Sorption Enhanced Steam Reforming of Ethanol: A thermodynamic comparison of CO2 sorbents

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2012

Authors

Y. J. Wu (Author) Other; F. Díaz Alvarado (Author) Other; J.C. Santos (Author) Other; F. Gracia (Author) Other; A. F. Cunha (Author) Other; A. E. Rodrigues (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Chemical Engineering and Technology

ISSN: 0930-7516

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Chemical engineering

CORDIS: Technological sciences > Engineering > Process engineering > Process control

Other information

Abstract (EN): A thermodynamic analysis is performed with a Gibbs free energy minimization (GFEM) method to compare conventional steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) process, sorptionenhanced SRE (SE-SRE) with three different sorbents, CaO, Li2ZrO3 and hydrotalcite like compounds (HTlc). It is found that the use of a CO2 adsorbent can enhance hydrogen yield and give lower CO content in the product gas at the same time. The best performance of SE-SRE is found to be at 500 ºC with an HTlc sorbent. Nearly 6 mol of hydrogen per mol of ethanol can be produced, where the content of CO in the vent stream is less than 10 ppm, so that the hydrogen produced via SE-SRE with HTlc sorbents can be directly used for fuel cells. Higher pressures do not favor the overall SE-SRE process due to lower yielding of hydrogen, although CO2 adsorption is enhanced. Keywords: Sorption Enhanced, Ethanol Steam Reforming, Thermodynamics, Pure Hydrogen

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific