Different reactor and heat exchanger configurations for metal hydride hydrogen storage systems - A review

Recent work in hydrogen storage is mainly focused on implementing metal hydrides. Metal hydrides well demonstrated their high capacity for hydrogen storage within reasonable and safe pressures and temperatures. One of the effecting parameters on the performance of a reactor in a metal hydride hydrogen storage system is its design and configuration. There are a number of technical issues which need to be considered in designing a reactor. Some of these parameters are reactor configuration, thermal management, hydrogen transfer and mechanical strength. The current work is concentrated on the problem of thermal management while focusing on reactor and heat exchanger configurations. In this paper, different reactors and heat exchangers in metal hydride hydrogen storage systems are studied, categorized and compared. This classification helps the reader to find the best option for any specific application. However, for an optimum design of the reactor, in addition to the above noted parameters, other factors like coupling process of porous flow and reaction kinetics should be taken into account as well.