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AIST has developed a high-performance carbon membrane to separate and purify ultra-high purity hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) from organic hydrides. NOK CORPORATION has developed large modules while maintaining separation performance of the carbon membrane.

Figure: Hydrogen separation mechanism employing the carbon membrane

The developed large carbon membrane module is capable of separating hydrogen at a rate of 1m³ per hour, displays separation performance enabling ultra-high-purity hydrogen for FCV use, meeting the ISO standards (converted to C1, a residual hydrocarbon concentration of 2 ppm or below in the purified hydrogen) to be obtained in a single operation, and realizes long-term stability in the presence of toluene. In addition, the use of the module is not limited to hydrogen separation, but can be applied to the separation of various gases, including carbon dioxide and methane.