Numerical study on hydrogen recovery performance of a novel industrial scale hydride-based flow-through hydrogen purification reactor with distributed gas inlet tubes

In this study, an industrial-scale, flow-through metal hydride hydrogen purification (MHHP) reactor with distributed gas inlet tubes loaded with 160 kg of LaNi4.3Al0.7 material was designed. Numerical simulations were employed to analyze the impact of reactor structure parameters, such as bed thickness and gas inlet tube length. Further, we investigated how operational parameters, including heat transfer fluid temperature, hydrogen partial pressure, and raw gas composition, influence the absorption efficiency of the reactor. Moreover, an annular finned MHHP reactor was designed, which increased the hydrogen absorption efficiency from 70 % to 77.7 % under low pressure (0.67 MPa). This research contributes to the development of high-performance industrial scale MHHP reactor, provides valuable insights into the application of large MHHP reactors in the recovery of industrial by-product hydrogen.