Identifying Heat and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Metal Hydride Reactor During Adsorption: Improved Formulation About Parameter Analysis

international journal of hydrogen energy 34 (2009) 18521861
Available at www.sciencedirect.com
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he
Identifying heat and mass transfer characteristics of metal

hydride reactor during adsorption: Improved formulation
about parameter analysis
Fusheng Yanga, Xiangyu Menga, Jianqiang Denga, Yuqi Wangb, Zaoxiao Zhanga,*
a
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xian Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning Road, Xian 710049, Shaanxi
Province, PR China
b
School of Chemical Engineering, Northwest University, Taibai Road, Xian 710069, PR China
article info
abstract
Article history:
Transport process affects the performance of a metal hydride reactor significantly.
Received 20 April 2008
Therefore in a former paper presented by the same authors, two parameters, which are
Received in revised form
known as heat transfer controlled reaction rate and mass transfer controlled reaction rate,
15 August 2008
were defined to account for this effect and assist the design of the reactors. However, a few
Accepted 24 November 2008
simplifications were adopted in that article, which may result in some errors. In order to
Available online 24 January 2009
achieve better accuracy and clarity, more factors such as the external convection heat
transfer and propagation of reaction front were considered here in the formulation of the
Keywords:
parameters. Then numerical simulations for the adsorption in a tubular reactor were
Metal hydride
carried out and the situation under which parameter analysis can be applied was dis-
Reactor
cussed. More characteristics in the process were revealed by the newly formulated
Heat transfer
parameters, which could be seen from the comparison of the results by parameter analysis
Mass transfer
and numerical simulation.
Reaction rate
2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Association for Hydrogen

Energy.
1.
Introduction
The metal hydride (MH for short) reactor is widely used for
many industrial purposes, such as hydrogen storage, heat
pump, thermal compression, etc. Therefore its design and
performance analysis are important issues and have attracted
many authors attentions [17].
Configuration design is a crucial part in the research of MH
reactor. Until now many types of reactors have been
proposed, as was summarized in a former paper [7]. Among
these candidates, the tubular reactor (TR for short) is the
earliest one developed and has been investigated extensively
by researchers [812]. In general, the tubular reactor has the
features of good sealing, high bearing pressure and
guaranteed heat and mass transfer effect by using thin tubes.

According to where the alloy is packed, this type of reactor can
be subdivided into two kinds, inside the tube type and
outside the tube type, the former being more popular. TR in
this article refers to inside the tube type.
For certain types of MH reactor, performance analysis and
optimization were carried out by many researchers, and
average reaction rate was often used as the main performance
index. Generally these studies were completed by numerical
simulation. In the 1980s, a 1-D mathematical model considering heat conduction and reaction kinetics was used widely
in describing the adsorption/ desorption process in the MH
reactor [1316]. Later Choi and Mills [17] used Darcys law to
calculate hydrogen flow in the reactor; this treatment also
* Corresponding author. Fax: 86 29 8266 0689.

E-mail address: [email protected] (Z. Zhang).
0360-3199/$ see front matter 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Association for Hydrogen Energy.
doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.11.119
Nomenclature
a
A
As
c1
c2
Cp
E
h
DH
k
K
_
m
MH
P
Q
r
R
Rr
t
T
!
U
V
x
X
coefficient ()
area (m2)
specific surface area (m2/m3)
constant heat flow (W)
constant heat generation rate (W/m3)
specific heat capacity (J/(kg K))
activation energy (J/mol)
heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K))
reaction heat (J/mol H2)
reaction rate constant (s1)
permeability (m2)
source term of reaction (kg/m3 s)
molar mass of hydrogen (kg/mol)
pressure (bar 105 Pa)
heat flow or hydrogen flow (W or mol/s)
reaction rate (mol H2/(m3 s)
radial length in cylindrical coordinate (m)
universal gas constant (J/(mol K))
time (s)
temperature (K)
gas velocity (m/s)
volume (m3)
length in the concerning direction (m)
reacted fraction ()
introduced the notion that the process in a MH reactor can be

considered as flow and transport phenomena in porous
media. Then the concept was further developed by Jemni and
his co-workers [1820]. They formulated 2-D mathematical
models based on a volume averaging method, which is a kind
of classical method in the study of porous media. In a different
way following this notion, Lloyd et al. derived the governing
equations of representative element volume from the basic
conservation law [21]. Henceforward the basic procedure of
numerical simulation in a MH reactor has been established,
with more details being taken into account in recent studies
[2225]. Usually modeling of the process in a MH reactor is
more and more intricate, yet the conclusions of the studies by
numerical simulation do not change much: transport process,
especially heat transfer, affects the average reaction rate
greatly, thus measures for enhancement of heat transfer
should be undertaken to improve the performance of the MH
reactor, such as inserting Al/ Cu matrix, decreasing the bed
thickness, enhancement of external convection, and so on
[2630].
Considering the requirements for convenience in engineering practice, it seems necessary to introduce some tool
other than numerical simulation to assist in the design and
analysis of a MH reactor, which is easier to use yet capable
of reflecting the characteristics of the dynamic process in
the reactor. In an attempt to do so, the authors defined
two key parameters, heat transfer controlled reaction rate
and mass transfer controlled reaction rate, in a former
article [7], and their validity were proved by comparison
with the results of a numerical simulation. However, some
simplifications in formulating the parameters resulted in
some deviation of the theoretical description from the
Z
a
d
3
l
m
r
1853
axial length in cylindrical coordinate (m)

modification coefficient ()
thickness of reaction completion layer (m)
porosity ()
thermal conductivity (W/(m K))
dynamic viscosity (Pa s)
density (kg/m3)
Subscripts
a
adsorption
e
equilibrium
eff
effective
f
gas phase
h
heat transfer
hb
heat transfer boundary
ib
inertia boundary
in
inner
inl
inlet
m
mass transfer
mb
mass transfer boundary
n
normal direction
out
outer
s
solid phase
sf
between solid and gas phase
N
heat transfer fluid
realistic case, thus a corrected formulation of the parameters is presented in this article, towards improving their
accuracy and extending their use. Furthermore some
discussion about the application of parameter analysis is
given.
2.
Improved definition of the parameters
Some notations in using the two parameters were explained

[7], including the sources of the errors. Here a few simplifications adopted before are removed or clarified to improve the
usability of the parameters.
2.1.
Redefinition of heat transfer controlled reaction
rate rh
In the former paper [7], rh was defined by comparing Qh1 and
Qh2, namely the heat flow determined by heat transfer
conditions and the heat flow generated by the reaction. Two
approximations were made for the formulation of Qh1:
Qh1 leff VT,Ah zleff
Tib Thb
Tib TN
Ahb zleff
Ahb
Dxh
Dxh
(1)
Either z stands for one approximation. A modification

coefficient ah is introduced here to compensate for the first
approximation, which accounts for the heat flow accumulation and variation of geometry conditions; therefore Qh1 is
rewritten as,
Qh1 ah leff
Tib Thb
Ahb
Dxh
(2)
1854
Next we can remove the second approximation in equation

(1). On both sides of the heat transfer boundary the heat flow
keeps constant, thus the heat conduction in the reaction bed
and the convection outside the bed can be correlated as
below:
Qh1 ah leff
Tib Thb
Ahb hN Thb TN Ahb
Dxh
(3)
By simple manipulation the convective heat transfer is taken

into account in calculating Qh1,
Qh1
Tib TN
A
Dxh
1 hb
ah leff hN
(4)
If other thermal resistances are also to be considered, they can

be dealt with in much the same way and can be added to the
denominator of equation (4). Thus the new expression of
parameter rh is:
Tib TN
Ahb
Dxh
1 DH,V
ah leff hN
rh
(5)
they are mainly determined by the gradient of a certain variable (T or P2f ), and the linear approximation of the variables
can be discussed in a similar way, thus the conclusions
reached for ah are applied to am, which could simplify the
study.
2.3.
Values of the modification coefficients ah and am
In Sections 2.1 and 2.2 two coefficients ah and am are used to

correct the expressions of rh and rm respectively. Next we want
to know the values of the coefficients.
Both ah and am are defined to formulate the actual heat or
hydrogen flow by lumped difference of T or Pf, which should be
calculated based on the local gradient. Therefore the values of
ah and am should reflect this deviation, which are determined
by the 1-D distribution of T and Pf. Generally speaking, the
detailed distribution information about T and Pf can hardly be
obtained in advance, yet analysis under certain simplified
conditions may help to specify the range of ah and am. Here ah
in 2-D cylindrical coordinate is taken for example, suppose the
inner and outer radiuses of reaction bed are respectively Rin
and Rin, the length of reaction bed is Z.
1. Constant heat flow condition was written as follows:
Qh1 c1
2.2.
Redefinition of mass transfer controlled reaction
rate rm
Similarly, rm is defined by comparing Qm1 and Qm2, namely
the hydrogen flow determined by mass transfer conditions
and the hydrogen flow generated by reaction. Qm1 was
written as,
Qm1

K Pmb Pib
K
Pmb
VPf Am ,Pf = Rr Tf z
Amb
Rr Tmb
m
m Dxm
Qm1
vP2f
Pf
K vPf
K
Am
Am
m vxm Rr Tf 2mRr Tf vxm
i. If heat transfer proceeds in the axial direction, xh is Z and

Ah is constant, then the gradient of T is uniform everywhere in the reaction bed and equals to the lumped
difference, therefore ah 1.
ii. If heat transfer proceeds in the radial direction, xh turns
out to be R. Then the following equation holds:
Qh1 leff
(6)
Here the linear approximation of pressure distribution was

made. Before further deduction we need to formulate Qm1 in
another way, that is
(11)
vT
vT
Ah leff 2pRZ
vxh
vR
(12)
Since Qh1 is constant, the logarithmic distribution of T in radial

direction is known by integration of the equation (12).
Therefore both the local gradient and lumped difference of T
can be expressed by functions of R, and then ah is derived
according to where the heat transfer between the reaction bed
and the fluid takes place.
(7)
8
>
>
<
Thus the hydrogen flow through the mass transfer boundary

can be approximated as:
Rout Rin
: on the outer boundary
ln Rout ln Rin Rout
ah
R

R
out
in
>
>

: on the inner boundary
:
ln Reff ln Rin Rin
P2mb P2ib
K
Qm1 z
Amb
2mRr Tmb Dxm
2. Constant heat generation rate and steady state condition

were written as,
(8)
Then another modification coefficient am is introduced to

correct the approximation in equation (8),
Qm1
am K P2mb P2ib
Amb
2mRr Tmb Dxm
(9)
Finally parameter rm is expressed as follows:

rm
am K P2mb P2ib Amb

V
2mRr Tmb Dxm
(10)
The purpose of redefining Qm1 in equation (7) is explained: The

initial formulations of Qh1 and Qm1 resemble each other in that
dQh1 c2 ,dV c2 ,Ah ,dxh
(13)
(14)
i. If heat transfer proceeds in the axial direction, xh is Z and

Ah is constant. According to equation (14), Qh1 increases
linearly along xh. Therefore, according to equation (1),
the gradient of T also grows linearly from zero to the
local gradient on the heat transfer boundary. Knowing
the quadratic distribution of T, we can find that ah 2.
ii. If heat transfer proceeds in the radial direction, xh is R.
Then the heat flow Qh1 can be calculated according to
where the heat transfer between reaction bed and fluid
takes place.
( RR
Qh1
R RRoutin
R

RR
dV c2 ,p R2 R2in Z : on the outer boundary
2

R RRinout
c2 R dV c2 ,p Rout R2 Z : on the inner boundary
dQh1 c2
dQh1
The distribution of T in radial direction is obtained after

combine equations (12) and (15), and ah is derived as,
8

2 R2out R2in
>
>
>
: on the outer boundary
>
< Rout Rout Rin 2R2 lnRout =Rin ,Rout
in
Rout Rin
2

ah
>
2 Rout R2in
>
>
>
: 2R2 lnRout =Rin ,Rin R R R : on the inner boundary
out
Rout Rin
in
out
in
(16)
According to equations (13) and (16), ah depends on Rin/Rin if
heat transfer proceeds in the radial direction. Suppose Rin/Rin
is between 1.1 and 10, the values of ah in the above two cases
are calculated and shown in Figs. 1 and 2. On one hand, ah is
larger when the heat transfer takes place on the inner
boundary in both cases, because the shrinkage of section area
towards the boundary results in a higher local gradient, which
implies a larger ah. On the other hand, heat flow accumulation
also favors a higher local gradient on the boundary, therefore
ah in the second case (constant heat generation rate) is larger
than that in the first one (constant heat flow). Finally we turn
to the actual case: reaction tends to be faster near the transport boundary, so a more significant heat flow accumulation
will be observed over there. As a result, it is reasonable to
deduce that the value of ah in the actual reaction should be
even greater than the one calculated in the second case. Since
constant generation rate condition is a better approximation
of the actual case, the following parameter analysis will be
carried out based on the assumption.
2.4.
Dynamic analysis
1855
(15)
static. Take the heat transfer for example: as the reaction

proceeds, the reaction front propagates from the boundary
towards the inside. The bed near the heat transfer boundary
tends to be saturated by hydrogen first, and then no accumulation of heat flow takes place here, thus a different rh
should be determined.
In this case, assuming the thickness of the reactor bed
saturated by hydrogen is dh, this part can be simply taken as
a thermal resistance and combined with 1/hN, while the
remaining part of the bed is still dealt with following
the procedure in Section 2.1. For heat transfer proceeding in
the axial direction, rh can be easily written as,
rh
Tib TN
Ahb
Dxh dh dh
1 DH,V
ah leff
leff hN
(17)
From the discussions in Section 2.3, it is shown that actual

value of ah is larger than that is calculated under constant heat
generation assumption, which is always larger than 1, therefore equation (17) implies a decreasing rate as the reaction
front propagates. The formulation of rh for radial heat transfer
is complicated for the variation of Ahb, yet the same conclusion holds.
Although the discussions in Section 2.3 and herein are
conducted on ah, if we replace Qh1 with Qm1, T with P2f and
Dxh with Dxm, we can see that am can be dealt with in
a similar way. Under constant mass flow or constant mass
adsorption rate conditions, rm varies with geometric conditions in the same manner as rh. Ignoring the flow resistance
The formulations in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 were completed for

the initial state of adsorption process and thus somehow
Fig. 1 The variation of modification coefficient ah (am) with

geometry in the first case (constant heat flow).
Fig. 2 The variation of modification coefficient ah (am) with

geometry in the second case (constant heat generation
rate).
1856
other than that of the bed, the dynamic rm is derived as

follows:
rm
vTf
vPf
vTs
0;
0;
0
vxn
vxn
vxn
(26a)
Heat transfer wall:
P2mb P2ib
K
Amb
V
2mRr Tf Dxm dm
dm
am
(18)
1 3ls

vPf
vTf
vTs
hs Ts TN ; 3lf
hf Tf TN ;
0
vxn
vxn
vxn
(26b)
Mass transfer boundary:
3.
Dynamic process modeling
vTs
0; Tf Tinl ; Pf Pinl
vxn
As is pointed out in Section 1, the flow and heat transfer

theory of porous media can be applied to describe the
dynamic process in the reactor. With the differences between
two phases considered, the non-local thermal equilibrium
model for adsorption is as follows.
3.1.
(26c)
A fully implicit scheme based on control volume method was

used to discretize the governing equations, and then the
resulting algebraic equations were solved by ADI method.
Converge was assumed when error of Ts, Tf and Pf were
respectively lower than 103 K, 103 K and 106 bar.
Governing equations and boundary conditions

3.2.
Model validation
Mass equation for solid phase:

v1 3rs
_
m
vt
(19)
Mass equation for gas phase:

!
v3rf
_
V rf U m
vt
(20)
Energy equation for solid phase:

v 1 3rs Cps Ts
_ DH=MH
V1 3ls VTs hsf As Tf Ts m
vt

Cpf Tf
(21)
Jemni et al. have carried out some experimental studies on

a cylindrical MH reactor in 1999 [32]. The schematic of the
reactor is shown in Fig. 3, and the temperatures of three
locations(R 15 mm and Z 25, 35, 45 mm) were measured
and recorded during adsorption. LaNi5 powder was packed in
the reactor, the inlet pressure of hydrogen was 8 bar and the
temperature of heat transfer medium was 293 K. Under the
same conditions, numerical simulation on 60 25 grids was
conducted. The temperature histories of the three locations
predicted by our model are shown with the experimental data
presented by Jemni et al. in Fig. 4. It is seen that the simulation
results agree well with the experimental results, thus the
validity of the model is proved.
Energy equation for gas phase:

v 3rf Cpf Tf
vt

!
V rf Cpf U Tf V 3lf VTf hsf As Ts Tf
_ f Tf
mCp
(22)
Momentum equation for gas phase takes the form of Darcys

law:
! K
U VPf
m
(23)
Reaction kinetic equations for either adsorption or desorption

vary with the type of alloy used, the widely applied alloyLaNi5 was taken for discussion in our article here. Kinetic
equation for adsorption is as follows [18]:

P
E
_ ka exp a ln f 1 X
m
Rr Ts
Pe
(24)
P-C-T state equation is the one recommended by Dhaou

et al.[31]:
Pe
7
X
i0

DH 1
1
ai Xi exp

Rr Ts 303
(25)
The boundary conditions of MH reactors can be classified into

three types: adiabatic wall (or symmetry boundary), heat
transfer wall and mass transfer boundary, their specifications
are:
Adiabatic wall (or symmetry boundary):
Fig. 3 The schematic of a cylindrical MH reactor.
Metal (LaNi5)
3
Density, rs/kg m
Specific heat, Cp/J kg1 K1
Thermal conductivity,
l/W m1 K1
Permeability, K/m2
Reaction enthalpy, DH/J mol1
Porosity, 3
Universal gas
constant, Rr/J mol1 K1
Hydrogen
8400
419
2.4
14890
0.16
1.11 1012
3.1 104
0.50
8.314
10.954
651500
13.336
667650
15.718
675090
15.158
1050400
13.336
667650
11.099
369970
6.449
273920
13.336
667650
8
20
30
Pin (bar)
10
45.717
2957400
12.639
712390
13.336
667650
Table 1 Physical properties of the material and data in

simulation.
14.846
577250
In the former paper [7] the validity of parameter analysis has

been proved by several examples. Here the parameters are
30
Re-examination of the former results
20
4.1.
10
The tubular reactor (TR) is taken for discussion hereafter.

The length, inner diameter and bed thickness of TR are
respectively 60 mm, 40 mm and 20 mm. The inlet pressure
and temperature are 8 bar and 293 K. The temperature and
reacted fraction of reaction bed are 293 K and 0.1, and the
equilibrium is assumed initially. The temperature of the heat
transfer fluid is 293 K and the convection heat transfer
coefficient is 1500 W/m2 K. The boundary conditions of TR in
2-D cylindrical coordinates are the same as has been
described in Ref. [6]. 30 10 grids were used for simulation,
and the time step was chosen to be 0.01 s.
Average reaction rate is the main index used to describe
the performance of the MH reactor, which can be calculated
according to the simulation results of adsorption by tracking
the temporal changes of average reacted fraction in the bed,
as was defined in the former paper [7]. The physical properties
of the material and data in simulation are listed in Table 1.
Dxh (mm)
Results and discussion
Rin (mm)
4.
Table 2 The calculation results of rh and rm for TR at different design dimensions and operation conditions.
Fig. 4 Comparison of the bed temperature between

simulation and experiment.
rh (molH2/m3 s)
rm (mol H2/m3 s)
293
10
283
TN (K)
303
1857
1858
Fig. 5 The comparison of average reaction rate with that

calculated by parameter analysis.
Fig. 7 Variation of average reaction rate with preexponential factor of reaction kinetics.
redefined, thus we need to check about the calculation results

again to guarantee the consistence of the method. The
example of TR for validation is examined and the results
calculated by newly defined parameters are shown in Table 2.
As can be seen, the same analytical conclusion as that of the
former study can be drawn, that is smaller Rin, Dxh (denoted by
d in the former paper) and TN, and larger Pin favor the
adsorption process, while the order of their influence is
Dxh > Pin z TN > Rin.
can be explained as follows. When the process starts, the

temperature is low and a driving force large enough is guaranteed for the reaction throughout the bed. Basically, essential reaction kinetics dominates the whole process in this
stage and the average reaction rate is high. As the reaction
proceeds, the heat is released and the temperature of reaction
bed rises; later a relatively steady temperature distribution (as
is shown in Fig. 6) will be built based on the heat transfer
conditions. It is known that temperature will affect the driving
force of the reaction, thus the average reaction rate drops for
the rise of temperature and the distribution of reaction rate
reflects the distribution of the temperature, so the heat
transfer takes control of the process hereafter. It is also at this
stage that the parameter analysis proposed by the authors
works. The initial value of rh is calculated to be 10.56 mol H2/
(m3 s) and a corresponding reaction rate curve is plotted
against the actual one. It is seen that the average reaction rate
in the actual case is higher than rh, which also proves that ah
4.2.
The characteristics of the average reaction rate
curve and comparison with the results of the parameter
analysis
The average reaction rate curve is plotted using the calculation results by numerical simulation, as is shown in Fig. 5.
Obviously, after a very fast kinetics during the initial period
until around 14 s, the reaction slows down. The phenomenon
Fig. 6 The distribution of temperature in the reaction bed

at 0, 14 and 50 s.
Fig. 8 Variation of average reaction rate with convection

heat transfer coefficient (Dxh [ 1 mm).
1500
10.557

600
4.757
1.844
900
4.948
30
1200
5.049
1500
5.112
1200
10.366
calculated in the assumed case of constant heat generation

rate is underestimated.
900
10.064
600
9.509
1200
34.83
1500
36.04
1.859
1.898
600
29.81
h (W/m2 K)
rh (mol H2/m3 s)
900
32.98
10
ah ()

Dxh (mm)
The discussion is rather complicated, because the terms

including T or Pf in equation (24) may also be affected by heat or
mass transfer conditions, under which situation the shear
effect of reaction kinetics can hardly be identified. Therefore,
only the pre-exponential factor ka was varied (the actual value
of ka is around 60 s1) and corresponding reaction rates are
compared in Fig. 7. In the first stage that reaction kinetics
dominates, it is clearly seen that reaction rate increases with
the increase of ka. While in the second stage that heat transfer
dominates, the effect of ka is much attenuated and the corresponding reaction rates show little difference. Apparently, this
Table 3 The calculation results of rh for TR at varied convection heat transfer conditions.
20
4.3.
The effect of the essential reaction kinetics on the
average reaction rate
1859
1860
coincides with the conclusion obtained by parameter analysis:

even the average reaction rate determined by the slowest
kinetics (ka 30 s1) is still as high as 102.71 mol H2/(m3 s),
which is much larger than rh, thus heat transfer rather than
reaction kinetics controls the actual process and the difference
in reaction kinetics only plays a minor role in this case.
4.4.
The effect of the convection heat transfer on the
average reaction rate
Convection heat transfer coefficient h is taken into consideration in the formulation of rh, so the effect of h on the reaction
rate can be determined by both numerical simulation and
parameter analysis. For a certain bed thickness Dxh (1, 2,
3 mm), hN was varied from 600 to 1500 W/(m2 K) and the
corresponding reaction rates are compared in Figs. 810.
Obviously, in the first stage that the reaction kinetics dominates, the reaction rates for different h are almost the same.
However, in the second stage that the heat transfer dominates, the reaction rate increases with the increase of hN, yet
the effect is less significant for higher h. Moreover, the effect of
hN decreases with the increase of Dxh, the reason being that
the heat conduction in the reaction bed will play a more
important role for larger Dxh. These conclusions can also be
drawn qualitatively from the parameter analysis, as is shown
in Table 3.
Discussions above are carried out for TR, in which heat
transfer is the controlling step after the initial period. It was
shown that mass transfer can be the controlling step too [7]. In
that case, essential reaction kinetics dominates in the initial
stage and then mass transfer takes control.
4.5.
The application of parameter analysis method
Through the comparison with the simulation results in several

cases, the validity of the method in characterizing the actual
reaction process has been proved, thus the method can be
used effectively in the analysis of the MH reactor and assist its
primary design. For example, the performance of a MH reactor
can be easily assessed by the method for different schemes,
including the variations of alloys, operation conditions and
configuration dimensions. This is particularly meaningful in
the initial stage of a reactors design: after comparing the
performances of reactors for different schemes, we can
quickly concentrate on the superior schemes before more
intensive studies of numerical simulation or experiments are
carried out, which provides much convenience.
5.
Conclusions
An improved formulation of the two parameters characterizing the dynamic process in a MH reactor was proposed, in
which more realistic factors such as the convection heat
transfer and the propagation of reaction front were considered.
Then a 2-D mathematical model of the adsorption process was
built and solved numerically. TR was taken for discussion and
the average reaction rate curve was examined. It was found
that essential kinetics dominates in the initial stage while heat
transfer takes control thereafter, which can be proved by
checking the reaction rate curves with the kinetic parameter ka

or heat transfer parameter h varied. Parameter analysis mainly
works in the second stage, and good qualitative prediction of
the process can be achieved.
Acknowledgment
Financial support from National Scientific Foundation of
China (No. 50676070) is greatly acknowledged. The authors
also thank to the colleagues of Xian Jiaotong University for
their helpful comments during the manuscript preparation.
references
[1] Dhaou H, Mellouli S, Askri F, Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S.

Experimental and numerical study of discharge process of
metal-hydrogen tank. Int. J Hydrogen Energy 2007;32(12):
19227.
[2] Wang Y, Yang F, Zhang Z, Feng X, Guo Q. Design and process
simulation of metal hydride reactors. J Xian Jiaotong
University 2006;40(7):8315.
[3] MacDonald BD, Rowe AM. Impacts of external heat transfer
enhancements on metal hydride storage tanks. Int. J
Hydrogen Energy 2006;31:172131.
[4] Mellouli S, Askri F, Dhaou H, Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S. A
novel design of a heat exchanger for a metal-hydrogen
reactor. Int. J Hydrogen Energy 2007;32:35017.
[5] Bilgili M, Ataer OE. Numerical analysis of hydrogen
absorption in a P/M metal bed. Powder Technol 2005;160:
1418.
[6] Yang F, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Feng X. Performance analysis
and comparison of typical reactors of metal hydride heat
pump by numerical simulation. Proceedings of 22nd
International Conference of Refrigeration, Beijing, China;
2007.
[7] Yang F, Meng X, Deng J, Wang Y, Zhang Z. Identifying heat
and mass transfer characteristics of metal hydride reactor
during adsorption- Parameter analysis and numerical
simulation. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2008;33:101422.
[8] Lee SG, Kim YK, Lee JY. Operating characteristics of metal
hydride heat pump using Zr-based laves phases. Int J
Hydrogen Energy 1995;20(1):7785.
[9] Gopal MR, Murthy SS. Experiments on metal hydride cooling
system working with ZrMnFe/MmNi4.5Al0.5 pair. Int J
Refrigeration 1999;22:13749.
[10] Park JG, Jang KJ, Lee PS, Lee JY. The operating characteristics
of the compressor-driven metal hydride heat pump system.
Int J Hydrogen Energy 2001;26:7016.
[11] Park JG, Han SC, Jang HW, Lee SM, Lee PS, Lee JY. The
development of compressor-driven metal hydride heat
pump (CDMHHP) system as an air conditioner. Int J Hydrogen
Energy 2002;27:9414.
[12] Takeda H, Iijima K, Murai M, Matsufuji H, Kawaguchi O.
Development of heat-storage system using metal hydride:
experiment of performance by the actual loading condition.
Trans ASME 2006;128:37682.
[13] El Osery IA. Theory of the computer code ret1 for the
calculation of space-time dependent temperature and
composition properties of metal hydride hydrogen storage
beds. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1983;8(3):1918.
[14] Lucas GG, Richards WL. Mathematical modeling of
hydrogen storage systems. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1984;9(3):
22531.
[15] Mayer U, Groll M, Supper W. Heat and mass transfer in metal

hydride reaction beds: experimental and theoretical results. J
Less-Common Metals 1987;131:23544.
[16] Sun DW, Deng SJ. Study of the heat and mass transfer
characteristics of metal hydride beds. J Less-Common Metals
1988;141:3743.
[17] Choi H, Mills AF. Heat and mass transfer in metal hydride
beds for heat pump applications. Int J Heat Mass Transfer
1990;33(6):12818.
[18] Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S. Study of two-dimensional heat and
mass transfer during absorption in a metal-hydrogen
reactor. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1995;20(1):4352.
[19] Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S. Study of two-dimensional heat and
mass transfer during desorption in a metal-hydrogen
reactor. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1995;20(11):88191.
[20] Ben Nasrallah S, Jemni A. Heat and mass transfer models in
metal-hydrogen reactor. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1997;22(1):6776.
[21] Lloyd G, Razani A, Kim KJ. Formulation and numerical
solution of non-local thermal equilibrium equations for
multiple gas/solid porous metal hydride reactors. Trans
ASME 2001;123:51226.
[22] Guo Z, Sung HJ. Conjugate heat and mass transfer in metal
hydride beds in the hydriding process. Int J Heat Mass
Transfer 1999;42:37982.
[23] Nakagawa T, Inomata A, Aoki H, Miura T. Numerical analysis
of heat and mass transfer characteristics in the metal
hydride bed. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2000;25:33950.
1861
[24] Mat MD, Kaplan Y, Aldas K. Investigation of threedimensional heat and mass transfer in a metal hydride
reactor. Int J Energy Res 2002;26:97386.
[25] Ha MY, Kim IK, Song HD. A numerical study of thermo-fluid
phenomena in metal hydride beds in the hydriding process.
Int J Heat Mass Transfer 2004;47:290112.
[26] Suda S, Kobayashi N, Yoshida K, Ishido Y, Ono S.
Experimental measurements of thermal conductivity. J LessCommon Metals 1980;74:12736.
[27] Isselhorst A, Groll M. Two-stage metal hydride heat
transformer laboratory model. J. Alloys Compounds 1995;
231:88894.
[28] Willers E, Groll M. The two-stage metal hydride heat
transformer. Int J Hydrogen Energy 1999;24:26976.
[29] Qin F, Chen J, Lu M, Chen Z, Zhou Y, Yang K. Development of
a metal hydride refrigeration system as an exhaust gas-driven
automobile air conditioner. Renewable Energy 2007;32:203462.
[30] Laurencelle F, Goyette J. Simulation of heat transfer in
a metal hydride reactor with aluminium foam. Int J
Hydrogen Energy 2007;32:295764.
[31] Dhaou H, Askri F, Ben Salah M, Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S,
Lamloumi J. Measurement and modeling of kinetics of
hydrogen sorption by LaNi5 and two related pseudo-binary
compounds. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2007;32:57687.
[32] Jemni A, Ben Nasrallah S, Lamloumi J. Experimental and
theoretical study of a metal-hydrogen reactor. Int J Hydrogen
Energy 1999;24:63144.

Identifying Heat and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Metal Hydride Reactor During Adsorption: Improved Formulation About Parameter Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Identifying Heat and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Metal Hydride Reactor During Adsorption: Improved Formulation About Parameter Analysis

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Identifying Heat and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Metal Hydride Reactor During Adsorption: Improved Formulation About Parameter Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

international journal of hydrogen energy 34 (2009) 18521861

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he