Experimental Study on Fuel Reforming with Carbon Dioxide Recovery for Vehicle Use

Abstract

Fuel reforming with carbon dioxide recovery for hydrogen supply to fuel cell vehicles is discussed experimentally. Ethanol water solution was chosen as the fuel, and carbonation of calcium oxide was performed for carbon dioxide recovery. A packed bed reactor containing calcium oxide and a reforming catalyst was used to produce hydrogen from the ethanol solution under 0.10-0.30 MPa at 450-550 • C. Thus, the production of hydrogen with a concentration of over 95% and with less than 0.1% of ethanol, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide was demonstrated. On the basis of the experimental results, the hydrogen storage capacity of state of the reforming reactor for a fuel cell vehicle was evaluated and compared with that of other hydrogen storage methods. In comparison with pressurized and liquid hydrogen cylinder storages, the reforming system was more advantageous from the standpoint of storage density, and the need for a compression system explosion risk. The reforming was also found to be better than metal hydrides from the standpoint of material cost. It is expected that a carbon recycle hydrogen system based on the proposed reforming system using ethanol as the fuel can be effectively used for hydrogen storage and transportation for fuel cell vehicles.