Reaction and hydrogen production phenomena of ethanol steam reforming in a catalytic membrane reactor
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Abstract
Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) can be performed efficiently using catalytic membrane reactors (CMR) to enhance H-2 production. To investigate the reaction of ESR and the effect of membrane on H-2 production, a numerical model was developed to predict the chemical reaction phenomena. The simulations suggested that lower Reynolds numbers were conducive to ethanol conversion and H-2 recovery. The H-2 yield could be increased by recovering H-2 from the ESR product gas using the Pd membrane, and the membrane had a better performance at low Reynolds numbers. Alternatively, total H-2 production increased at higher Reynolds numbers, but H-2 recovery decreased due to shorter residence time in the reactor. Increasing the S/E ratio enhanced the ESR performance to produce H-2 due to the excessive steam supplied to the reaction, but the H-2 recovery declined slightly and more energy would be required. Although a high inlet temperature increased the H-2 concentration on the retentate side, it also caused the membrane to experience a higher risk of melting. An increase in pressure facilitated both the ethanol conversion and H-2 recovery, scribing to more H-2 permeating through the membrane. Overall, the obtained results in this study are beneficial to ESR operation for H-2 production. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Palladium (Pd) membrane reactor, Ethanol steam reforming, Hydrogen recovery, Water gas shift reaction (WGSR), Parameter design, CFD simulation
Divisions
nanocat
Funders
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 108-2221-E-006-127-MY3)
Publication Title
Energy
Volume
220