MAGNIC Hydrogen Production.

Abstract : The objective of this 18-month feasibility study was to provide a portable energy production system that is simple to operate, has desirable energy density, and meets Army field requirements. Steps toward this goal were taken in three separate project tasks. Specifically, Task 1, Review and Regeneration, Task 2, Reactor Feasibility Demonstration, and Task 3, Integrated System Demonstration. The review and regeneration study determined that it is not economically feasible to close the loop on the MAGNIC process by means of regenerating the Mg(OH)2. The reactor feasibility demonstration determined that hydrogen can be produced from the MAGNIC reaction safely and controllably by controlling the temperature and reacting MAGNIC surface area. The reaction was found to proceed to completion in 2.5x stoichiometric water, and plugging and byproduct film inhibition were demonstrated not to be a problem. The integrated system demonstration showed that it is possible to recover heat from the reaction and utilized it to reduce the energy required to maintain a nominal rate of potable water production from a reverse osmosis desalination system. Based on the ratio of weight of product to weight of process hardware (mass efficiency), the MAGNIC powered system was found to be favorable when compared to diesel powered units.