Modeling of hydrogen permeation for Ni–BZCY asymmetric membrane

•A model for asymmetric Ni–BZCY hydrogen separation membrane was proposed.•Model results were in accord with experiment.•Involved processes in asymmetric membrane were considered.•Influence of each process in asymmetric membrane was recognized.

Hydrogen separation membrane of Ni–BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.2O3−δ cermet with an asymmetric structure was simulated by considering several involved processes, such as mass transportation in porous support, bulk diffusion in dense layer, interfacial exchange on both sides of the membrane, and hydrogen permeation through nickel phase. The model was compared with experimental results and could match them in general. Equivalent resistances of each step in asymmetric membrane were introduced to determine their influence on the performance and recognize the rate-determining step. Advice on further capacity improvement was given based on the simulation results. This model could be used to analyze and predict the performance of this kind of asymmetric hydrogen separation membrane.