US 12486164 B1Patent grantUnited States

Mesoporous Calcium Catalyst for Hydrogen Generation

Official patent title

Method of producing hydrogen gas using nanocomposite catalyst

Arabic title: طريقة لإنتاج غاز الهيدروجين باستخدام محفز نانو مركب

Invention

Problem

Sodium borohydride hydrolysis requires catalysis for useful hydrogen-release rates, while noble-metal systems can create cost, supply, and recovery constraints.

Why it matters

A recoverable non-noble catalyst could support controlled chemical hydrogen supply, provided overall efficiency, catalyst life, gas quality, and process safety are demonstrated.

Approach

The method hydrolyzes NaBH4 with a porous CaHPO4/Ca6Si6O17(OH)2/SiO2/g-C3N4 catalyst. Calcium-containing particles and silicon dioxide are associated with mesoporous graphitic-carbon-nitride nanosheets to provide catalytic surface structure.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include chemical-hydrogen generator developers, fuel-cell researchers, catalyst producers, portable-power laboratories, and sodium-borohydride storage programs.

Potential value

The catalyst combines phosphate, silicate, silica, and carbon-nitride phases in a mesoporous powder with defined preparation and patent-stated hydrogen-rate ranges.

Background

Hydrogen can store energy, but compressed and liquefied systems require specialized infrastructure. Sodium borohydride provides chemical storage and releases hydrogen through hydrolysis, although self-hydrolysis is slow. Heterogeneous catalysts can be separated from the sodium-metaborate coproduct and may avoid noble-metal dependence. The publication proposes a calcium-phosphate, calcium-silicate-hydroxide, silica, and graphitic-carbon-nitride composite. The source states generation-rate ranges but does not establish total conversion, hydrogen purity, catalyst recovery, cycling, long-term stability, reactor control, or carrier-regeneration economics.

Technology overview

NaBH4 and water are reacted at 20–75 °C with a catalyst-to-carrier weight relationship of 1:1–5:1. The catalyst contains 20–40 wt.% CaHPO4, 20–30 wt.% Ca6Si6O17(OH)2, 1–10 wt.% SiO2, and 20–30 wt.% g-C3N4 in described embodiments. It has 10–25 nm average pore diameter and 0.1–0.4 cm3/g pore volume. The patent states a hydrogen-generation-rate range of 100–1500 mL min−1 g−1 based on NaBH4 weight.

Potential applications

On-demand hydrogen production from sodium borohydride.
Catalyst research for portable fuel-cell systems.
Mesoporous non-noble hydrolysis catalyst development.
Chemical hydrogen-carrier evaluation at moderate temperatures.

Evidence-supported advantages

The catalyst uses phosphate, silicate, silica, and carbon-nitride phases.
Mesoporous nanosheets, particle dimensions, and pore characteristics are specified.
A preparation route from calcium silicate, urea, and P2O5 is described.
Hydrogen-rate and operating-temperature ranges are stated.

Development stage

Laboratory catalyst preparation, material characterization, and patent-stated hydrogen-rate ranges are described; reactor-scale cycling and commercialization were not established.

Commercial opportunity

The catalyst may interest compact hydrogen-system developers. Commercialization requires independent rate, yield, purity, catalyst-recovery, cycling, and poisoning tests; heat and gas-flow control; sodium-metaborate management; borohydride regeneration economics; feedstock and furnace costs; scale-up reproducibility; and compliance with hydrogen safety requirements. Performance is not independently verified.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

C01B3/065Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof
B01J21/08Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus

CPC

B01J21/08Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/45Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C01B3/04Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof
C01B3/06Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof
C01B3/065Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof
B01J35/393Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/51Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/633Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J35/647Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
C01P2002/72Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2002/90Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/04Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/32Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/64Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/82Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2006/14Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2006/16Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
Y02E60/36Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions related to energy generation, transmission or distribution

Inventors

First inventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair
InventorMohamed Khairy Omran
InventorMohamed Nady Abd El-Hameed Ibrahim

Keywords

hydrogen gas
sodium borohydride
calcium hydrogen phosphate
calcium silicate hydroxide
silicon dioxide
graphitic carbon nitride
hydrolysis
nanocomposite catalyst

Patent document and drawings

The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.