A Study of Thermo-Fluid Behavior in Tubular Metal Hydride Beds in the Hydriding Process

S. Makridis[1], E.I. Gkanas[1], A. Ioannidou[2], E.S. Kikkinides[2], A.K. Stubos[3]
[1]Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Kozani, Greece & Environmental Research Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece
[2]Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, Kozani, Greece
[3]Environmental Research Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, NCSR “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece
Published in 2012

Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, has great potential as an energy source, and can be generated from renewable energy sources. We used COMSOL for the solution of the energy, mass and momentum balance equations that describe the hydrogen absorption and desorption procedure in the metal hydride compressor. Thermodynamic or engineering properties like the reaction enthalpy ??, entropy ?S, metal’s porosity and the tank dimensions were examined. The increase of porosity could change the reaction due to the fact that the volumetric storage area becomes larger. Finally, the dimensions of the reactor seems to play a major role in the reaction.