Temperature-Dependence Study on the Hydrogen Transport Properties of Polymers Used for Hydrogen Infrastructure

Polymeric materials used in hydrogen infrastructure degrade with temperature changes, thereby increasing the risk of hydrogen leakage. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the hydrogen permeation characteristics at varying temperatures, particularly at low temperatures, for the safe use of hydrogen energy. This study aimed to measure hydrogen permeability at a temperature range of 243–313 K for exploring the hydrogen permeation characteristics according to the temperature of ethylene-propylene diene monomer (EPDM), fluorine-rubber (FKM), and nitrilebutadiene rubber (NBR) for hydrogen infrastructure. Results show that permeability and diffusivity rapidly decreased as the temperature decreased; however, there was no significant change in solubility with the variation in temperature. Activation energies of permeability, diffusivity, and solubility were calculated from the measurement results, among which the activation energy for permeability exhibited the largest value in the order of FKM, NBR, and EPDM.