Document Design and engineering of metallic membranes for on-board steam reforming of biofuels in transport applications

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of palladium-alloy metallic membranes (which are also used in the industry sector for the purification of hydrogen) for applications in the transport industry. Concepts are discussed in the first section. Main membrane materials and manufacturing processes are described in Section 18.2. Basic principles of hydrogen sorption in, and permeation through, palladium-based metallic membranes are then presented in Sections 18.3 and 18.4. Membrane characterization and performance are discussed in Section 18.5, and some applications are presented in Section 18.6. Finally, advantages and limitations of existing technologies are discussed in Section 18.7, and some prospective issues are considered.