Catalyst development for stable hydrogen generation during steam reforming of renewable and nonrenewable resources

Abstract

The production of hydrogen from renewable and nonrenewable resources is demonstrated. Catalytic steam reforming, using a rhodium-containing catalyst, is shown to be effective for the conversion of natural gas and n-hexadecane (used as a simulant for diesel fuel). Improved conversion efficiencies can be achieved by performing the reaction at higher temperatures and steam to carbon ratios. The presence of sulfur in the fuel is shown to have a significant inhibiting effect on catalyst performance. Steam reforming of biomass-derived species is less effective when compared with that of simpler compounds such as methane and methanol, because these species decompose to produce tars and chars at temperatures below which steam reforming reactions are effective. Autothermal reforming has been shown to be relatively effective for several biomass-derived species.

High-yield hydrogen production from glucose by supercritical water gasification without added catalyst

“…In fact, Resende and Savage showed a huge jump on hydrogen and methane yield when temperature increased from 500 to 600 C in the gasification of cellulose, indicating that gas yield follows an arrhenius variation with temperature and that temperature is dominant variable for increasing gas yield [45]. It is noteworthy that the reactor system could yield almost the theoretical maximum of hydrogen (12 mol/mol glucose) at temperatures above 740 C. Its performance was comparable to atmospheric steam reforming at 700e800 C with catalysts such as 15e30 wt% Ni/Al 2 O 3 [48,49], PdeNieCu-K/Al 2 O 3 [50], and 10 wt% NiO/YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) [51].…”

Glycerol Reforming for Hydrogen Production: A Review

“…Glycerol reforming over a c-Al 2 O 3 -supported Pd/Ni/Cu/K catalyst was studied in [24] and [34] in the temperature range of 500 to 800°C. It was found that the steam reforming process was limited by char formation.…”

Renewable H2 from Glycerol Steam Reforming: Effect of La2O3 and CeO2 Addition to Pt/Al2O3 catalysts.

“…By contrast, other metals require some promoters to ensure similar performances. [40,49,51] A wide range of supports for the active metal sites in the glycerol SR reaction has also been tested, varying from acidic [35] to basic, [47] in many cases without paying attention to the non-innocent role of these materials in the catalytic process. An efficient catalyst for H 2 production from glycerol is expected to break-up the substrate through CÀC, OÀH, and CÀH bond cleavages, at the same time promoting the elimination of metal-passivating carbon monoxide via the WGS reaction.…”