Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will develop an innovative, hollow fiber membrane reactor that can generate high purity hydrogen from ammonia. The project combines three key components: a low-cost ruthenium (Ru)-based catalyst, a hydrogen-selective membrane, and a catalytic hydrogen burner. Pressurized ammonia vapor is fed into the reactor for high-rate decomposition at the Ru-based catalyst and at a reaction temperature below 450°C. Ceramic hollow fibers at the reactor boundary will extract the high purity hydrogen from the reaction product. Residual hydrogen will be burned with air in the catalytic burner to provide heat for ammonia cracking. Both the high-purity hydrogen and the heated exhaust from the catalytic hydrogen combustion are fed past the ammonia vapor before it enters the reactor, increasing its temperature and improving the overall efficiency of the process. The team seeks to develop a compact and modular membrane reactor prototype that can deliver hydrogen at high rate per volume from ammonia decomposition at relatively low temperatures (<450°C) and high conversion (>99%).