Hydrogen Isotope Separation Using Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell
Samra Butt, Komal Shehzadi, Muqaddas Nazar
Abstract
Initially, Fuel cells (FC) have
been developed for power
generation and automobiles
as they reduce the greenhouse
gas emissions and air
pollutants. Fuel cells convert
the chemical energy stored in
the fuel to electrical energy
via electrochemical reactions.
There are different types of
fuel cells used for different
purposes. Then a new
application of hydrogen
isotope separation was
proposed. The separation of
deuterium from a hydrogen–
deuterium mixture was
carried out using an alkaline
membrane fuel cell (AMFC)
with a Pt catalyst. It is one of
the most advanced and
developed technologies. This
use of an AMFC to separate
deuterium from a mixture of
H2 and D2 was demonstrated
by the production of
deuterium-enriched water
during power generation by
AMFC. The deuterium
separation factor increased
with output current (i) to a
maximum value of 1.64
attained at i = 30 mA cm-2.
Department of Chemistry, University of Sialkot, Sialkot
Introduction
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements on
the earth with three principal isotopes. It exists in
nature as two main isotopes, protium (H) and
deuterium (D), Deuterium (D) and tritium (T) are
important in nuclear energy production. Because D
and T are not directly obtained as individual
isotopes, methods to separate them from the more
common, lighter isotope, protium, are required.
Many researchers have studied various isotope
separation methods. The electrolysis method yields
the most effective separation but the process
consumes enormous amounts of electricity. To
solve the above problem, a new hydrogen
separation system: the combined electrolysis fuel
cell process was introduced. More recent work has
reported, PEFCs require precious metal catalysts.
Methods
A membrane electrode assembly composed of an
anion exchange membrane and two catalytic layers
loaded with platinum catalyst was constructed.
Both electrodes had an area of 5.0 cm2. A 10:1
mixture of H2 and D2 was supplied to the anode
with gas flow rates of 2.0 and 0.2 mL min-1
respectively. O2 was supplied to the cathode at a
flow rate of 20 mL min-1The ion current of three
gas species (m = 2, 3 and 4 representing H2, HD
and D2, respectively) exhausted from the anode
measured by a quadrupole mass spectrometer.
. Figure 3: Variance of Separation factor with current density.
Figure 1. Alkaline membrane fuel cell.
Results
Direct sampling of the gases resulted in, compared
with those observed from the AMFC anode exhaust, a
decrease in the ion current of HD, and an increase in
that of D2. The ion current of H2 showed little change.
. cathode where they are reduced to produce water.
Figure 2: Transient behavior of Q-mass spectrum of mass
no.2 (H2 , red line), 3 (HD, blue line) and 4 (D2 , green line).
Separation Factor () Current density(mA) cm
1.64 30
Table 1. Data of Separation factor and current
Discussion
Interestingly, the value of α reported for a PEFC
system was smaller than this result. In AMFC,
hydrogen gas is supplied to the anode and is
oxidized to water by combination with a hydroxide
ion that passes through the membrane. That is, the
deuterium separation occurs only on the anode
side. However, in a PEFC, the gas is dissociated
into protons (H+ or D+) at the anode and these
protons then migrate through the membrane to the
Figure 4: Deuterium
2 Conclusion
This work has shown that an AMFC system can
separate hydrogen isotopes and produce deuterium
enriched water. The data are useful in supporting
the development of non-noble metal. These data
indicate that dual isotope separation by the
combination of electrolysis and a fuel cell, is
suitable for applications to industrial separation
processes. It can be used for making high purity
hydrogen isotopes also organic chemistry,
biochemistry and pharmaceutical research.
References
1. Ogawa, R., Matsushima, H., & Ueda, M.
(2021). Hydrogen isotope separation with an
alkaline membrane fuel cell. Electrochemistry
Communications, 70, 5-7.