HYDROGEN STORAGE BY THE BICARBONATE FORMATE REACTION - STUDIES ON THE ACTIVITY OF PD CATALYSTS

The method of storage and generation of hydrogen by the bicarbonate/formate reaction was studied. It was shown that the Pd catalyst used loses its activity with time and can be regenerated by air oxidation. CO was found to be a powerful poison for the catalyst, in both the forward and the back reactions. The activity of the catalyst could be measured by the GC pulse technique. Active samples delay the elution of hydrogen and give wide peaks, while poisoned samples result in sharp hydrogen peaks. Regeneration of the activity was also demonstrated in the GC by oxidation at ambient temperatures. A new family of metal catalysts based on polymer stabilized microdispersions was shown to be as active as the carbon-supported catalysts in the hydrogen generation reaction. However, their reactivity in the hydrogen absorption reaction is rather low. This enabled us to generate hydrogen at pressures as high as 20 atm.