Experimental and Exergetic evaluation of Bio-ethanol Catalytic Steam Reforming in a Membrane Reactor
Résumé
The application of catalytic membrane reactors (CMRs) is beneficial for the production of fuel cell grade hydrogen via reforming processes because of a higher hydrogen yield compared to traditional reactors as a result of the shift effect and simultaneous production of ultra pure hydrogen in the case of a Pd-Ag membrane. Regarding the catalytic conversion, noble metals have shown superior catalytic reactivity in terms of hydrogen production and carbon deposition prevention [1]. Apart from the experimental studies, energy and thermal evaluations are essential for the realization of optimization of the hydrogen production systems. In this work, first, ethanol steam reforming (ESR) experiments over Pd-Rh/CeO2 catalyst were performed in a CMR at different temperatures, pressures, and water/ethanol ratios. Then, the exergy efficiency and exergy destruction of the system were evaluated based on inlet and outlet streams using the experimental data. Exergy analysis can give a more detailed picture of the process [2]. The aim of this work is to propose and analyze a new CMR configuration with enhanced performance in terms of pure hydrogen production via ESR.