Johnson, Karl

Mathews, Michael A.

Novais, Augusto Q.

Rangel, C. M.

Retnamma, Rajasree

Yu, Lin

Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia Repository

Kinetics of self-hydrolysis of concentrated sodium borohydride solutions at high temperatures

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1  Kinetics of Self-Hydrolysis of Concentrated Sodium Borohydride Solutions at High Temperatures Rajasree Retnamma1, Lin Yu2, Carmen M. Rangel3, Augusto Q. Novais1, Karl Johnson4, Michael A. Matthews2 1Energy Systems Modeling and Optimization Unit, National Laboratory of Energy and Geology, Lisbon, Portugal 2Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, USA 3Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Unit, National Laboratory of Energy and Geology, Lisbon, Portugal 4Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, USA 1. Introduction Hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solution over metal catalyst is accepted as a potential technology for delivering H2 to portable fuel cells. However, unresolved issues such as minimizing the amount of water and the nature of hydration of metaborate by-products limit its hydrogen storage capacities. An alternative method, steam/water vapor hydrolysis, can enhance the hydrogen storage capacities without catalyst, if operating conditions can be optimized [1]. In this approach, solid NaBH4 absorbs water and deliquesces, forming a highly concentrated viscous solution at near boiling point of water, followed by hydrogen evolution from the concentrated viscous solution. It is also well understood that self-hydrolysis occurs even at room temperature when NaBH4 is mixed with water and the rate becomes significant at high temperatures. Self-hydrolysis must be arrested to increase the shelf-life of the solution.  The knowledge of the kinetics of self-hydrolysis of concentrated solutions at elevated temperature is thus crucial for: (1) developing steam/water vapor hydrolysis technology; and (2) handling and storage of NaBH4solutions. Concentrated solutions have not been studied extensively so far and the reported studies, except two [2, 3], were for buffered dilute solutions of NaBH4 (< 0.4 wt%) at low temperatures (< 250C). The present study reports the kinetics of self-hydrolysis of unbuffered, unstabilized concentrated NaBH4 solutions (10-20 wt%) at high temperatures (25-80 0C) by a differential isothermal isoconversional method.  2. Theoretical The NaBH4 hydrolysis (self or catalytic) reaction occurs according to[4]: NaBH4 (aq or s) + (2+x) H2O(l)             NaBO2. x H2O (aq or s) + heat       (1) Where, x is the excess hydration factor. The mechanism of this process is highly complex and too complicated to be described by a kinetic model within the practical operating conditions [5]. The 2  isoconversional method is often used to describe such kinetics, where, assuming a single step kinetic approximation, the rate expression is [6]. )f( )C (T,kdtdα0'ap α=                                      (2) )C (T,k 0'ap is the apparent rate constant, which depends on temperature T and initial reactant concentration 0C , αis the extent of conversion and f(α) the conversion function representing the mechanism of the process. The NaBH4 hydrolysis process exhibits maximum rate at the beginning of the reaction, which decreases continuously with the extent of conversion. The most appropriate form of f(α)for such decelerating type process isthe ‘reaction order model’[7]: m)-(1 )f( αα = (3) Where, m is the reaction order.    Combining Eqs. (2)- (3), and considering the definition of extent of reaction α gives: m1-m0ap )-1( C (T)kdtdα α= (4) Where,  1-m0ap0'ap C*(T)k)C (T,k = (5) For a fixed conversion (α), Eq. (4) reduces to   C )(T,kdtdα 1-m0''ap αα=⎟⎠⎞⎜⎝⎛(6) Where,  map''ap α)(1*(T)k)(T,k −=α (7) Equation (6), after a logarithmic transformation: 0''apαCln  1)-m()(T,kln dtdαln +=⎟⎠⎞⎜⎝⎛ α           (8) For an isothermal process, the values of α)(T,kln ''ap and m are determined by Eq. (8) for each temperature andα, for different initial borohydride concentrations. The temperature dependence of the rate constant kap(T) is then expressed by Arrhenius relationship: 3  ⎟⎟⎠⎞⎜⎜⎝⎛=RTE-exp A(T)k apapap (9) The apparent activation parameters, i.e. apparent activation energy (Eap) and pre-exponential factor (Aap) are estimated by linear regression of lnkap(T) vs. 1/T data. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Kinetic study Effect of NaBH4 conversion and temperature on reaction rate  The experimental kinetic data used werereported by Yu and Matthews [8], in which the evolution of metaborate formation and NaBH4 consumption were generated in-situ by 11B NMR technique for unbuffered, unstabilized 10, 15 and 20 wt% NaBH4 solutions at 25, 60 and 80 0C. The estimated reaction rates from the experimental data for various NaBH4 conversion, initial NaBH4 concentration and temperature are given in Table 1. As evident, the reaction rate increases with both temperature and initial NaBH4 concentration fora fixed NaBH4 conversionand decreases with increase in NaBH4 conversionfor a fixed temperature and initial NaBH4 concentration. Table 1 is then exploited to determine the reaction order and apparent activation parameterswith respect to NaBH4 conversion and temperature.  Table 1.Reaction rates for different NaBH4 conversions at various temperatures and initial NaBH4 concentrations.  NaBH4 (wt %) T(0C)                       Reaction rates (r, mol L-1 hr-1) at various NaBH4 conversions   5 %          10 %        15 %        20 %       25%        30 %         35 %        40 %         45%         50% 10 15             20  10 15 20  10 15 20   25     60    80 0.086 0.136        0.241   0.637 0.740 0.897  2.209 2.384 2.698   0.048 0.080 0.108  0.559 0.654 0.797  2.089 2.241 2.555 0.025 0.037     0.057  0.485 0.569 0.697  1.970 2.130 2.410 0.015 0.027 0.036  0.415 0.483 0.598  1.848 1.981 2.264     0.345 0.398 0.499  1.723 1.862 2.115     0.273 0.317 0.402  1.597 1.720 1.964     0.210 0.242 0.310  1.468 1.687 1.810     0.158 0.181 0.227  1.340 1.470 1.653     0.110 0.144 0.160  1.201 1.352 1.493     0.100 0.130 0.143  1.062 1.232 1.326  Effect of NaBH4 conversion and temperatureon reaction order  Fig. 1 shows the reaction order as estimated by linear regression of rate versus NaBH4 concentration for various NaBH4 conversions and. As seen, the reaction order remains constant at a given temperature irrespective of NaBH4 conversion,while it decreases with increase in temperature irrespective of NaBH4 conversion. The order decreases from first-to 0.25 with increase in temperature from 25 to 80 0C.The estimated 4  rate constant, (T)k ap (not given),decreases with increase in NaBH4 conversion at constant temperature and increases with temperature at constant NaBH4 conversion.It is noteworthy that the variation of reaction order with temperature has been reported by Vyazovkin and Sbirrazzuolui [9] for complex epoxy-anhydride cure kinetics.   It is well known that the solution viscosity increases during the course of hydrolysis reaction and this has been considered the reason for the observeddecrease in rate with reaction time or with NaBH4 conversion[5].The effect of temperature on solution viscosity can be described in terms of Arrhenius-type relationships [10]:   RTEexp af0 ⎟⎠⎞⎜⎝⎛=ηη              (10) whereηis the viscosity, η0 the pre-exponential factor and Eaf the activation energy of flow.This implies that increase in temperature decreases the solution viscosity. Viscosity is an indication of the solutionresistance to flow, and reduced flow resistance at high temperature enhancesthe interaction between reactant molecules. This in turnlessensthe relative contribution of the effect of the concentration on the reaction rate. The deviation from first-order kinetics at low temperatures to fractional-order kinetics at higher temperatures observed in the present study,is attributed to this difference in interaction between reactant molecules with respect to temperature due to change in solution viscosity.It is worthwhile noting that the earlier studies also reported first-order kinetics for self-hydrolysis of NaBH4 for lower conversions and temperatures and for buffered solutions [11-15]  Figure 1. Effect of NaBH4 conversion (%) on reaction order 5  Effect of NaBH4 conversion on activation energy The classical kinetic theory defines reaction orders to beconstant with temperature.In the present case the observed difference in the reaction order with temperature (Fig. 1) suggests a NaBH4conversion effect on the activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction (Ea), as given in Table 2. As seen, activation energy increases with NaBH4 conversion/with formation of metaborate by-products. It is well documented in literature that the formation of highly basic metaborate by-products in the course of the hydrolysis reaction results in highly viscous solutions. Investigation on the influence of soluble solids content on viscosity,by various researchers,showed that depending on the type of soluble solids content the activation energy of flow (Eaf) might increase or decrease.The effects of soluble solid contents are described by the following expressions [10]:                         Cηη 1b1= (11)     C)exp(bη 22=η (12) Where ηi and bi are constants and C is the concentration. Hence one may assume that the activation energy of the flow increases with an increase in NaBH4 conversion due to metaborate by-product formation, which in turn increases the activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction. Table 2.Apparent activation energy determined for various NaBH4 conversions NaBH4 Conversion (%) aEap (kJ mol-1 ) R2 Standard  error F P-value               5             10             15             20      64. 43 ±14.5     71.03 ±11.5     82.50 ±13.5     89.62 ±12.5   0.9944  0.9998  0.9998  0.99941.14 0.91 1.03 1.96 3914.89 6721.39 6725.19 2152.88 0.025 0.038 0.008 0.013 awith ± 95% confidence interval 3.2. Modeling The dependence of apparent activation energy (Eap) on α(Table 2)is described by [16]: α)ln(1εεE 10ap −+=                 (13) With ε0 = 54.2  ± 1.7kJ mol-1 and ε1= -114±12.2 kJ mol-1 (within a 95% confidence interval)  The change in apparent reaction order with temperature (Fig. 1) can be evaluated if the parameters of the kinetic compensation effect (KCE) are known [16]. The present study shows that NaBH4 hydrolysis follows the following KCE relationship:  6  ap**ap EβαlnA += (14) With α* =0.84 ±1.2 (mol L-1)1-(m+n) hr-1and β*= 0.36 ± 0.04kJ mol-1(within a 95% confidence interval)  Combining Equations (4), (9), (13) and (14) results in: n)(m0 α)(1Adtdα +−= (15)  Where: RTεεβn 11* −= (16) 1nm000**0 C RTεεβαexpA −+⎟⎠⎞⎜⎝⎛ −+= (17) Equation (15) shows that the overall process is apparently described with a reaction order n+m as illustrated in Fig 1.If the values of n are estimated from equation (16) and n+m from Fig 1, the values for m obtained are given in Table 3. As expected, m tends to a constant value, i.e. 0.22 ± 0.01. Table 3.Values of n, n+m and m at different temperatures  T(0C) n(1) (Eq. 16)             n+m(2) (Fig. 1)           m(3,*) 25 60 80   0.820 0.222 0.024   1.04   0.44   0.245 0.214 0.218 0.220  1dependent on temperature, 2apparent reaction order 3 independent on temperature, *m = 0.22± 0.01 (mean ± standard deviation) 4. Conclusions The complex NaBH4 self-hydrolysis process is analyzed by a differential isothermal isoconversional method, based on asingle-step kinetic approximation. The overall process is apparently described by a ‘reaction order’ model with temperature dependent reaction orderin a wide practical operating window (10-20 wt% NaBH4 solution and 25-80 0C). The apparent activation parameters, i.e. apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor are conversion dependent and interrelated through the kinetic compensation effect, which explains the observed effect of the temperature on the reaction order. The apparent activation parameters obtained provide some insight into the theoretical kinetic mechanism, which however remains a matter of heated debates.   7  5. References [1] Beaird AM, Davis TA, Matthews MA. Deliquescence in the hydrolysis of sodium  borohydride by water vapor, IndEngChem Res 2010;49(20):9596-9599. [2] Gonçalves, A., Castro, P., Novais, A.Q., Fernandes, V., Rangel, C. and Matos, H.,  Dynamic modeling of hydrogen generation via hydrolysis of sodium borohydride, In Proceedings of PRES’07, 24-28 June, Ischia, Italy, (In Chemical Engineering  Transactions, Vol. 12, 2007. Editor: Jiri Klemes, AIDIC, Italy, 243.) [3] Andrieux J, Demirci UB, Hannauer J, Gervais C, Goutaudier C, Miele P. Spontaneous  hydrolysis of  sodium borohydride in harsh conditions. Int J Hydrogen Energy  2011;36:224-233.   [4] Cavaliere S, Hannauer J, Demirci UB, Akdim O, Miele P. Ex situ characterization of  N2H4- , NaBH4- and NH3BH3- reduced cobalt catalysts in NaBH4 hydrolysis. Catal Today  2011;170:3-12. [5] Retnamma R, Novais AQ, Rangel C.M. Kinetics of hydrolysis of sodium borohydride for  hydrogen production in fuel cell applications: A review. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2011;36:  9772-9790 (and references thereof). [6] Simon P. Isoconversional methods: Fundamentals, meaning and application. J. Therm.  Anal. Calorimetry 2004;76:123-132.  [7] Vyazovkin S, Burnham AK, Criado JM, Perez-Maqueda AA, Popescu C, Sbirrazzuoli N.  ICTAC Kinetics committee recommendations for performing kinetic computations on  thermal analysis data. ThermChimActa 2011;520:1-9.  [8] Yu Lin, Matthews MA. Hydrolysis of sodium borohydride in concentrated aqueous  solution. Int J Hydrogen Energy 2011;36:7416-7422.   [9] Vyazovkin S, Sbirrazzuoli N. Kinetic methods to study isothermal and nonisothermal epoxy-anhydride cure. MacromolChemPhys 1991;200:2294-2303. [10] Ibarz A, Garvin A, Costa J. Rheological behavior of sole (prunusspinosa) fruit juices. J  Food Engng 1996;27:423-430.    [11] Pecsok R. Polarographic studies on the oxidation and hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. J AmeChemSoc 1953;75:2862-2864. [12] Stockmayer WH, Miller RR, Zeto RJ. Kinetics of borohydride hydrolysis. J. Phys. Chem        1961;65:1076-1077. [13]Davis RE, Swain CG. General acid catalysis of the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride. J  AmeChemSoc 1960;82(22):5949-5950. [14]Davis RE. Bromels E, Kibby CL. BorohydridesIII. Hydrolysis of sodium borohydride in  aqueous solution. J AmeChemSoc 1962;84:885-889. 8  [15] Mesmer RE, Jolly WL. The hydrolysis of aqueous hydroborate. Inorg Chem 1962;1:608-612. [16] Budrugeac P, Popescu C, Segal E. Change of the apparent reaction order with  temperature as a consequence of the reaction mechanism complexity. J. Therm. Anal.  Calorimetry 2001;64:821-827. 

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Kinetics of self-hydrolysis of concentrated sodium borohydride solutions at high temperatures

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