Basic Principle of Operation

Power+Energy's h2 purifiers consist of a 316L stainless steel cell, incorporating a tubular palladium-alloy membrane assembly that acts as the diffusion element.

Inside the Hydrogen Purifier Cell

The movement of gas through the h2 purifier cell is driven by the pressure gradient: The pressure inside the Palladium-Silver Membrane is greater than the pressure on the outside, so ultra pure hydrogen (UPH) is forced (diffused) through the the individual membrane walls into the stainless steel cell while the impurities in the feed gas continue through the membrane to eventually be expelled out of the purifier through the Bleed Port.

The Diffusion Process

This process occurs because the diffusion rate of atomic hydrogen through the palladium-silver lattice of the membrane at 400° C is more than nine (9) orders of magnitude faster than that of common impurities in the feed gas such as carbon or oxygen.

The hydrogen atoms recombine on the low pressure side of the membrane wall with another hydrogen atom and is desorbed as a hydrogen molecule.