as a post treatment to enhance the membrane's durability. These membranes were used for membrane reactors in water gas shift (WGS) reaction. CO conversions for the membrane reactor were obtained according to experimental parameters and compared to the traditional reactor without a palladium/ceramic membrane. As a result, CO conversion using palladium membrane reactor at an appropriate condition was over 20~25% greater than that without the membrane reactor. The stability in the long-term test of up to 120 h for WGS reaction with the membrane reactor was good without the degredation of CO conversion.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.641-647
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• 2005

The partial oxidation of methane is one of important processes for hydrogen production. As a membrane reactor, palladium-silver (Pd-Ag) alloy membrane prepared by electroless plating technique was employed for partial oxidation of methane. The experimental variables were reaction temperature, $O_2/CH_4$ mole ratio, $CH_4$ feed rate, and $N_2$ sweep gas flow rate. The methane conversions increased with the reaction temperatures in the range of 350 to $730^{\circ}C$. The highest methane conversion and CO selectivity were obtained at the condition of $O_2/CH_4$ mole ratio of 0.5 and $730^{\circ}C$ using commercially available nickel/alumina catalyst. The Pd-Ag membrane reactor showed higher methane conversions, 10~40% higher, compared to those in a traditional reactor.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.296-303
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• 2008

Hydrogen permeation through dense palladium-based membranes has attracted the attention of many scientists largely due to their unmatched potential as hydrogen-selective membranes for membrane reactor applications. Although it is well known that the permeation mechanism of hydrogen through Pd involves various processes such as dissociative adsorption, transitions to and from the bulk Pd, diffusion within Pd, and recombinative desorption, it is still unclear which process mainly limits hydrogen permeation at a given temperature and hydrogen partial pressure. In this study, we report an all-electron density-functional theory study of hydrogen permeation through Pd membrane (using VASP code). Especially, we focus on the variation of the energy barrier of the penetration process from the surface to the bulk with hydrogen coverage, which means the large reduction of the fracture stress in the brittle crack propagation considering Griffith's criterion. It is also found that the penetration energy barrier from the surface to the bulk largely decreases so that it almost vanishes at the coverage 1.25, which means that the penetration process cannot be the rate determining process.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.264-269
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• 2016

A simple dry chemical approach was developed in order to load palladium (Pd) as a promoter on Pt/gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Palladium(II) bis (acetylacetonate), $Pd(acac)_2$ was sublimed, penetrated into Pt/GDE and then reduced to Pd nanoparticles simultaneously without any reducing agent and any solvent in a glass reactor of $N_2$ atmosphere at $180^{\circ}C$ for 3, 5 and 15 min. Pd distribution was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and I-V curve was estimated by using a unit cell with $5{\times}5cm^2$ active area.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.270-275
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• 2016

A simple solid state incorporation method was employed in order to incorporate Pd nanocatalyst into a Nafion film for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) via the reduction of palladium (II) bis (acetylacetonate), $Pd(acac)_2$. It was sublimed, penetrated into Nafion film and then reduced to Pd nanoparticles simultaneously in a glass reactor of N2 atmosphere at $180^{\circ}C$ for 1, 3 and 5 min. This reaction was took place without any reducing agent and any solvent. The morphology of the Pd nanoparticles was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Pd distribution was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). And 23% modification of tensile strength of Pd/Nafion composite film was measured by universal testing machine and I-V curve was estimated by using a unit cell with $5{\times}5cm^2$ active area.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.277-285
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• 2001

We developed a compact, 10 kWe, purifier-integrated reformer which supplies hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. Our proprietary technologies regarding hydrogen purification by palladium alloy membrane and catalytic combustion by noble metal coated wire-mesh catalyst were combined with the conventional methanol steam reforming technology, resulting in higher conversion, excellent quality of product hydrogen, and better thermal efficiency than any other systems. In this system, steam reforming, hydrogen purification, and catalytic combustion take place all in a single reactor so that the whole system is compact and easy to operate. The module produces $8.2Nm^3/hr$ of 99.999% or higher purity hydrogen with CO impurity less than 10 ppm, which is equivalent to 10 kWe when PEMFC has 45 % efficiency. Thermal efficiency of the module is 81 % and the power density of the module is 1.6 L/kWe. As the results of experiments, cold-start time has been measured about 20 minutes. Response time of hydrogen production to the change of the feed rate has been within 1 minutes.