Effects of doping and microstructural variables on hydrogen generated via aluminum-water reactions enabled by a liquid metal

Hydrogen has the potential to replace fossil fuels in numerous industrial sectors, considering its high energy density, ability to be used within our existing power or heating infrastructure, and lack of CO₂ emissions upon conversion of hydrogen's chemical energy into electricity. However, 96% of hydrogen is currently produced through steam methane reformation, which emits ~12 tons of CO₂ for every 1 ton of hydrogen produced. Consequently, hydrogen production accounts for roughly 830 million tons of annual global CO₂ emissions. Additionally, hydrogen storage can be impractical and expensive. The aluminum-water reaction presents itself as a hydrogen storage and generation solution. Without a passive oxide layer, aluminum will react with water to produce emission-free hydrogen, on-demand.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Meroueh, Laureen.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Douglas P. Hart.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129067

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/129067