Verification of MOF material reducing liquefied hydrogen vaporization loss, storage period extended 3-fold

Research results show that applying porous materials inside liquefied hydrogen storage tanks can significantly reduce losses from hydrogen evaporation while minimizing reductions in storage capacity.

A research team led by Professor Oh Hyun-cheol from the Department of Chemistry at UNIST, in collaboration with Professor Moon Hoe-ri from Ewha Womans University and researchers from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, announced on the 29th that they have verified technology reducing boil-off loss occurring during liquefied hydrogen transportation and storage by utilizing metal-organic frameworks (MOF).

Liquefied hydrogen is advantageous for mass storage and transportation, but when external heat enters, some of it converts to gas and is lost. The research team analyzed whether MOF, a porous material with numerous micropores inside, can reduce such losses during the hydrogen adsorption process.

Reducing losses while maintaining liquefied hydrogen storage capacity

The research team conducted experiments and simulations on two types of MOF materials: IRMOF-20 and MIL-53.

Analysis results showed that when IRMOF-20 was applied, the storable hydrogen amount maintained approximately 97% compared to liquefied hydrogen storage alone. Conversely, the period during which hydrogen evaporates and is completely depleted increased more than 3-fold, from approximately 64 days to 221 days.

Researchers analyzed that hydrogen was stored more densely within the porous pores than in liquid hydrogen, making it possible to minimize reductions in storage capacity.

The other material, MIL-53, showed hydrogen evaporation suppression effects but resulted in storage capacity decreasing to approximately half the original level.

Expectations for advances in liquefied hydrogen transportation technology

The research team explained that additional heat is required for hydrogen adsorbed inside MOF to be released; therefore, heat entering inside the tank is partially absorbed and the evaporation rate is slowed.

This research is significant in demonstrating that in liquefied hydrogen storage technology, additional loss reduction is possible not only through improved thermal insulation performance but also by utilizing material-based adsorption technology.

Professor Oh Hyun-cheol stated, "We confirmed that by optimizing the pore structure and hydrogen storage characteristics of MOF, evaporation losses can be reduced while maintaining storage capacity," and added, "Additional verification in actual storage tank environments is necessary."

This research result has been published in the international academic journal Nature Communications.