Hydrogen-selective gas separation membranes exploiting covalent organic frameworks – filling the technology gap in ammonia-to-green hydrogen conversion (AmmoMem)

The project aims to develop COF-based membranes for efficient hydrogen purification from ammonia, promoting green hydrogen production and decarbonization.

The project at a glance

Start date:

01 Feb 2024
Duration in months:

47
Funding:

Luxembourg National Research Fund
Principal Investigator(s):

Bradley Paul LADEWIG

About

This project focused on utilizing hydrogen as an important energy element in preserving the climate which produces zero greenhouse gas when burned. Hydrogen is essential for decarbonizing various industries like steel manufacturing, aviation, and transportation. To meet the rising demand for hydrogen sustainably, a shift towards green hydrogen production, primarily through water electrolysis using renewable energy sources is necessary. However, transporting hydrogen globally is expensive, so it can be converted into a viable hydrogen carrier, which is ammonia. The reason behind using ammonia as a green hydrogen carrier is its long-established place and widespread use in the world as an agricultural fertilizer.The focus of the project is to develop a technology to efficiently separate hydrogen from the products of ammonia cracking using advanced membranes. Specifically, it aims to incorporate a kind of nanoporous material known as Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs), which are not utilized much for hydrogen purification, into a polymer and fabricate membranes. The project involves identifying suitable COFs for hydrogen purification and membrane synthesis, evaluating membranes’ performance and techno-economic efficiency.Overall, the research aims to develop a cost-effective and efficient method, membranes, for hydrogen purification from ammonia instead of using the common industrial method known as pressure swing adsorption (PSA).