Hydrogen production by ethanol steam reforming

PhD student: José Antonio Torres

Supervisor: Daniel Montané

Wood Biopolymers Group

Presentation outline

• Introduction

– Motivation

– Overall Objective

• Research scope

– Catalyst preparation & characterization

– Reactor engineering

• Workplan

– Project stages and work packages

Presentation outline

• Introduction– Motivation– Overall Objective

• Research scope

– Catalyst preparation & characterization

– Reactor engineering

• Workplan

– Project stages and work packages

Where the problem came from

• Environmental problems– Atmospheric pollution

– Greenhouse effect0

100

200

300

400

500

600

until 1900 1900-2000 2000-2050

Historic Periods

CO

2 A

tmo

sph

eric

co

nce

ntr

atio

n [

pp

m]

• Global dependency on fossil fuels– Fair balance between:

limited oil

reserves

increasing oil

consumption0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Top ten

Mill

ion

bar

rels

per

day

Oil Producers Oil Consumers

Generating solutions

• Desired characteristics– Renewable energy source

– Easy to: produce, store and transport

– Widely available

– Environmentally friendly

– Reasonable cost is a MUST

Major improve in the technology for producing energy

Deciding the course of action

Fuel Cell Energy

High efficiency

H2ReactorModule

Biomass

Catalytic Reaction

85%

15%

SR Others

Objective

Steam reforming reaction

C2H5OH+3H2O 2CO2+6H2

Hr=173.1 kJ/mol

ReactorModuleEthanol

H2

H2O

CO2

Combustion

H2OSeparation

Presentation outline

• Introduction

– Motivation

– Overall Objective

• Research scope– Catalyst preparation &

characterization– Reactor engineering

• Workplan

– Project stages and work packages

Catalytic reactor scopes

Levels Meso: Reactor

Micro: Catalyst

Macro: Process

Catalyst preparation & characterization

Active Phase

High Surface Area

Longevity/Strength

Chemistry

Materials Science

Engineering

Product characteristics Knowledge required Performance on

•Activity

•Selectivity

•Stability

Reactor design

Performance on

•Reaction kinetics

•Hydrodynamics/Pressure drop

•Mass/heat transfer

Configurations

Monolith

Packed Bed

Presentation outline

• Introduction

– Motivation

– Overall Objective

• Research scope

– Catalyst preparation & characterization

– Reactor engineering

• Workplan– Project stages and work

packages

Project stages and work packages

Is the catalyst adequate?

Analyze performance

No

Yes

Prepare the monolith

Look for variations

Perform experiments

Analyze performance

Report findings

Is the monolith giving satisfactory results?

No

Yes

Prepare the catalyst

StartStart

Is the experimental equipment working

appropriately?

No

Yes

Perform an experimental test

Prepare the packed bed

reactor