Thermal runaway as a new high-performance method of desorption of hydrogen from hydrides

•Thermal runaway is a new effective method of hydrogen desorption from hydrides.•Kinetic parameters of the method significantly exceed the requirements of US DOE.•The method works at a room temperature and pressure.•Additionally, significant energy is generated, which can be used profitably.•A hydrogen desorption velocity is controllable by electrotechnical methods.

In this investigation by experiments, it was proved that the thermal runaway can be used as a new high-performance method of desorption of hydrogen from metal-hydrides. On its kinetic and thermodynamic parameters, this method is considerably superior to requirements established by US Department of Energy for onboard hydrogen storage systems. For its processing, the thermal runaway does not require any certain temperature or pressure. It can work at any temperature and pressure of ambiance. The hydrogen desorption by the method of the thermal runaway runs with aid of electrochemical reactions. This is why this process is easily controllable by electrotechnical methods and hence it is far less inertial than the thermal processes used in the traditional thermo-chemical method of the hydrogen desorption from the metal-hydrides.