Exergy Analysis of Single-Stage Metal Hydride Hydrogen Compressor

This work reports an exergy analysis of a single-stage metal hydride hydrogen compressor. The evaluation of the metal hydride (MH) hydrogen compressor’s performance is conducted from an exergy perspective. The exergy destroyed in each stage of compression was calculated. Further, the effect of alloy composition used in the compressor on exergy efficiency is studied. The performance analysis is done for LaNi5-xAlx (x = 0 to 0.4) for 3 bar inlet pressure and desorption temperature of 100, 120, and 140 °C. The exergy destroyed in the discharging process is higher than the exergy destroyed in the charging process. Exergy efficiency decreased with an increase in Al concentration and increased with an increase in desorption temperature. A maximum exergy efficiency of 70.3% and desorption pressure of 45 bar is obtained at 140 °C for LaNi5.