Announcing the Final Examination of Adil Riahi for the degree of Master of Science
The purpose of this thesis is to develop an analytical model to assess the thermodynamics of the adsorption/desorption processes of hydrogen on silica aerogel. Hydrogen is a promising alternative fuel for gas turbines as it is carbon free and an excellent energy storage medium. However, the storage of hydrogen itself presents some challenges when stored in liquid or gaseous states. Thus, storing hydrogen in its adsorbed state provides a potential pathway to large scale economic hydrogen storage. The adsorption process is based on weak Van Der Waals forces that make the adsorbate (hydrogen) stick to the adsorbent surface (Silica Aerogel).
A 2D axisymmetric model was elaborated to examine the temperature and pressure changes along the adsorption/desorption processes. The Dubinin-Astakhov (D-A) model was adopted to determine the change in the quantity adsorbed with changing Temperature and pressures. The D-A model revealed promising results when implemented in various adsorption studies.
The governing equations of transport are examined along with the equilibrium isotherms model. The linear model of mass transfer connects the rate of adsorption to the quantity adsorbed at equilibrium to define the heat transfer and thermodynamics of hydrogen adsorption in silica aerogel. The absolute and excess perspectives are highlighted for further experimental investigation. The choice of silica aerogel resides on its feature of being among the lightest materials existing on earth which makes our system suitable for hydrogen storage in transportation. Furthermore, it is largely available and affordable. The outcome of this research can be extrapolated to several gas/silica aerogel combinations' comparisons. This will be the focus of the upcoming research studies. Additionally, small storage units could provide healthcare applications with breathing air or oxygen packs, diving, space, and aircraft life support would also benefit from this storage technology which endows the system with a portability trait.
Committee in Charge: Jayanta Kapat (Chair), Erik Fernandez, Richar Blair
Read More