Hydrogen Diffusion in Coal: Implications for Hydrogen Geo-storage

Hypothesis: Hydrogen geo-storage is considered as an option for large scale hydrogen storage in a full-scale hydrogen economy. Among different types of subsurface formations, coal seams look to be one of the best suitable options as coal’s micro/nano pore structure can adsorb a huge amount of gas (e.g. hydrogen) which can be withdrawn again once needed. However, literature lacks fundamental data regarding H2 diffusion in coal. Experiments: In this study, we measured H2 adsorption rate in an Australian anthracite coal sample at isothermal conditions for four different temperatures (20 C, 30 C, 45 C and 60 C), at equilibrium pressure 13 bar, and calculated H2 diffusion coefficient (DH2 ) at each temperature. CO2 adsorption rates were measured for the same sample at similar temperatures and equilibrium pressure for comparison. Findings: Results show that H2 adsorption rate, and consequently DH2 , increases by temperature. DH2 values are one order of magnitude larger than the equivalent DCO2 values for the whole studied temperature range 20–60 C. DH2 / DCO2 also shows an increasing trend versus temperature. CO2 adsorption capacity at equilibrium pressure is about 5 times higher than that of H2 in all studied temperatures. Both H2 and CO2 adsorption capacities, at equilibrium pressure, slightly decrease as temperature rises.