In
this study, a novel method for producing different alkali metal
hydrides (NaH, KH, RbH, and CsH) from their corresponding metal hydroxides
(NaOH, KOH, RbOH, and CsOH) is presented. For the production of NaH
from NaOH, a variety of metallic reducing agents (Mg, Al, Si, CaH2, Cr, Mn, and Sr) were investigated. The reactions took place
in an autoclave reactor with paraffin oil at 250 °C and 14 bar
of H2 pressure. Splitting the process into two steps (metal
formation and hydrogenation) simplified the separation and purification
for the produced metal hydride. Moreover, the study explores the potential
for this method of NaH production to be used for NaBH4 production
and regeneration for hydrogen export applications. This approach offers
an alternative, cost-effective method for producing NaH.