Chemical hydrides are being investigated to provide hydrogen gas for hydrogen-powered vehicles. A disadvantage of most existing chemical hydrides is that they must be regenerated off board from the vehicle. Thus, in typical vehicle systems, the chemical hydride material must be moved onto the vehicle, stored, processed through a reactor, stored as spent product and then removed. These systems require a large amount of storage space and storage equipment. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has provided aggressive volumetric and gravimetric targets that constrain the amounts of storage space allowed for such systems. Typical reactor systems are unsuitable for use in vehicles because exothermic reaction heats associated with chemical hydrides produce high temperatures that result in unwanted reaction byproducts and a need for specialty reactor materials. Diluents that prevent reactors from overheating may be a viable approach to controlling temperatures, but at required concentrations, diluents can impose additional weight and volume penalties that prevent their use. And, some hydrides react endothermically, which adds a requirement to a heat source as an equipment constraint to already burdensome weight issues of on-board vehicle systems. Therefore, materials and systems are needed that allow creation and use of such materials that provide desired advantages but eliminate unwanted effects and consequences typical of conventional reactor systems and materials. The present invention addresses these and other problems associated with conventional hydrogen-powered vehicles and devices. Additional advantages and novel features of the present invention will be set forth as follows and will be readily apparent from the descriptions and demonstrations set forth herein. Accordingly, the following descriptions of the present invention should be seen as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting in any way.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds