HYDROGEN ABSORBERS BASED ON POROUS CERAMICS SYNTHESIZED IN A SOLAR FURNACE

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the processes of hydrogen absorption in porous ceramic materials sythesized in a solar furnace. We used burning additives inserted into ceramic materials and melted in a solar furnace in a high-density stream of concentrated solar radiation (200 W/cm2). The melt was cooled by pouring it into water at a cooling rate of 10^3–10^4 degree/s. The castings were characterized by a fine-grained microstructure (in which the grain size did not exceed 10 μm). The crushed and molded samples were fired at a temperature of 1150°C for 2 hours. Thr results obtained showed that the sodium aluminosilicate zeolite ceramic porous material based on a mixture of aluminum powder, quartz sand, and polyvinyl alcohol exhibited high hydrogen absorption—up to 13% (at temperature = 250°C and pressure = 13 atm).