Research Projects

The use of hydrogen as energy for various sectors such as transportation, batteries, household activities, and power generation industries has led to its tremendous production, purification, and storage on a large scale [1-7]. Of all the kinds of membrane materials used for this purpose, production and purification performed with the help of metallic membrane materials stands crucial in terms of cost effective, and storage is done by joining it to a membrane housing usually made up of steel [2]. However, the development of vanadium and its alloys as potential and cost-effective membrane materials has been limited due to their manufacturing challenges, including desired thickness and joining to form a tube, and their poor resistance to hydrogen embrittlement compared to conventional materials such as Pd-based membranes [3,6]. To address these challenges, researchers have explored various approaches, including alloying vanadium with Ni, Zr, and other transition elements to optimize the microstructural features influencing the hydrogen permeable property [4]. The addition of these elements has been found to refine the microstructure of pure vanadium by forming a single phase throughout, which helps in enhancing hydrogen permeability. Moreover, laser welding has been identified as a promising joining technique for vanadium-based membranes. The proposed project aims to design and develop a sustainable and cost-effective vanadium alloy to serve the purpose of metal membrane with superior permeability, while controlling the texture of the alloy to replace conventional materials such as palladium. The project will optimize the composition, microstructure, processing conditions to cater the diffusion dynamics for hydrogen permeation and joining of the vanadium alloy with the goal of establishing a new material that can potentially contribute to creating a more environmentally friendly and economically viable future. In addition, the project will investigate the feasibility of laser welding vanadium alloy with steel, a commonly used material in membrane housing. Furthermore, this project will explore the potential of other vanadium-based alloys such as V-Al, V-Fe, and V-Cr to expand the application of the developed alloys in various sectors, including transportation, energy, and household activities. The developed vanadium alloy has a wide range of applications, including hydrogen separation and purification, transportation, and storage. The proposed material can potentially replace Pd-based membranes and provide a more sustainable solution for hydrogen purification, while the use of laser welding with steel can lead to cost-effective and environmentally friendly hydrogen storage solutions.