Reaction calorimeter

• Subject Area: Fluid Mechanics, Technical Thermodynamics and Thermal Energy Engineering
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 536748292

The newly appointed Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at the University of Rostock combines the expertise of the new institute head in the research of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) with competencies in measurement technology and modeling. The focus is on the efficient storage of hydrogen in energy-dense form, particularly utilizing the LOHC technology. LOHC allows hydrogen to be stored in a chemically bonded form. Due to the chemical bonding, storage at ambient conditions can be realized. At the same time, however, greater effort is required to release the hydrogen. Research into the energetics of hydrogenation reactions is a central component of the further development of LOHC technology in the context of the energy transition. Reaction calorimetry enables the determination of the hydrogenation enthalpy, which corresponds to the amount of the dehydrogenation enthalpy. The latter is a decisive parameter for technical processes, since it determines the amount of heat that must be supplied to the system for sufficient hydrogen release. The reaction enthalpy for dehydrogenation should be as low as possible that the utilization of more heat sources can be realized. At the same time, however, it must not be too low so that the hydrogen is not released unintentionally. A reaction enthalpy of about 40 kJ/mol would be optimal for these conditions. The following questions therefore arise: 1) Which LOHC systems have a dehydrogenation reaction enthalpy as close as possible to the optimum? 2) Does the mixture of different LOHC's lead to an improvement of their properties? 3) Are these systems stable during hydrogenation so that they can be recycled in as many cycles as possible? 4) To what extent is the amount of heat for dehydrogenation affected by mixing effects of the hydrogen-lean specie in the hydrogen-rich component? To answer these questions, an apparatus is needed to determine the reaction enthalpy and identify the hydrogenation products. The proposed apparatus with the planned specifications is ideally suited to measure the energetic course of the reaction and to quantitatively identify the components of the product mixture.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Reaktionskalorimeter
• Instrumentation Group: 8640 Kalorimeter und Heizwertschreiber (außer 865, 866)
• Applicant Institution: Universität Rostock
• Leader: Professor Dr.-Ing. Karsten Müller