Catalytic reforming of oxygenated hydrocarbons for the hydrogen production: an outlook

Abstract

The catalytic steam reforming of oxygenated hydrocarbons has been holding an interest in scientific societies for the past two decades. The hydrogen production from steam reforming of glycerol, ethanol and other oxygenates such as ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are more suitable choice not just because it can be produced from renewable sources, but it also helps to decrease the transportation fuel price and making it more competitive. In addition, hydrogen itself is a green fuel for the transportation sector. The studies on the production of hydrogen from various reforming technologies revealed a remarkable impact on the environmental and socio-economic issues. Researchers became more focused on glycerol steam reforming (GSR), ethanol steam reforming (ESR) and other oxygenates to investigate the catalyst suitability, their kinetics and challenges for the sustainability of the oil and gas production. In the present work, the authors critically addressed the challenges and strategies for hydrogen production via GSR, ESR and other oxygenates reforming process. This review covers extensively thermodynamic parametric analysis, catalysts developments, kinetics and advancement in the operational process for glycerol, ethanol and few other oxygenates. This detailed investigation only highlights the steam reforming process (SRP) of these oxygenates at the laboratory experimental stage. It was found that from this review, there are many technical issues, which lead to economic challenges. The issues are yet to be addressed and thus, these particular applications require faster accelerations at the pilot scale, taking into the consideration of the current pandemic and economic issues, for a safer and greener environment. Graphical abstract

The current status of hydrogen energy: an overview

“…[34][35][36][37] Additionally, the use of catalyst reforming techniques with extra metal has been researched to overcome the restrictions of mass and heat transfer to permit the kinetics of steam reforming. 38,39 Both nonprecious metals, like nickel, and precious metals from group VIII elements, such platinum or rhodium, are utilized as catalysts. [40][41][42][43] Conventional steam reformers are constrained by the efficacy factor of pelletized catalysts due to signicant mass and heat transmission restrictions.…”

Effect of Calcium Doping Using Aqueous Phase Reforming of Glycerol over Sonochemically Synthesized Nickel-Based Supported ZrO2 Catalyst

“…Thus, researchers are now working on the conversion of this glycerol into other valuable liquid products through various catalytic reactions such as fermentation [6], hydrogenation [7], and reforming [8,9]. In all such cases, heterogeneous catalysts have been developed for this application owing to several advantages such as recyclability, high thermal stability, and easy separation from the product [10].…”

Hydrogen Production Using Modern Photocatalysts

“…Fossil fuels such as coal can be used to produce hydrogen through a gasification process, which produces a mixture of hydrogen, CO, CO2, methane, and other compounds [87,88]. However, the basis for these methods are fossil raw materials; hence, they have little future [89][90][91]. To make H2 production environmentally friendly, renewable precursors must be used for hydrogen extraction [92][93][94][95].…”