Experimental and Modeling study of Catalytic Steam Reforming of Bio-ethanol over Pd-Rh/CeO2 in a Membrane Reactor.
Résumé
Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) experiments over Pd-Rh/CeO2 catalyst were performed in a catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) at different temperatures and pressures, using a mixture of ethanol and water at various S/C ratios to resemble bio-ethanol. The reactor was filled in by the catalyst so that the membrane was fully covered to achieve the maximum amount of hydrogen production and permeation. Hydrogen yield of 0.6 at 12 bar and 923 K was reached at S/C=3 and hydrogen recovery was 92%. 0.9 LN hydrogen/ml EtOH equal to 3.5 mole of pure hydrogen per mole of inlet EtOH was obtained at 12 bar. It was proved that reforming reactions are nearly complete when the system was running at 923 K and pressures greater than 6 bar. The experimental results were compared to a staged membrane reactor (SMR) configuration in which the same experimental conditions were applied and the same catalyst was used. The CMR system showed a superior performance and comparable results to what has been reported in the literature were obtained. Besides, a model based on the Arrhenius law was developed to simulate the reforming process and hydrogen permeation in the CMR aiming at simulating a pure hydrogen production system able to feed a PEM fuel cell online.