Application of acidic accelerator for production of pure hydrogen from NaBH4

Feasibility of using hydrochloric acid (HCl) as an accelerator for onboard production of hydrogen from sodium borohydride (NaBH4) is investigated. The aim was to examine process efficiency, hydrogen purity and process controllability which concurs onboard 2015 hydrogen storage target (5.5 wt%) for vehicular fuel cell system application. Results showed that a highest yield and controllable hydrogen production rate are achievable upon adopting onboard reaction of HCl (3 M) and an aqueous alkaline solution of 30 % NaBH4 via a T-junction and applying a gas–liquid separation of two stages. Cost evaluation and product stream analysis have demonstrated an exceptional performance for the examined scheme and relevancy to be adopted for feeding vehicular electrochemical fuel cell systems.