Development of a practical formate/bicarbonate energy system.

Area of Science:

• Green chemistry and renewable energy storage solutions.

Background:

• Liquid organic hydrogen carriers are essential for renewable energy, but simple organic salts are underutilized.
• Organic salts offer advantages like low cost, minor toxicity, and easy handling for hydrogen storage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a potassium formate/potassium bicarbonate system for hydrogen storage and release.
• To evaluate the stability and efficiency of this system using a molecularly defined catalyst.

Main Methods:

• Development and testing of a potassium formate/potassium bicarbonate hydrogen storage system.
• Utilization of a molecularly defined Ru-5 complex catalyst for hydrogen release and synthesis.
• Assessment of system stability over 6 months and performance over 40 cycles.

Main Results:

• The potassium formate/bicarbonate system demonstrated high stability over 6 months.
• Hydrogen release rates of up to 9.3 L/h were achieved using ppm amounts of the Ru-5 catalyst.
• The catalyst facilitated the hydrogenation of KHCO3 to HCOOK with a turnover number (TON) of 9650.
• The system successfully completed 40 combined hydrogen storage-release cycles.

Conclusions:

• Potassium formate/bicarbonate represents a viable and stable option for green hydrogen storage and release.
• The Ru-5 catalyst significantly enhances hydrogen release and synthesis efficiency.
• This system shows promise for practical applications in renewable energy technologies.