Development of hydrogen absorption–desorption experimental test bench for hydrogen storage material

•We have developed a volumetric apparatus for measuring hydrogen storage material.•The apparatus can be used in the ranges of 0.004–12 MPa and 213–773 K.•The leakage rate of the apparatus was 6.12 × 10−11 g H2/s.•The measurement accuracy was about between 7.56 × 10−5 g H2 and 3.34 × 10−4 g H2.•Over 4 × 104 thermal cycles have been completed in the apparatus without any wrong.

A volumetric experimental set-up used for measuring hydrogen absorption–desorption characteristics of hydrogen storage material will be presented. Although the experimental set-up is mainly employed to do hydrogen absorption–desorption cycling (including pressure cycling and thermal cycling) measurement automatically, it also can incidentally provide general measurements such as pressure-composition-temperature (P–C–T) curves and kinetics measurements in manual way in the ranges of 0.004–12 MPa and 213–773 K. The experimental set-up can be used to investigate the influence of hydrogen absorption–desorption cycles to hydrogen storage properties of material. The leakage rate of the whole experimental set-up was evaluated systemically. The usability and reliability of the experimental set-up were checked with LaNi5 and Pd/K (kieselguhr).