Hydrogen Production from Bioethanol: Behavior of a Carbon Oxide Preferential Oxidation Catalyst

Abstract

Hydrogen is recognized as a promising green energy source, particularly when used to feed a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Here, hydrogen was obtained by bioethanol steam reforming with CO and CO 2 as primary sub products. Since the cell anode is extremely sensitive to poisoning with CO, watergas shift (WGS) and carbon oxide preferential oxidation (COPROX) reactors were employed for hydrogen purification. Catalysts prepared by our lab were tested at pilot plant scale in both the reformer and COPROX unit, where different active phase distributions, stoichiometric excess of air, and reaction temperatures were tested. The use of two different COPROX units with intermediate air injection was also considered. The as-prepared catalysts showed good stability and performance.

Low Temperature Water-Gas Shift: Enhancing Stability through Optimizing Rb Loading on Pt/ZrO2

“…Thus, the second stage is carried out at low temperatures (LT-WGS) with a highly active catalyst to achieve higher CO conversion. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a heavily researched topic and an important technology for the future of renewable energy and portable power, as they have the potential to cleanly and efficiently provide electrical energy from hydrogen [1][2][3][4][5][6]. However, these PEMFCs are very susceptible to poisoning by CO, which is a product or byproduct of many hydrogen production reactions (e.g., steam reforming of hydrocarbons or alcohols).…”