High-purity
hydrogen delivery for stationary and mobile applications
using fuel cells is a subject of rapidly growing interest. As a consequence,
the development of efficient storage technologies and processes for
hydrogen supply is of primary importance. Promising hydrogen storage
techniques rely on the reversibility and high selectivity of liquid
organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), for example, methylcyclohexane,
decalin, dibenzyltoluene, or dodecahydrocabazole. LOCHs have high
gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen density, and they involve low
risk and capital investment because they are largely compatible with
the current transport infrastructure used for fossil fuels. A further
advantage comes from the high purity (close to 100%) of the hydrogen
generated by dehydrogenation, suitable to directly feed fuel cells
without the need for bulky purification modules. Partial dehydrogenation
(PDH) of liquid fuels has recently emerged as a transition technology
for hydrogen delivery purposes. The principle is to extract from fossil
fuels a small fraction of the available hydrogen, which can be used
for fuel cell applications, while the dehydrogenated hydrocarbon mixture
maintains suitable properties for its use as fuel. With this technology,
the large energy demand of dehydrogenation processes can be satisfied
by implementing a heat exchanger between the engine and the dehydrogenation
reactor, overcoming one of the main constraints associated with the
use of organic liquids as hydrogen carriers. This method qualifies
itself as a transition technology toward more electrified transportations,
in which the main propulsion is still obtained by fuel combustion,
although the electrical utilities or auxiliary propulsion are powered
by fuel cells. This paper provides a review of the effort that has
been directed toward the utilization of organic liquids as hydrogen
carriers, with particular focus on the design of the catalytic dehydrogenation
process and on the recent approach of fuel partial dehydrogenation.