DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPOSITE PALLADIUM MEMBRANE FOR SELECTIVE HYDROGEN SEPARATION AT HIGH-TEMPERATURE

A method is described for development of a composite palladium membrane for selective hydrogen separation at high temperature. Electroless plating is used to form a thin palladium film on a silver porous substrate. The composite formed showed excellent mechanical strength and very large selectivity for hydrogen. The studies performed so far suggest that electroless plating can be utilized in making a metal composite membrane that can be used at high temperatures. Composite properties seem fairly constant at high temperatures. The permeability of the composite membrane is comparable to theoretical permeabilities for pure palladium.