A lumped-parameter model for cryo-adsorber hydrogen storage tank

One of the primary requirements for commercialization of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles is the on-board storage of hydrogen in sufficient quantities. On-board storage of hydrogen by adsorption on nano-porous adsorbents at around liquid nitrogen temperatures and moderate pressures is considered viable and competitive with other storage technologies: liquid hydrogen, compressed gas, and metallic or complex hydrides. The four cryo-adsorber fuel tank processes occur over different time scales: refueling over a few minutes, discharge over a few hours, dormancy over a few days, and venting over a few weeks. The slower processes i.e. discharge, dormancy and venting are expected to have negligible temperature gradients within the bed, and hence are amenable to a lumped-parameter analysis. Here we report a quasi-static lumped-parameter model for the cryo-adsorber fuel tank, and discuss the results for these slower processes. We also describe an alternative solution method for dormancy and venting based on the thermodynamic state description.