Single-step Sorption Enhanced Ethanol Steam Reforming: Modeling and Validation

NORMA AMADEO; ML DIEUZEIDE; J.M. MARTINEZ GONZALEZ; JAVIER FRANCESCONI

CAPE TOWN

Simposio; HYPOTHESIS; 2020

In the last decade, hydrogen has gained importance as an environmentally sustainable alternative to produce energy. Among its many applications, the generation of electricity through fuel cells, particularly PEM cells, represents a promising technology. The production of hydrogen via the steam reforming of ethanol derived from biomass is a sustainable process. This reaction has been extensively studied, and a Ni-based catalyst obtained from Ni(II)-Mg(II)-Al(III) lamellar double hydroxides (LDHs) has proven to exhibit high activity, long term stability and selectivity to hydrogen production [1]. Despite the apparent simplicity of the global reaction, the ethanol steam reforming (ESR) involves a complex system of reactions that affect hydrogen selectivity. Removing CO2 by sorption reaction might be an alternative to simplify the purification process [2]. The proposal is to replace the reformer by a single-step process that integrates the reforming reaction and the selective sorption of CO2; which is known as sorption enhanced ethanol steam reforming. This process has been studied in laboratory scale with the mentioned Ni catalysts and CaO as sorbent; it was proved that the highest H2 purity was achieved with a well-mixed configuration. Additionally, in a cyclic process, it was possible to obtain a product of stationary composition: high H2 purity (92.0%) with a CO purity of 1.65% on wet basis, lower than that obtained in WGS reactor [3]