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Sample records for plasmatron fuel reformer

  1. Onboard Plasmatron Hydrogen Production for Improved Vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daniel R. Cohn; Leslie Bromberg; Kamal Hadidi

    2005-12-31

    A plasmatron fuel reformer has been developed for onboard hydrogen generation for vehicular applications. These applications include hydrogen addition to spark-ignition internal combustion engines, NOx trap and diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration, and emissions reduction from spark ignition internal combustion engines First, a thermal plasmatron fuel reformer was developed. This plasmatron used an electric arc with relatively high power to reform fuels such as gasoline, diesel and biofuels at an oxygen to carbon ratio close to 1. The draw back of this device was that it has a high electric consumption and limited electrode lifetime due to the high temperature electric arc. A second generation plasmatron fuel reformer was developed. It used a low-current high-voltage electric discharge with a completely new electrode continuation. This design uses two cylindrical electrodes with a rotating discharge that produced low temperature volumetric cold plasma., The lifetime of the electrodes was no longer an issue and the device was tested on several fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and biofuels at different flow rates and different oxygen to carbon ratios. Hydrogen concentration and yields were measured for both the thermal and non-thermal plasmatron reformers for homogeneous (non-catalytic) and catalytic reforming of several fuels. The technology was licensed to an industrial auto part supplier (ArvinMeritor) and is being implemented for some of the applications listed above. The Plasmatron reformer has been successfully tested on a bus for NOx trap regeneration. The successful development of the plasmatron reformer and its implementation in commercial applications including transportation will bring several benefits to the nation. These benefits include the reduction of NOx emissions, improving engine efficiency and reducing the nation's oil consumption. The objective of this program has been to develop attractive applications of plasmatron fuel reformer

  2. NOx Reduction Technology in Diesel Engine Exhaust by the Plasmatron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joa, Sang Beom

    2008-02-01

    The diesel vehicle is relatively superior to gasoline vehicle on the fuel consumption, durability and combustion efficiency. However, exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles are known to be harmful to human health and environment. An experimental study of the diesel fuel reformation by a plasmatron and diesel engine exhaust cleaning by means of plasma chemical pretreatment of fuel is described. Plasma chemical reformation of fuel was carried by a DC arc plasmatron that was fabricated to increase an ability of the gas activation. Some portion of the fuel was activated in an arc discharge and turned into the hydrogen-rich synthesis gas. The yield of reformation for the diesel fuel showed 80 % ∼ 100 % when the small quantities of fuel (flow rate up to about 6 cc/min) were reformed. The regulation for an emission from the diesel vehicle is getting more stringent, the research in the field of the in-cylinder processing technologies (pretreatment) becomes more important issue as well as the catalyst after-treatment. The used high durability plasmatron has the characteristics of low contamination level, low anode erosion rate, low plasma temperature, and effective activation of the process gas. The developed fuel reformation system with the plasmatron was connected to the air feeding inlet sleeve of the diesel engine Kookje 3T90LT-AC (Korea) in order to study the reduction of NOx content in the engine's emission. Tubular reformation chamber was connected to the engine through the heat exchanger DOVER B10Hx20/1P-SC-S. Its cooling jacket was connected in series with the cooling system of the plasmatron. At the exit of this device gas temperature did not exceed ∼40 .deg. C at plasmatron power up to 1.5 kW which seemed quite acceptable. Gas composition was studied here using RBR-Ecom KD gas analyzer. The design of the DC arc plasmatron applied for the plasma chemical fuel reformation was improved boosting the degree of fuel-air mixture activation that provided the

  3. Multi-fuel reformers for fuel cells used in transportation. Phase 1: Multi-fuel reformers

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-05-01

    DOE has established the goal, through the Fuel Cells in Transportation Program, of fostering the rapid development and commercialization of fuel cells as economic competitors for the internal combustion engine. Central to this goal is a safe feasible means of supplying hydrogen of the required purity to the vehicular fuel cell system. Two basic strategies are being considered: (1) on-board fuel processing whereby alternative fuels such as methanol, ethanol or natural gas stored on the vehicle undergo reformation and subsequent processing to produce hydrogen, and (2) on-board storage of pure hydrogen provided by stationary fuel processing plants. This report analyzes fuel processor technologies, types of fuel and fuel cell options for on-board reformation. As the Phase 1 of a multi-phased program to develop a prototype multi-fuel reformer system for a fuel cell powered vehicle, the objective of this program was to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-fuel reformer concept and to select a reforming technology for further development in the Phase 2 program, with the ultimate goal of integration with a DOE-designated fuel cell and vehicle configuration. The basic reformer processes examined in this study included catalytic steam reforming (SR), non-catalytic partial oxidation (POX) and catalytic partial oxidation (also known as Autothermal Reforming, or ATR). Fuels under consideration in this study included methanol, ethanol, and natural gas. A systematic evaluation of reforming technologies, fuels, and transportation fuel cell applications was conducted for the purpose of selecting a suitable multi-fuel processor for further development and demonstration in a transportation application.

  4. Plasmatron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kiselev, J J; Mercher, A M; Kischinew, S S.A.

    1979-12-20

    The plasmatron has a water cooled cylindrical hollow electrode, a current-carrying spiral and current leads in the form of current carrying ducts. The construction makes a combined movement of the arc foot possible over the internal surface of the hollow electrode by a gas eddy, and also produces a self-induced magnetic field due to the working current of the arc, and an increase of magnetomotive force proportional to the value of working current. The water cooling is taken spirally around the outer surface of the hollow electrode and along the current-carrying spiral.

  5. Fuel cell generator with fuel electrodes that control on-cell fuel reformation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruka, Roswell J [Pittsburgh, PA; Basel, Richard A [Pittsburgh, PA; Zhang, Gong [Murrysville, PA

    2011-10-25

    A fuel cell for a fuel cell generator including a housing including a gas flow path for receiving a fuel from a fuel source and directing the fuel across the fuel cell. The fuel cell includes an elongate member including opposing first and second ends and defining an interior cathode portion and an exterior anode portion. The interior cathode portion includes an electrode in contact with an oxidant flow path. The exterior anode portion includes an electrode in contact with the fuel in the gas flow path. The anode portion includes a catalyst material for effecting fuel reformation along the fuel cell between the opposing ends. A fuel reformation control layer is applied over the catalyst material for reducing a rate of fuel reformation on the fuel cell. The control layer effects a variable reformation rate along the length of the fuel cell.

  6. Etching Effect of an Atmospheric DC Arc Plasmatron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chun, Se Min; Kim, Ji Hun; Kang, In Je; Lee, Heon Ju

    2010-01-01

    Thermal plasmas (especially arc plasma) were extensively industrialized, principally by aeronautic sector. Cold plasma technologies have been developed in the microelectronics but their vacuum equipment limits their implantation. Plasmas used in dry etching, thin film deposition and surface treatment for display or semiconductor industries are operating at low pressures in very costly due to the use of vacuum equipment and vacuum components. Use of DC arc plasmatrons in welding, soldering, and cutting of metals is well known. A DC-arc plasmatron with high durability was reported to be a suitable device for etching silicon and photo-resist surfaces

  7. Reforming petroleum-based fuels for fuel cell vehicles : composition-performance relationships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopasz, J. P.; Miller, L. E.; Ahmed, S.; Devlin, P. R.; Pacheco, M.

    2001-01-01

    Onboard reforming of petroleum-based fuels, such as gasoline, may help ease the introduction of fuel cell vehicles to the marketplace. Although gasoline can be reformed, it is optimized to meet the demands of ICEs. This optimization includes blending to increase the octane number and addition of oxygenates and detergents to control emissions. The requirements for a fuel for onboard reforming to hydrogen are quite different than those for combustion. Factors such as octane number and flame speed are not important; however, factors such as hydrogen density, catalyst-fuel interactions, and possible catalyst poisoning become paramount. In order to identify what factors are important in a hydrocarbon fuel for reforming to hydrogen and what factors are detrimental, we have begun a program to test various components of gasoline and blends of components under autothermal reforming conditions. The results indicate that fuel composition can have a large effect on reforming behavior. Components which may be beneficial for ICEs for their octane enhancing value were detrimental to reforming. Fuels with high aromatic and naphthenic content were more difficult to reform. Aromatics were also found to have an impact on the kinetics for reforming of paraffins. The effects of sulfur impurities were dependent on the catalyst. Sulfur was detrimental for Ni, Co, and Ru catalysts. Sulfur was beneficial for reforming with Pt catalysts, however, the effect was dependent on the sulfur concentration

  8. Catalytic autothermal reforming of hydrocarbon fuels for fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krumpelt, M.; Krause, T.; Kopasz, J.; Carter, D.; Ahmed, S.

    2002-01-01

    Fuel cell development has seen remarkable progress in the past decade because of an increasing need to improve energy efficiency as well as to address concerns about the environmental consequences of using fossil fuel for producing electricity and for propulsion of vehicles[1]. The lack of an infrastructure for producing and distributing H(sub 2) has led to a research effort to develop on-board fuel processing technology for reforming hydrocarbon fuels to generate H(sub 2)[2]. The primary focus is on reforming gasoline, because a production and distribution infrastructure for gasoline already exists to supply internal combustion engines[3]. Existing reforming technology for the production of H(sub 2) from hydrocarbon feedstocks used in large-scale manufacturing processes, such as ammonia synthesis, is cost prohibitive when scaled down to the size of the fuel processor required for transportation applications (50-80 kWe) nor is it designed to meet the varying power demands and frequent shutoffs and restarts that will be experienced during normal drive cycles. To meet the performance targets required of a fuel processor for transportation applications will require new reforming reactor technology developed to meet the volume, weight, cost, and operational characteristics for transportation applications and the development of new reforming catalysts that exhibit a higher activity and better thermal and mechanical stability than reforming catalysts currently used in the production of H(sub 2) for large-scale manufacturing processes

  9. Reforming options for hydrogen production from fossil fuels for PEM fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ersoz, Atilla; Olgun, Hayati [TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Institute of Energy, Gebze, 41470 Kocaeli (Turkey); Ozdogan, Sibel [Marmara University Faculty of Engineering, Goztepe, 81040 Istanbul (Turkey)

    2006-03-09

    PEM fuel cell systems are considered as a sustainable option for the future transport sector in the future. There is great interest in converting current hydrocarbon based transportation fuels into hydrogen rich gases acceptable by PEM fuel cells on-board of vehicles. In this paper, we compare the results of our simulation studies for 100kW PEM fuel cell systems utilizing three different major reforming technologies, namely steam reforming (SREF), partial oxidation (POX) and autothermal reforming (ATR). Natural gas, gasoline and diesel are the selected hydrocarbon fuels. It is desired to investigate the effect of the selected fuel reforming options on the overall fuel cell system efficiency, which depends on the fuel processing, PEM fuel cell and auxiliary system efficiencies. The Aspen-HYSYS 3.1 code has been used for simulation purposes. Process parameters of fuel preparation steps have been determined considering the limitations set by the catalysts and hydrocarbons involved. Results indicate that fuel properties, fuel processing system and its operation parameters, and PEM fuel cell characteristics all affect the overall system efficiencies. Steam reforming appears as the most efficient fuel preparation option for all investigated fuels. Natural gas with steam reforming shows the highest fuel cell system efficiency. Good heat integration within the fuel cell system is absolutely necessary to achieve acceptable overall system efficiencies. (author)

  10. Reforming options for hydrogen production from fossil fuels for PEM fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ersoz, Atilla; Olgun, Hayati; Ozdogan, Sibel

    PEM fuel cell systems are considered as a sustainable option for the future transport sector in the future. There is great interest in converting current hydrocarbon based transportation fuels into hydrogen rich gases acceptable by PEM fuel cells on-board of vehicles. In this paper, we compare the results of our simulation studies for 100 kW PEM fuel cell systems utilizing three different major reforming technologies, namely steam reforming (SREF), partial oxidation (POX) and autothermal reforming (ATR). Natural gas, gasoline and diesel are the selected hydrocarbon fuels. It is desired to investigate the effect of the selected fuel reforming options on the overall fuel cell system efficiency, which depends on the fuel processing, PEM fuel cell and auxiliary system efficiencies. The Aspen-HYSYS 3.1 code has been used for simulation purposes. Process parameters of fuel preparation steps have been determined considering the limitations set by the catalysts and hydrocarbons involved. Results indicate that fuel properties, fuel processing system and its operation parameters, and PEM fuel cell characteristics all affect the overall system efficiencies. Steam reforming appears as the most efficient fuel preparation option for all investigated fuels. Natural gas with steam reforming shows the highest fuel cell system efficiency. Good heat integration within the fuel cell system is absolutely necessary to achieve acceptable overall system efficiencies.

  11. Steam reforming of fuel to hydrogen in fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraioli, Anthony V.; Young, John E.

    1984-01-01

    A fuel cell capable of utilizing a hydrocarbon such as methane as fuel and having an internal dual catalyst system within the anode zone, the dual catalyst system including an anode catalyst supporting and in heat conducting relationship with a reforming catalyst with heat for the reforming reaction being supplied by the reaction at the anode catalyst.

  12. MEMS-Based Fuel Reformer with Suspended Membrane Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Kuei-Sung; Tanaka, Shuji; Esashi, Masayoshi

    We report a MEMS-based fuel reformer for supplying hydrogen to micro-fuel cells for portable applications. A combustor and a reforming chamber are fabricated at either side of a suspended membrane structure. This design is used to improve the overall thermal efficiency, which is a critical issue to realize a micro-fuel reformer. The suspended membrane structure design provided good thermal isolation. The micro-heaters consumed 0.97W to maintain the reaction zone of the MEMS-based fuel reformer at 200°C, but further power saving is necessary by improving design and fabrication. The conversion rate of methanol to hydrogen was about 19% at 180°C by using evaporated copper as a reforming catalyst. The catalytic combustion of hydrogen started without any assistance of micro-heaters. By feeding the fuel mixture of an equivalence ratio of 0.35, the temperature of the suspended membrane structure was maintained stable at 100°C with a combustion efficiency of 30%. In future works, we will test a micro-fuel reformer by using a micro-combustor to supply heat.

  13. Plasmatron with expanding channel of outlet electrode and its applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chinnov, V.F.; Isakajev, E.Kh.; Ivanov, P.P.; Sinkevich, O.A.; Tyuftyaev, A.S.

    2000-01-01

    A serious industrial application is found for the plasmatron with expanding channel of outlet electrode - hardening and nitriding surface treatment of railway wheels. Several plasma installations are under operation at the engine houses of Moscow Railways. More than 12 000 wheel sets have been treated up to now. Results are evident: wheel life doubles due to plasma treatment. The plasmatron developed essentially in an empiric way is now under heavy investigation both theoretically and experimentally. High precision measurements of nitrogen emission spectra are expected to be used directly for accurate calculation of radiation heat loss term in a quasi-one dimensional flow code. (Authors)

  14. Plasma promoted manufacturing of hydrogen and vehicular applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bromberg, Leslie

    2003-10-01

    Plasmas can be used for promoting reformation of fuels. Plasma-based reformers developed at MIT use a low temperature, low power, low current electrical discharge to promote partial oxidation conversion of hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen and CO. The very fuel rich mixture is hard to ignite, and the plasmatron provides a volume-ignition. To minimize erosion and to simplify the power supply, a low current high voltage discharge is used, with wide area electrodes. The plasmatron fuel reformer operates at or slightly above atmospheric pressure. The plasma-based reformer technology provides the advantages of rapid startup and transient response; efficient conversion of the fuel to hydrogen rich gas; compact size; relaxation or elimination of reformer catalyst requirements; and capability to process difficult to reform fuels. These advantages enable use of hydrogen-manufacturing reformation technology in cars using available fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. This plasma-based reformer technology can provide substantial throughputs even without the use of a catalyst. The electrical power consumption of the device is minimized by design and operational characteristics (less than 500 W peak and 200 W average). The product from these plasma reactors is a hydrogen rich mixture that can be used for combustion enhancement and emissions aftertreatment in vehicular applications. By converting a small fraction of the fuel to hydrogen rich gas, in-cylinder combustion can be improved. With minor modification of the engine, use of hydrogen rich gas results in increased fuel efficiency and decreased emissions of smog producing gases. The status of plasma based reformer technology and its application to vehicles will be described.

  15. Plasma catalytic reforming of methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bromberg, L.; Cohn, D.R.; Rabinovich, A. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Plasma Science and Fusion Center; Alexeev, N. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation). Baikov Inst. of Metallurgy

    1998-08-01

    Thermal plasma technology can be efficiently used in the production of hydrogen and hydrogen-rich gases from methane and a variety of fuels. This paper describes progress in plasma reforming experiments and calculations of high temperature conversion of methane using heterogeneous processes. The thermal plasma is a highly energetic state of matter that is characterized by extremely high temperatures (several thousand degrees Celsius) and high degree of dissociation and substantial degree of ionization. The high temperatures accelerate the reactions involved in the reforming process. Hydrogen-rich gas (50% H{sub 2}, 17% CO and 33% N{sub 2}, for partial oxidation/water shifting) can be efficiently made in compact plasma reformers. Experiments have been carried out in a small device (2--3 kW) and without the use of efficient heat regeneration. For partial oxidation/water shifting, it was determined that the specific energy consumption in the plasma reforming processes is 16 MJ/kg H{sub 2} with high conversion efficiencies. Larger plasmatrons, better reactor thermal insulation, efficient heat regeneration and improved plasma catalysis could also play a major role in specific energy consumption reduction and increasing the methane conversion. A system has been demonstrated for hydrogen production with low CO content ({approximately} 1.5%) with power densities of {approximately} 30 kW (H{sub 2} HHV)/liter of reactor, or {approximately} 10 m{sup 3}/hr H{sub 2} per liter of reactor. Power density should further increase with increased power and improved design.

  16. Characterization and Modeling of a Methanol Reforming Fuel Cell System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sahlin, Simon Lennart

    topologies is the Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell (RMFC) system that operates on a mix of methanol and water. The fuel is reformed with a steam reforming to a hydrogen rich gas, however with additional formation of Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide. High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (HT...... to heat up the steam reforming process. However, utilizing the excess hydrogen in the system complicates the RMFC system as the amount of hydrogen can vary depending on the fuel methanol supply, fuel cell load and the reformer gas composition. This PhD study has therefore been involved in investigating......Many fuel cells systems today are operated with compressed hydrogen which has great benefits because of the purity of the hydrogen and the relatively simple storage of the fuel. However, compressed hydrogen is stored in the range of 800 bar, which can be expensive to compress.One of the interesting...

  17. Coating with the aid of a plasmatron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huebner, D.; Reissmueller, L.

    1984-01-01

    Subject of the invention is the coating of sensitive semiconductor elements with the aid of a plasmatron in such a way that a layer of uniform chemical composition, adequate adhesion and resistance to following treatments results. This could be achieved by producing a first layer of about 10% of the thickness needed with low-energy ions. In the second coating step the layer is completed through ions of high energy

  18. Small-scale reforming of diesel and jet fuels to make hydrogen and syngas for fuel cells: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Xinhai; Li, Peiwen; Shen, Yuesong

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Issues of reforming of heavy hydrocarbon fuels are reviewed. • The advantages of autothermal reforming over other types of reforming are discussed. • The causes and solutions of the major problems for reforming reactors are studied. • Designs and startup strategies for autothermal reforming reactors are proposed. - Abstract: This paper reviews the technological features and challenges of autothermal reforming (ATR) of heavy hydrocarbon fuels for producing hydrogen and syngas onboard to supply fuels to fuel cells for auxiliary power units. A brief introduction at the beginning enumerates the advantages of using heavy hydrocarbon fuels onboard to provide hydrogen or syngas for fuel cells such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). A detailed review of the reforming and processing technologies of diesel and jet fuels is then presented. The advantages of ATR over steam reforming (SR) and partial oxidation reforming (POX) are summarized, and the ATR reaction is analyzed from a thermodynamic point of view. The causes and possible solutions to the major problems existing in ATR reactors, including hot spots, formation of coke, and inhomogeneous mixing of fuel, steam, and air, are reviewed and studied. Designs of ATR reactors are discussed, and three different reactors, one with a fixed bed, one with monoliths, and one with microchannels are investigated. Novel ideas for design and startup strategies for ATR reactors are proposed at the end of the review

  19. Determination of optimal reformer temperature in a reformed methanol fuel cell system using ANFIS models and numerical optimization methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl

    2015-01-01

    In this work a method for choosing the optimal reformer temperature for a reformed methanol fuel cell system is presented based on a case study of a H3 350 module produced by Serenergy A/S. The method is based on ANFIS models of the dependence of the reformer output gas composition on the reformer...... temperature and fuel flow, and the dependence of the fuel cell voltage on the fuel cell temperature, current and anode supply gas CO content. These models are combined to give a matrix of system efficiencies at different fuel cell currents and reformer temperatures. This matrix is then used to find...... the reformer temperature which gives the highest efficiency for each fuel cell current. The average of this optimal efficiency curve is 32.11% and the average efficiency achieved using the standard constant temperature is 30.64% an increase of 1.47 percentage points. The gain in efficiency is 4 percentage...

  20. Fossil fuel subsidy reform: lessons from the Indonesian case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savatic, Filip

    2016-10-01

    Global assessments of consumption and the Indonesian case show the relevance of non-household consumers of subsidized energy products. As shown in this study, understanding in more nuance how reforms affect them has the potential to improve the reforms that will be developed by policy-makers worldwide. Further study can reinforce the many benefits of successful reform for the countries and societies slowly turning away from these policies of the past. Estimates regarding the amount of public funds utilized to subsidize the production or consumption of fossil fuels are staggering. For 2011, they range from $83 billion in OECD member states, to nearly $4.1 trillion worldwide if environmental externalities are considered. Numerous studies have demonstrated that subsidies repress economic growth, undermine energy sector investment, increase public debt, benefit wealthy citizens over the poor, instigate a rise in illicit activities, and engender greater global and local pollution. The negative effects of fossil fuel subsidies have led numerous governments to reform their energy policies. There has also been a growing international consensus in favor of reform. While the components of successful reform programs have been identified through past case studies, the nature of reforms adopted by several governments that target non-households have not been systematically examined. Since the late 1990s, the Indonesian government has implemented numerous reforms of its fossil fuel subsidies, including measures targeting household as well as non-household energy consumption. In doing so, it has incurred significant fiscal savings. However, an innovative budgetary analysis reveals that households receive a minority, and a declining share, of fossil fuel subsidy funds. This is the case despite the fact that subsidies were implemented to ensure poor households have access to cheap energy. These findings demonstrate the need to consider non-household sectors in the design of fossil

  1. Hydrogen production by steam reforming methanol for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amphlett, J.C.; Creber, K.A.M.; Davis, J.M.; Mann, R.F.; Peppley, B.A.; Stokes, D.M.

    1993-01-01

    Catalytic steam reforming of methanol has been studied as a means of generating hydrogen for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A semi-empirical model of the kinetics of the catalytic steam reforming of methanol over Cu O/Zn O/Al 2 O 3 catalyst has been developed. This model is able to predict the performance of the reformer with respect to the various parameters important in developing an integrated reformer-polymer fuel cell system. A set of sample calculations of reformer temperature and CO production are given. The impact of the performance of the reformer catalyst on the design of the overall fuel cell power system is discussed. The selectivity of the catalyst to minimize CO content in the fuel gas is shown to be more critical than was previously believed. 4 figs., 4 tabs., 11 refs

  2. Hydrogen generation from biogenic and fossil fuels by autothermal reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rampe, Thomas; Heinzel, Angelika; Vogel, Bernhard

    Hydrogen generation for fuel cell systems by reforming technologies from various fuels is one of the main fields of investigation of the Fraunhofer ISE. Suitable fuels are, on the one hand, gaseous hydrocarbons like methane, propane but also, on the other hand, liquid hydrocarbons like gasoline and alcohols, e.g., ethanol as biogenic fuel. The goal is to develop compact systems for generation of hydrogen from fuel being suitable for small-scale membrane fuel cells. The most recent work is related to reforming according to the autothermal principle — fuel, air and steam is supplied to the reactor. Possible applications of such small-scale autothermal reformers are mobile systems and also miniature fuel cell as co-generation plant for decentralised electricity and heat generation. For small stand-alone systems without a connection to the natural gas grid liquid gas, a mixture of propane and butane is an appropriate fuel.

  3. Steam Methane Reformation Testing for Air-Independent Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mwara, Kamwana N.

    2015-01-01

    Recently, NASA has been looking into utilizing landers that can be propelled by LOX-CH (sub 4), to be used for long duration missions. Using landers that utilize such propellants, also provides the opportunity to use solid oxide fuel cells as a power option, especially since they are able to process methane into a reactant through fuel reformation. One type of reformation, called steam methane reformation, is a process to reform methane into a hydrogen-rich product by reacting methane and steam (fuel cell exhaust) over a catalyst. A steam methane reformation system could potentially use the fuel cell's own exhaust to create a reactant stream that is hydrogen-rich, and requires less internal reforming of the incoming methane. Also, steam reformation may hold some advantages over other types of reforming, such as partial oxidation (PROX) reformation. Steam reformation does not require oxygen, while up to 25 percent can be lost in PROX reformation due to unusable CO (sub 2) reformation. NASA's Johnson Space Center has conducted various phases of steam methane reformation testing, as a viable solution for in-space reformation. This has included using two different types of catalysts, developing a custom reformer, and optimizing the test system to find the optimal performance parameters and operating conditions.

  4. An afterburner-powered methane/steam reformer for a solid oxide fuel cells application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozdzierz, Marcin; Chalusiak, Maciej; Kimijima, Shinji; Szmyd, Janusz S.; Brus, Grzegorz

    2018-04-01

    Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems can be fueled by natural gas when the reforming reaction is conducted in a stack. Due to its maturity and safety, indirect internal reforming is usually used. A strong endothermic methane/steam reforming process needs a large amount of heat, and it is convenient to provide thermal energy by burning the remainders of fuel from a cell. In this work, the mathematical model of afterburner-powered methane/steam reformer is proposed. To analyze the effect of a fuel composition on SOFC performance, the zero-dimensional model of a fuel cell connected with a reformer is formulated. It is shown that the highest efficiency of a solid oxide fuel cell is achieved when the steam-to-methane ratio at the reforming reactor inlet is high.

  5. Hexaaluminate Combustion Catalysts for Fuel Cell Fuel Reformers

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Thomas, Fred S; Campbell, Timothy J; Shaaban, Aly H; Binder, Michael J; Holcomb, Frank H; Knight, James

    2004-01-01

    .... When heat is produced by combustion of logistics fuel in an open-flame or radiant burner, the rate of hydrogen production in the steam reforming reactor is generally limited by the rate of heat transfer from the burner...

  6. Solar Reforming of Carbon Dioxide to Produce Diesel Fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dennis Schuetzle; Robert Schuetzle

    2010-12-31

    This project focused on the demonstration of an innovative technology, referred to as the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer, which utilizes waste CO2 as a feedstock for the efficient and economical production of synthetic diesel fuel using solar thermal energy as the primary energy input. The Sunexus technology employs a two stage process for the conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel. A solar reforming system, including a specially designed reactor and proprietary CO2 reforming catalyst, was developed and used to convert captured CO2 rich gas streams into syngas (primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide) using concentrated solar energy at high conversion efficiencies. The second stage of the system (which has been demonstrated under other funding) involves the direct conversion of the syngas into synthetic diesel fuel using a proprietary catalyst (Terra) previously developed and validated by Pacific Renewable Fuels and Chemicals (PRFC). The overall system energy efficiency for conversion of CO2 to diesel fuel is 74%, due to the use of solar energy. The results herein describe modeling, design, construction, and testing of the Sunexus CO2 Solar Reformer. Extensive parametric testing of the solar reformer and candidate catalysts was conducted and chemical kinetic models were developed. Laboratory testing of the Solar Reformer was successfully completed using various gas mixtures, temperatures, and gas flow rates/space velocities to establish performance metrics which can be employed for the design of commercial plants. A variety of laboratory tests were conducted including dry reforming (CO2 and CH{sub 4}), combination dry/steam reforming (CO2, CH{sub 4} & H{sub 2}O), and tri-reforming (CO2, CH{sub 4}, H{sub 2}O & O{sub 2}). CH{sub 4} and CO2 conversions averaged 95-100% and 50-90% per reformer cycle, respectively, depending upon the temperatures and gas space velocities. No formation of carbon deposits (coking) on the catalyst was observed in any of these tests. A 16 ft. diameter

  7. Leveraging Fuel Subsidy Reform for Transition in Yemen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Ecker

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Yemen is currently undergoing a major political transition, yet many economic challenges—including fuel subsidy reform—remain highly relevant. To inform the transition process with respect to a potential subsidy reform, we use a dynamic computable general equilibrium and microsimulation model for Yemen; we show that overall growth effects of subsidy reduction are positive in general, but poverty can increase or decrease depending on reform design. A promising strategy for a successful reform combines fuel subsidy reduction with direct income transfers to the poorest one-third of households during reform, and productivity-enhancing investment in infrastructure, plus fiscal consolidation. Public investments should be used for integrating economic spaces and restructuring of agricultural, industrial and service value chains in order to create a framework that encourages private-sector-led and job-creating growth.

  8. Hydrogen production via autothermal reforming of Diesel fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pasel, J.; Meissner, J.; Pors, Z.; Cremer, P.; Peters, R.; Stolten, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Institute for Materials and Processes in Energy Systems (IWV 3), D-52425 Juelich (Germany); Palm, C. [BASF Schwarzheide GmbH, Schipkauer Str. 1, Einheit PFO/I, D-01986 Schwarzheide (Germany)

    2004-08-01

    Hydrogen, for the operation of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, can be produced by means of autothermal reforming of liquid hydrocarbons. Experiments, especially with ATR 4, which produces a molar hydrogen stream equivalent to an electrical power in the fuel cell of 3 kW, showed that the process should be preferably run in the temperature range between 700 and 850 . This ensures complete hydrocarbon conversion and avoids the formation of considerable amounts of methane and organic compounds in the product water. Experiments with commercial diesel showed promising results but insufficient long-term stability. Experiments concerning the ignition of the catalytic reaction inside the reformer proved that within 60 s after the addition of water and hydrocarbons the reformer reached 95% of its maximum molar hydrogen flow. Measurements, with respect to reformer start-up, showed that it takes approximately 7 min. to heat up the monolith to a temperature of 340 using an external heating device. Modelling is performed, aimed at the modification of the mixing chamber of ATR Type 5, which will help to amend the homogeneous blending of diesel fuel with air and water in the mixing chamber. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  9. Nickel catalysts for internal reforming in molten carbonate fuel cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berger, R.J.; Berger, R.J.; Doesburg, E.B.M.; Doesburg, E.B.M.; van Ommen, J.G.; Ross, J.R.H.; Ross, J.R.H.

    1996-01-01

    Natural gas may be used instead of hydrogen as fuel for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) by steam reforming the natural gas inside the MCFC, using a nickel catalyst (internal reforming). The severe conditions inside the MCFC, however, require that the catalyst has a very high stability. In

  10. A micro fuel reformer integrated with a combustor and a microchannel evaporator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Kazushi; Tanaka, Shuji; Hiraki, Hisashi; Esashi, Masayoshi

    2006-09-01

    This paper describes the development of a micro fuel reformer integrated with a combustor and an evaporator. Fuel reforming tests were performed by using a mixture of methanol and water as reforming fuel and hydrogen as combustion fuel. It was found that the design of the microchannel evaporator is critical to obtain larger hydrogen output. Hydrogen output and CO concentration were investigated by varying the input combustion power at different fuel feeding rates. 32.9 sccm of hydrogen, which is equivalent to 5.9 W in lower heating value, was produced, when input combustion power was 11 W.

  11. Steam and partial oxidation reforming options for hydrogen production from fossil fuels for PEM fuel cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousri M.A. Welaya

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM generates electrical power from air and from hydrogen or hydrogen rich gas mixtures. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in converting current hydrocarbon based marine fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, and diesel into hydrogen rich gases acceptable to the PEM fuel cells on board ships. Using chemical flow sheeting software, the total system efficiency has been calculated. Natural gas appears to be the best fuel for hydrogen rich gas production due to its favorable composition of lower molecular weight compounds. This paper presents a study for a 250 kW net electrical power PEM fuel cell system utilizing a partial oxidation in one case study and steam reformers in the second. This study has shown that steam-reforming process is the most competitive fuel processing option in terms of fuel processing efficiency. Partial oxidation process has proved to posses the lowest fuel processing efficiency. Among the options studied, the highest fuel processing efficiency is achieved with natural gas steam reforming system.

  12. Advances in catalysts for internal reforming in high temperature fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dicks, A. L.

    Catalytic steam reforming of natural gas is an attractive method of producing the hydrogen required by the present generation of fuel cells. The molten carbonate (MCFC) and solid oxide (SOFC) fuel cells operate at high enough temperatures for the endothermic steam reforming reaction to be carried out within the stack. For the MCFC, the conventional anodes have insufficient activity to catalyse the steam reforming of natural gas. For these cells, internal reforming can be achieved only with the addition of a separate catalyst, preferably located in close proximity to the anode. However, in the so-called `Direct Internal Reforming' configuration, attack from alkali in the MCFC may severely limit catalyst lifetime. In the case of the state-of-the-art SOFC, natural gas can be reformed directly on the nickel cermet anode. However, in the SOFC, temperature variations in the cell caused by the reforming reaction may limit the amount of internal reforming that can be allowed in practice. In addition, some external pre-reforming may be desirable to remove high molecular weight hydrocarbons from the fuel gas, which would otherwise crack to produce elemental carbon. Degradation of the SOFC anode may also be a problem when internal reforming is carried out. This has prompted several research groups to investigate the use of alternative anode materials.

  13. Vehicle type choice under the influence of a tax reform and rising fuel prices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mabit, Stefan Lindhard

    2014-01-01

    change in new vehicle purchases toward more diesel vehicles and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The paper analyses to what extent a vehicle tax reform similar to the Danish 2007 reform may explain changes in purchasing behaviour. The paper investigates the effects of a tax reform, fuel price changes......, and technological development on vehicle type choice using a mixed logit model. The model allows a simulation of the effect of car price changes that resemble those induced by the tax reform. This effect is compared to the effects of fuel price changes and technology improvements. The simulations show...... that the effect of the tax reform on fuel efficiency is similar to the effect of rising fuel prices while the effect of technological development is much larger. The conclusion is that while the tax reform appeared in the same year as a large increase in fuel efficiency, it seems likely that it only explains...

  14. Energy and exergy analysis of an ethanol reforming process for solid oxide fuel cell applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tippawan, Phanicha; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2014-04-01

    The fuel processor in which hydrogen is produced from fuels is an important unit in a fuel cell system. The aim of this study is to apply a thermodynamic concept to identify a suitable reforming process for an ethanol-fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Three different reforming technologies, i.e., steam reforming, partial oxidation and autothermal reforming, are considered. The first and second laws of thermodynamics are employed to determine an energy demand and to describe how efficiently the energy is supplied to the reforming process. Effect of key operating parameters on the distribution of reforming products, such as H2, CO, CO2 and CH4, and the possibility of carbon formation in different ethanol reformings are examined as a function of steam-to-ethanol ratio, oxygen-to-ethanol ratio and temperatures at atmospheric pressure. Energy and exergy analysis are performed to identify the best ethanol reforming process for SOFC applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Microwave plasmatrons for giant integrated circuit processing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petrin, A.B.

    2000-02-01

    A method for calculating the interaction of a powerful microwave with a plane layer of magnetoactive low-pressure plasma under conditions of electron cyclotron resonance is presented. In this paper, the plasma layer is situated between a plane dielectric layer and a plane metal screen. The calculation model contains the microwave energy balance, particle balance, and electron energy balance. The equation that expressed microwave properties of nonuniform magnetoactive plasma is found. The numerical calculations of the microwave-plasma interaction for a one-dimensional model of the problem are considered. Applications of the results for microwave plasmatrons designed for processing giant integrated circuits are suggested.

  16. Reforming performance of a plasma-catalyst hybrid converter using low carbon fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horng, R.-F.; Lai, M.-P.; Huang, H.-H.; Chang, Y.-P.

    2009-01-01

    The reforming performance of a plasma-catalyst hybrid converter using different low carbon fuels was investigated. The methodology was to use arc from spark discharge combined with an appropriate oxygen/carbon molar ratio (O 2 /C) and feeding rate of the supplied mixture. To enhance the mixing and reforming reaction, a gas intake swirl was generated by inducing the mixture tangentially into the reaction chamber. The required energy for fuel processing was provided by heat released through the oxidation of the air-fuel mixture. The reforming temperature as well as the effect of steam addition on the hydrogen production was studied. The results showed that reformate gas temperature had a profound effect on the overall reaction. The H 2 /(CO + CO 2 ) ratio reformed by both methane and propane was shown to increase with temperature and that the optimum ratio was obtained when reforming methane under 650 deg. C. The conversion efficiency of the fuel was also shown to increase with increasing temperature. The best thermal efficiency of 72.01% was obtained near 750 deg. C. The theoretical equilibrium calculations and the experimental results were compared.

  17. Development of large scale internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sasaki, A.; Shinoki, T.; Matsumura, M. [Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Hyogo (Japan)

    1996-12-31

    Internal Reforming (IR) is a prominent scheme for Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) power generating systems in order to get high efficiency i.e. 55-60% as based on the Higher Heating Value (HHV) and compact configuration. The Advanced Internal Reforming (AIR) technology has been developed based on two types of the IR-MCFC technology i.e. Direct Internal Reforming (DIR) and Indirect Internal Reforming (DIR).

  18. Gas-to-liquids synthetic fuels for use in fuel cells : reformability, energy density, and infrastructure compatibility.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmed, S.; Kopasz, J. P.; Russell, B. J.; Tomlinson, H. L.

    1999-09-08

    The fuel cell has many potential applications, from power sources for electric hybrid vehicles to small power plants for commercial buildings. The choice of fuel will be critical to the pace of its commercialization. This paper reviews the various liquid fuels being considered as an alternative to direct hydrogen gas for the fuel cell application, presents calculations of the hydrogen and carbon dioxide yields from autothermal reforming of candidate liquid fuels, and reports the product gas composition measured from the autothermal reforming of a synthetic fuel in a micro-reactor. The hydrogen yield for a synthetic paraffin fuel produced by a cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch process was found to be similar to that of retail gasoline. The advantages of the synthetic fuel are that it contains no contaminants that would poison the fuel cell catalyst, is relatively benign to the environment, and could be transported in the existing fuel distribution system.

  19. State of the art: Multi-fuel reformers for automotive fuel cell applications. Problem identification and research needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Westerholm, R. [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Analytical Chemistry; Pettersson, L.J. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Technology

    1999-12-01

    On an assignment from the Transport and Communications Research Board (KFB) a literature study and a study trip to the USA and Great Britain have been performed. The literature study and the study trip was made during late spring and autumn 1999.The purpose of the project was to collect available information about the chemical composition of the product gas from a multi-fuel reformer for a fuel cell vehicle. It was furthermore to identify problems and research needs. The report recommends directions for future major research efforts. The results of the literature study and the study trip led to the following general conclusions: With the technology available today it does not seem feasible to develop a highly efficient and reliable multi-fuel reformer for automotive applications, i. e. for applications where all types of fuels ranging from natural gas to heavy diesel fuels can be used. The potential for developing a durable and reliable system is considerably higher if dedicated fuel reformers are used.The authors propose that petroleum-derived fuels should be designed for potential use in mobile fuel cell applications. In the present literature survey and the site visit discussions we found that there are relatively low emissions from fuel cell engines compared to internal combustion engines. However, the major research work on reformers/fuel cells have been performed during steady-state operation. Emissions during start-up, shutdown and transient operation are basically unknown and must be investigated in more detail. The conclusions and findings in this report are based on open/available information, such as discussions at site visits, reports, scientific publications and symposium proceedings.

  20. Modelling and Optimization of Reforming Systems for use in PEM Fuel Cell

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berry, Melissa; Korsgaard, Anders Risum; Nielsen, Mads Pagh

    2004-01-01

    Three different reforming methods for the conversion of natural gas to hydrogen are studied and compared: Steam Reforming (SR), Auto-thermal Reforming (ATR), and Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPOX). Thermodynamic and kinetic models are developed for the reforming reactors as well as the subsequent...... reactors needed for CO removal to make the synthesis gas suitable for use in a PEM fuel cell. The systems are optimized to minimize the total volume, and must supply adequate hydrogen to a fuel cell with a 100kW load. The resultant system efficiencies are calculated. The CPOX system is the smallest...

  1. Pre-reforming of natural gas in solid oxide fuel-cell systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peters, R.; Riensche, E.; Cremer, P. [Institute for Materials and Processes Systems IWV 3: Energy Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany)

    2000-03-01

    Several measures concerning fuel processing in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system offer the possibility of significant cost reduction and higher system efficiencies. For SOFC systems, the ratio between internal and pre-reforming has to be optimized on the basis of experimental performance data. Furthermore, anode gas recycling by an injector in front of the pre-reformer can eliminate the steam generator and the corresponding heat of evaporation. A detailed study is carried out on pre-reforming in a reformer of considerable size (10 kW{sub el}). Simulating anode gas recycling with an injector, the influence of carbon dioxide on reactor performance was studied. Also, the dependence of the methanol conversion on mass flow and temperature will be discussed. In addition, some results concerning the dynamic behaviour of the pre-reformer are given. (orig.)

  2. Ethanol internal steam reforming in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diethelm, Stefan; Van herle, Jan

    This study investigates the performance of a standard Ni-YSZ anode supported cell under ethanol steam reforming operating conditions. Therefore, the fuel cell was directly operated with a steam/ethanol mixture (3 to 1 molar). Other gas mixtures were also used for comparison to check the conversion of ethanol and of reformate gases (H 2, CO) in the fuel cell. The electrochemical properties of the fuel cell fed with four different fuel compositions were characterized between 710 and 860 °C by I- V and EIS measurements at OCV and under polarization. In order to elucidate the limiting processes, impedance spectra obtained with different gas compositions were compared using the derivative of the real part of the impedance with respect of the natural logarithm of the frequency. Results show that internal steam reforming of ethanol takes place significantly on Ni-YSZ anode only above 760 °C. Comparisons of results obtained with reformate gas showed that the electrochemical cell performance is dominated by the conversion of hydrogen. The conversion of CO also occurs either directly or indirectly through the water-gas shift reaction but has a significant impact on the electrochemical performance only above 760 °C.

  3. Numerical studies of a compact gasoline reformer for fuel cell vehicle applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McIntyre, C.S.; Harrison, S.J.; Oosthuizen, P.H.; Peppley, B.A.

    2004-01-01

    There has been recent interest in the development of compact fuel processors to produce hydrogen for fuel cell powered vehicles. Gasoline is a promising candidate for distributed or on-board processing because of its high energy density and well-developed infrastructure. A compact fuel processor is under development which utilizes autothermal reforming (ATR) to extract hydrogen from iso-octane, which is used as a surrogate for gasoline. The processor consists of a double-pass packed-bed catalytic reactor to promote partial oxidation, steam reforming, and water-gas-shift reactions. As part of this system development, a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package was used to model flow and chemical reactions. Reformer performance is presented in terms of hydrogen content in the product stream, reformer efficiency (LHV efficiency) and iso-octane conversion. Results are compared to on-going experimental studies. (author)

  4. Leveraging Fuel Subsidy Reform for Transition in Yemen

    OpenAIRE

    Clemens Breisinger; Wilfried Engelke; Olivier Ecker

    2012-01-01

    Yemen is currently undergoing a major political transition, yet many economic challenges—including fuel subsidy reform—remain highly relevant. To inform the transition process with respect to a potential subsidy reform, we use a dynamic computable general equilibrium and microsimulation model for Yemen; we show that overall growth effects of subsidy reduction are positive in general, but poverty can increase or decrease depending on reform design. A promising strategy for ...

  5. Purifier-integrated methanol reformer for fuel cell vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jaesung; Kim, Il-soo; Choi, Keun-Sup

    We developed a compact, 3-kW, purifier-integrated modular reformer which becomes the building block of full-scale 30-kW or 50-kW methanol fuel processors for fuel cell vehicles. Our proprietary technologies regarding hydrogen purification by composite metal membrane and catalytic combustion by washcoated wire-mesh catalyst were combined with the conventional methanol steam-reforming technology, resulting in higher conversion, excellent quality of product hydrogen, and better thermal efficiency than any other systems using preferential oxidation. In this system, steam reforming, hydrogen purification, and catalytic combustion all take place in a single reactor so that the whole system is compact and easy to operate. Hydrogen from the module is ultrahigh pure (99.9999% or better), hence there is no power degradation of PEMFC stack due to contamination by CO. Also, since only pure hydrogen is supplied to the anode of the PEMFC stack, 100% hydrogen utilization is possible in the stack. The module produces 2.3 Nm 3/h of hydrogen, which is equivalent to 3 kW when PEMFC has 43% efficiency. Thermal efficiency (HHV of product H 2/HHV of MeOH in) of the module is 89% and the power density of the module is 0.77 kW/l. This work was conducted in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Company in the form of a Korean national project. Currently the module is under test with an actual fuel cell stack in order to verify its performance. Sooner or later a full-scale 30-kW system will be constructed by connecting these modules in series and parallel and will serve as the fuel processor for the Korean first fuel cell hybrid vehicle.

  6. An estimation of the water balance in a reformer/fuel-cells system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jovan, Vladimir [Jo-ef Stefan Institute and Centre of Excellence Low-Carbon Technologies (Slovenia); Cufar, Alja [University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics (Slovenia)], e-mail: vladimir.jovan@ijs.si

    2011-07-01

    PEM fuel cells use hydrogen as fuel. Since it is a very light element, its energy density is small despite its high caloric value. Thus hydrogen storage requires a lot of space. One possible solution is simultaneous production of hydrogen from higher-density materials, such as methanol. The object of this paper is to determine what is the total water balance in a system consisting of a methanol reformer and a fuel-cells-based generator set, and to determine if water should be supplied to, or removed from, the system. Based on relatively little information obtained from technical sources and on some simple assumptions, this paper presents a model which helps to determine the actual water balance in the system. In conclusion, commercially available fuel-cell systems with realistic water production can be used for fuel reforming purposes in the methanol reformer. It is also shown that under normal operating conditions, and using commercially available devices, there is always an excess of water produced.

  7. Pyrochlore-type catalysts for the reforming of hydrocarbon fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, David A [Morgantown, WV; Shekhawat, Dushyant [Morgantown, WV; Haynes, Daniel [Morgantown, WV; Smith, Mark [Morgantown, WV; Spivey, James J [Baton Rouge, LA

    2012-03-13

    A method of catalytically reforming a reactant gas mixture using a pyrochlore catalyst material comprised of one or more pyrochlores having the composition A.sub.2-w-xA'.sub.wA''.sub.xB.sub.2-y-zB'.sub.yB''.sub.zO.sub.7-.DELTA.. Distribution of catalytically active metals throughout the structure at the B site creates an active and well dispersed metal locked into place in the crystal structure. This greatly reduces the metal sintering that typically occurs on supported catalysts used in reforming reactions, and reduces deactivation by sulfur and carbon. Further, oxygen mobility may also be enhanced by elemental exchange of promoters at sites in the pyrochlore. The pyrochlore catalyst material may be utilized in catalytic reforming reactions for the conversion of hydrocarbon fuels into synthesis gas (H.sub.2+CO) for fuel cells, among other uses.

  8. System model development for a methanol reformed 5 kW high temperature PEM fuel cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sahlin, Simon Lennart; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2015-01-01

    This work investigates the system performance when reforming methanol in an oil heated reformer system for a 5 kW fuel cell system. A dynamic model of the system is created and evaluated. The system is divided into 4 separate components. These components are the fuel cell, reformer, burner...... and evaporator, which are connected by two separate oil circuits, one with a burner and reformer and one with a fuel cell and evaporator. Experiments were made on the reformer and measured oil and bed temperatures are presented in multiple working points. The system is examined at loads from 0 to 5000 W electric...

  9. Development of a methanol reformer for fuel cell vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lindstroem, Baard

    2003-03-01

    Vehicles powered by fuel cells are from an environmental aspect superior to the traditional automobile using internal combustion of gasoline. Power systems which are based upon fuel cell technology require hydrogen for operation. The ideal fuel cell vehicle would operate on pure hydrogen stored on-board. However, storing hydrogen on-board the vehicle is currently not feasible for technical reasons. The hydrogen can be generated on-board using a liquid hydrogen carrier such as methanol and gasoline. The objective of the work presented in this thesis was to develop a catalytic hydrogen generator for automotive applications using methanol as the hydrogen carrier. The first part of this work gives an introduction to the field of methanol reforming and the properties of a fuel cell based power system. Paper I reviews the catalytic materials and processes available for producing hydrogen from methanol. The second part of this thesis consists of an experimental investigation of the influence of the catalyst composition, materials and process parameters on the activity and selectivity for the production of hydrogen from methanol. In Papers II-IV the influence of the support, carrier and operational parameters is studied. In Paper V an investigation of the catalytic properties is performed in an attempt to correlate material properties with performance of different catalysts. In the third part of the thesis an investigation is performed to elucidate whether it is possible to utilize oxidation of liquid methanol as a heat source for an automotive reformer. In the study which is presented in Paper VI a large series of catalytic materials are tested and we were able to minimize the noble metal content making the system more cost efficient. In the final part of this thesis the reformer prototype developed in the project is evaluated. The reformer which was constructed for serving a 5 k W{sub e} fuel cell had a high performance with near 100 % methanol conversion and CO

  10. Developing an energy efficient steam reforming process to produce hydrogen from sulfur-containing fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simson, Amanda

    Hydrogen powered fuel cells have the potential to produce electricity with higher efficiency and lower emissions than conventional combustion technology. In order to realize the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell an efficient method to produce hydrogen is needed. Currently, over 90% of hydrogen is produced from the steam reforming of natural gas. However, for many applications including fuel cell vehicles, the use of a liquid fuel rather than natural gas is desirable. This work investigates the feasibility of producing hydrogen efficiently by steam reforming E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline), a commercially available sulfur-containing transportation fuel. A Rh-Pt/SiO2-ZrO2 catalyst has demonstrated good activity for the E85 steam reforming reaction. An industrial steam reforming process is often run less efficiently, with more water and at higher temperatures, in order to prevent catalyst deactivation. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a process that can operate without catalyst deactivation at more energy efficient conditions. In this study, the steam reforming of a sulfur-containing fuel (E85) was studied at near stoichiometric steam/carbon ratios and at 650C, conditions at which catalyst deactivation is normally measured. At these conditions the catalyst was found to be stable steam reforming a sulfur-free E85. However, the addition of low concentrations of sulfur significantly deactivated the catalyst. The presence of sulfur in the fuel caused catalyst deactivation by promoting ethylene which generates surface carbon species (coke) that mask catalytic sites. The amount of coke increased during time on stream and became increasingly graphitic. However, the deactivation due to both sulfur adsorption and coke formation was reversible with air treatment at 650°C. However, regenerations were found to reduce the catalyst life. Air regenerations produce exotherms on the catalyst surface that cause structural changes to the catalyst. During regenerations the

  11. Reforming of natural gas—hydrogen generation for small scale stationary fuel cell systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinzel, A.; Vogel, B.; Hübner, P.

    The reforming of natural gas to produce hydrogen for fuel cells is described, including the basic concepts (steam reforming or autothermal reforming) and the mechanisms of the chemical reactions. Experimental work has been done with a compact steam reformer, and a prototype of an experimental reactor for autothermal reforming was tested, both containing a Pt-catalyst on metallic substrate. Experimental results on the steam reforming system and a comparison of the steam reforming process with the autothermal process are given.

  12. Hydrogen from methanol for fuel cells in mobile systems: development of a compact reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoehlein, B [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Boe, M [H. Topsoee A/S, Lyngby (Denmark); Boegild-Hansen, J [H. Topsoee A/S, Lyngby (Denmark); Broeckerhoff, P [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Colsman, G [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Emonts, B [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Menzer, R [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany); Riedel, E

    1996-07-01

    On-board generation of hydrogen from methanol with a reformer in connection with the use of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an attractive option for a passenger car drive. Special considerations are required to obtain low weight and volume. Furthermore, the PEMFC of today cannot tolerate more than 10 ppm of carbon monoxide in the fuel. Therefore a gas conditioning step is needed after the methanol reformer. Our main research activities focus on the conceptual design of a drive system for a passenger car with methanol reformer and PEMFC: Engineering studies with regard to different aspects of this design including reformer, catalytic burner, gas conditioning, balances of the fuel cycles and basic design of a compact methanol reformer. The work described here was carried out within the framework of a JOULE II project of the European Union (1993-1995). Extensive experimental studies have been carried out at the Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (KFA) in Germany and at Haldor Topsoee A/S in Denmark. (orig.)

  13. A miniature fuel reformer system for portable power sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolanc, Gregor; Belavič, Darko; Hrovat, Marko; Hočevar, Stanko; Pohar, Andrej; Petrovčič, Janko; Musizza, Bojan

    2014-12-01

    A miniature methanol reformer system has been designed and built to technology readiness level exceeding a laboratory prototype. It is intended to feed fuel cells with electric power up to 100 W and contains a complete setup of the technological elements: catalytic reforming and PROX reactors, a combustor, evaporators, actuation and sensing elements, and a control unit. The system is engineered not only for performance and quality of the reformate, but also for its lightweight and compact design, seamless integration of elements, low internal electric consumption, and safety. In the paper, the design of the system is presented by focussing on its miniaturisation, integration, and process control.

  14. Internal reforming characteristics of cermet supported solid oxide fuel cell using yttria stabilized zirconia fed with partially reformed methane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momma, Akihiko; Takano, Kiyonami; Tanaka, Yohei; Negishi, Akira; Kato, Ken; Nozaki, Ken; Kato, Tohru; Ichigi, Takenori; Matsuda, Kazuyuki; Ryu, Takashi

    In order to investigate the internal reforming characteristics in a cermet supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using YSZ as the electrolyte, the concentration profiles of the gaseous species along the gas flow direction in the anode were measured. Partially reformed methane using a pre-reformer kept at a constant temperature is supplied to the center of the cell which is operated with a seal-less structure at the gas outlet. The anode gas is sucked in via silica capillaries to the initially evacuated gas tanks. The process is simultaneously carried out using five sampling ports. The sampled gas is analyzed by a gas chromatograph. Most of the measurements are made at the cell temperature (T cell) of 750 °C and at various temperatures of the pre-reformer (T ref) with various fuel utilizations (U f) of the cell. The composition of the fuel at the inlet of the anode was confirmed to be almost the same as that theoretically calculated assuming equilibrium at the temperature of the pre-reformer. The effect of internal reforming in the anode is clearly observed as a steady decrease in the methane concentration along the flow axis. The effect of the water-gas shift reaction is also observed as a decrease in the CO 2 concentration and an increase of CO concentration around the gas inlet region, as the water-gas shift reaction inversely proceeds when T cell is higher than T ref. The diffusion of nitrogen from the seal-less outermost edge is observed, and the diffusion is confirmed to be more significant as U f decreases. The observations are compared with the results obtained by the SOFC supported by lanthanum gallate electrolyte. With respect to the internal reforming performance, the cell investigated here is found to be more effective when compared to the previously reported electrolyte supported cell.

  15. Integration of high temperature PEM fuel cells with a methanol reformer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pan, Chao; He, Ronghuan; Li, Qingfeng

    2005-01-01

    On-board generation of hydrogen by methanol reforming is an efficient and practical option to fuel PEMFC especially for vehicle propulsion purpose. The methanol reforming can take place at temperatures around 200°C with a nearly 100% conversion at a hydrogen yield of about 400 L–(h–kg catalyst)-1...

  16. Modeling and dynamics of an autothermal JP5 fuel reformer for marine fuel cell applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsourapas, Vasilis; Sun, Jing; Nickens, Anthony

    2008-01-01

    In this work, a dynamic model of an integrated autothermal reformer (ATR) and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM FC) system and model-based evaluation of its dynamic characteristics are presented. The ATR reforms JP5 fuel into a hydrogen rich flow. The hydrogen is extracted from the reformate flow by a separator membrane (SEP), then supplied to the PEM FC for power generation. A catalytic burner (CB) and a turbine are also incorporated to recuperate energy from the remaining SEP flow that would otherwise be wasted. A dynamic model of this system, based on the ideal gas law and energy balance principles, is developed and used to explore the effects of the operating setpoint selection of the SEP on the overall system efficiency. The analysis reveals that a trade-off exists between the SEP efficiency and the overall system efficiency. Finally the open loop system simulation results are presented and conclusions are drawn on the SEP operation

  17. Effect of annealing on electrical properties of plasmatron deposited ZnO films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joa, Sang Beom; Penkov, Oteksiy V.; Plaksin, Vadim Yu; Mansur, Rakib; Kim, Ji Hun; Lee, Heon Ju

    2009-01-01

    Transparent conductive zinc oxide (ZnO) has been extensively studied in recent several years because they have very interesting properties. Besides this, zinc oxide is non-poisonous, abundant and cheap material. ZnO films are employed in different applications like transparent conductive layers in solar cells, protective coatings and so on. Wide industrial application of the ZnO films requires of development of cheap, effective and scalable technology. Typically used technology like RF sputtering, pyrolysis and metal-organic CVD don't completely satisfy the industrial requirements. In our previous publications the new perspective ZnO deposition technology based DC Arc Plasmatron was described. This technology has several advantages (low cost, high deposition rate, low substrate temperature). Currently, films deposited using this technology has can be used only as protective or insulation coatings because of very high resistance. Applying of plasmatron technology in the microelectronics or solar cell production requires the improvement of electrical properties of the films. This can be achieved by optimization of deposition parameters, using of doping, or by post-deposition treatment such as annealing, or by combination of mentioned. It was shown that proposed technology can be used for the deposition of pure ZnO film with good electrical and optical properties. Proposed technology has several disadvantages which can be overcome in the near-term outlook

  18. Compact reformer for the solid polymer fuel cell policy and best

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goulding, P.S.; Deegan, M.; Gough, A. [Newcastle University (United Kingdom)

    1998-07-01

    This report summarises the results of a study investigating the feasibility of the Compact Reformer concept, and examining its design and manufacture. The development and testing of a hybrid reformer and thin coat catalyst systems are described, and details of the modeling of the reactor, and the optimisation and costing of the solid polymer fuel cell are given. (UK)

  19. Influence of deposition parameters on the optical and structural properties of TiO/sub 2/ films produced by reactive dc plasmatron sputtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schiller, S; Beister, G; Sieber, W; Schirmer, G; Hacker, E

    1981-09-11

    We investigated the variations in the structure and optical properties of TiO/sub 2/ films produced by reactive d.c. plasmatron sputtering with the most important deposition parameters. Over a wide range, the phase composition (ratio of rutile to anatase) and the grain size of the TiO/sub 2/ films can be influenced in a controlled manner by variations in the substrate temperature and the oxygen partial pressure. Because of their high refractive index and low light-scattering losses, plasmatron-sputtered TiO/sub 2/ films are of great interest in the field of optical interference coatings, e.g. for dielectric multilayer stacks.

  20. Use of catalytic reforming to aid natural gas HCCI combustion in engines: experimental and modelling results of open-loop fuel reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peucheret, S.; Wyszynski, M.L.; Lehrle, R.S. [Future Power Systems Group, Mechanical Engineering, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT (United Kingdom); Golunski, S. [Johnson Matthey, Technology Centre, Blount' s Court, Sonning Common, Reading RG4 9NH (United Kingdom); Xu, H. [Jaguar Land Rover Research, Jaguar Land Rover W/2/021, Abbey Road, Coventry CV3 4LF (United Kingdom)

    2005-12-01

    The potential of the homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion process to deliver drastically reduced emissions of NO{sub x} and improved fuel economy from internal combustion engines is well known. The process is, however, difficult to initiate and control, especially when methane or natural gas are used as fuel. To aid the HCCI combustion of natural gas, hydrogen addition has been successfully used in this study. This hydrogen can be obtained from on-line reforming of natural gas. Methane reforming is achieved here by reaction with engine exhaust gas and air in a small scale monolith catalytic reactor. The benchmark quantity of H{sub 2} required to enhance the feasibility and engine load range of HCCI combustion is 10%. For low temperature engine exhaust gas, typical for HCCI engine operating conditions, experiments show that additional air is needed to produce this quantity. Experimental results from an open-loop fuel exhaust gas reforming system are compared with two different models of basic thermodynamic equilibria calculations. At the low reactor inlet temperatures needed for the HCCI application (approx. 400 deg C) the simplified three-reaction thermodynamic equilibrium model is in broad agreement with experimental results, while for medium (550-650 deg C) inlet temperature reforming with extra air added, the high hydrogen yields predicted from the multi-component equilibrium model are difficult to achieve in a practical reformer. (author)

  1. Incidence and impact: The regional variation of poverty effects due to fossil fuel subsidy reform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rentschler, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Since fossil fuel subsidy reforms can induce significant distributional shifts and price shocks, effective compensation and social protection programs are crucial. Based on the statistical simulation model by Araar and Verme (2012), this study estimates the regional variability of direct welfare effects of removing fuel subsidies in Nigeria. Uncompensated subsidy removal is estimated to increase the national poverty rate by 3–4% on average. However, uniform cash compensation that appears effective at the national average, is found to fail to mitigate price shocks in 16 of 37 states – thus putting livelihoods (and public support for reforms) at risk. States that are estimated to incur the largest welfare shocks, coincide with hotspots of civil unrest following Nigeria's 2012 subsidy reform attempt. The study illustrates how regionally disaggregated compensation can be revenue neutral, and maintain or reduce pre-reform poverty rates in all states. Overall, it highlights the importance of understanding differences in vulnerability, and designing tailored social protection schemes which ensure public support for subsidy reforms. - Highlights: •Fossil fuel subsidy reforms can induce significant distributional shifts and price shocks. •There is significant regional variation of a reform's effects on poverty rates. •Compensation is key to protect livelihoods and win public support for reform. •Compensation schemes must be carefully tailored to account for regional variation.

  2. Internal reforming characteristics of cermet supported solid oxide fuel cell using yttria stabilized zirconia fed with partially reformed methane

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Momma, Akihiko; Takano, Kiyonami; Tanaka, Yohei; Negishi, Akira; Kato, Ken; Nozaki, Ken; Kato, Tohru [Energy Technology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Umezono Tsukuba Ibaraki, 305-8568 (Japan); Ichigi, Takenori; Matsuda, Kazuyuki; Ryu, Takashi [Application Development Project, Corporate R and D, NGK Insulators, Ltd., 2-56 Suda-cho Mizuho-ku Nagoya-shi Aichi, 467-8530 (Japan)

    2009-08-01

    In order to investigate the internal reforming characteristics in a cermet supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using YSZ as the electrolyte, the concentration profiles of the gaseous species along the gas flow direction in the anode were measured. Partially reformed methane using a pre-reformer kept at a constant temperature is supplied to the center of the cell which is operated with a seal-less structure at the gas outlet. The anode gas is sucked in via silica capillaries to the initially evacuated gas tanks. The process is simultaneously carried out using five sampling ports. The sampled gas is analyzed by a gas chromatograph. Most of the measurements are made at the cell temperature (T{sub cell}) of 750 C and at various temperatures of the pre-reformer (T{sub ref}) with various fuel utilizations (U{sub f}) of the cell. The composition of the fuel at the inlet of the anode was confirmed to be almost the same as that theoretically calculated assuming equilibrium at the temperature of the pre-reformer. The effect of internal reforming in the anode is clearly observed as a steady decrease in the methane concentration along the flow axis. The effect of the water-gas shift reaction is also observed as a decrease in the CO{sub 2} concentration and an increase of CO concentration around the gas inlet region, as the water-gas shift reaction inversely proceeds when T{sub cell} is higher than T{sub ref}. The diffusion of nitrogen from the seal-less outermost edge is observed, and the diffusion is confirmed to be more significant as U{sub f} decreases. The observations are compared with the results obtained by the SOFC supported by lanthanum gallate electrolyte. With respect to the internal reforming performance, the cell investigated here is found to be more effective when compared to the previously reported electrolyte supported cell. (author)

  3. Modelling and optimization of reforming systems for use in PEM fuel cell systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berry, M.; Korsgaard, A.R.; Nielsen, M.P.

    2004-01-01

    Three different reforming methods for the conversion of natural gas to hydrogen are studied and compared: Steam Reforming (SR), Auto-thermal Reforming (ATR), and Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPOX). Thermodynamic and kinetic models are developed for the reforming reactors as well as the subsequent reactors needed for CO removal to make the synthesis gas suitable for use in a PEM fuel cell. The systems are optimized to minimize the total volume, and must supply adequate hydrogen to a fuel cell with a 100kW load. The resultant system efficiencies are calculated. The CPOX system is the smallest and exhibits a comparable efficiency to the SR system. The SR system had the best relation between efficiency and volume increase. Optimal temperature profiles within each reactor were found. It was shown that temperature control can significantly reduce reactor volume and increase conversion capabilities. (author)

  4. Performance and endurance of a PEMFC operated with synthetic reformate fuel feed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sishtla, C; Koncar, G; Platon, R [Institute of Gas Technology, Des Plaines, IL (United States); Gamburzev, S; Appleby, A J [Texas Engineering Experimental Station, Texas A and M Univ. System, College Station, TX (United States). Center for Electrochemical Systems and Hydrogen Research; Velev, O A [AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, CA (United States)

    1998-03-15

    Widespread implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) powerplants for stationary and vehicular applications will be dependent in the near future on using readily available hydrocarbon fuels as the source of the hydrogen fuel. Methane and propane are ideal fuels for stationary applications, while methanol, gasoline, and diesel fuel are better suited for vehicular applications. Various means of fuel processing are possible to produce a gaseous fuel containing H{sub 2}, CO{sub 2} and CO. CO is a known electrocatalyst poison and must be reduced to low (10`s) ppm levels and CO{sub 2} is said to cause additional polarization effects. Even with no CO in the feed gas a H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2}/H{sub 2}O gas mixture will form some CO. Therefore, as a first step of developing a PEMFC that can operate for thousands of hours using a reformed fuel, we used an anode gas feed of 80% H{sub 2} and 20% CO{sub 2} to simulate the reforming of CH{sub 4}. To investigate the effect of reformate on cell performance and endurance, a single cell with an active area of 58 cm{sup 2} was assembled with a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) furnished by Texas A and M University using IGT`s internally manifolded heat exchange (IMHEX{sup TM}) design configuration. The MEA consisted of a Nafion 112 membrane with anode and cathode Pt catalyst loadings of 0.26 and 1.46 mg/cm{sup 2}, respectively. The cell was set to operate on a synthetic reformate - air at 60 C and 1 atm and demonstrated over 5000 h of endurance with a decay rate of less than 1%/1000 h of operation. The cell also underwent four successful thermal cycles with no appreciable loss in performance. The stable performance is attributed to a combination of the IGT IMHEX plate design with its inherent uniform gas flow distribution across the entire active area and MEA quality. The effects of temperature, gas composition, fuel utilization (stoics) and thermal cycle on cell performance are described. (orig.)

  5. Estimation of the temporary service life of DC arc plasmatron cathode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulygin, V. M.; Pereslavtsev, A. V.; Tresvyatskii, S. S.

    2017-09-01

    The service life of the cathode of a DC arc plasmatron continuously working with tubular electrodes that operate in the air has been considered using the semi-phenomenological approach. The thermal emission, that ensures the necessary flow of electrons, and the evaporation of the cathode material, which determines its erosion, have been taken as the basic physical phenomena that constitute the workflow. The relationships that enable the estimation of the cathode's operating time have been obtained using the known regularities of these phenomena and experimental data available in the literature. The resulting evaluations coincide satisfactorily with the endurance test results.

  6. Installation of a Plasmatron at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre and its Use for Plasma-Wall Interaction Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uytdenhouwen, I.; Schuurmans, J.; Decreton, M.; Massaut, V.; Oost, G. van

    2008-01-01

    In JET and ITER, the first wall will be covered by beryllium and a full or partial W divertor will be common. In DEMO, only high-Z, low erosion material such as tungsten will be present as a plasma facing material. In present day tokamaks, the very high fluence/low temperature plasma cannot be obtained. Important key issues to be resolved according to plasma wall interaction studies are the tritium retention, dust production, resilience to large steady-state fluences, transient loads, surface erosion, material redeposition and neutron damage. Some linear plasma simulators come close to the very high fluences expected in ITER and DEMO such as PSI -2; PISCES-B; NAGDIS-II and pilot-PSI. In future the larger device MAGNUM-PSI will have even higher fluences and lower temperatures for large scale components. The plasmatron facility VISION I to be installed in Mol, will have the capability to investigate mixed materials (with beryllium/tritium contaminations) and in the long term neutron activated samples. The ETHEL plasmatron VISION I from JRC-Ispra was transferred to SCKCEN (Mol, Belgium) recently. The equipment is meant to study plasma-wall interaction, in particular the interaction with hydrogen isotopes. The facility is capable to produce relatively cold self-sustained volumetric plasmas with a high plasma flux density at the target of about 10 20 -10 21 ions/m 2 .s. The plasmatron has a volume of 18 litres, a target diameter of ∼25 cm and modular ion energies in the range of 20-500 eV

  7. Internal reforming of methane in solid oxide fuel cell systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, R.; Dahl, R.; Klüttgen, U.; Palm, C.; Stolten, D.

    Internal reforming is an attractive option offering a significant cost reduction, higher efficiencies and faster load response of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power plant. However, complete internal reforming may lead to several problems which can be avoided with partial pre-reforming of natural gas. In order to achieve high total plant efficiency associated with low energy consumption and low investment costs, a process concept has been developed based on all the components of the SOFC system. In the case of anode gas recycling an internal steam circuit exists. This has the advantage that there is no need for an external steam generator and the steam concentration in the anode gas is reduced. However, anode gas recycling has to be proven by experiments in a pre-reformer and for internal reforming. The addition of carbon dioxide clearly shows a decrease in catalyst activity, while for temperatures higher than 1000 K hydrogen leads to an increase of the measured methane conversion rates.

  8. A methodology for thermodynamic simulation of high temperature, internal reforming fuel cell systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matelli, José Alexandre; Bazzo, Edson

    This work presents a methodology for simulation of fuel cells to be used in power production in small on-site power/cogeneration plants that use natural gas as fuel. The methodology contemplates thermodynamics and electrochemical aspects related to molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells (MCFC and SOFC, respectively). Internal steam reforming of the natural gas hydrocarbons is considered for hydrogen production. From inputs as cell potential, cell power, number of cell in the stack, ancillary systems power consumption, reformed natural gas composition and hydrogen utilization factor, the simulation gives the natural gas consumption, anode and cathode stream gases temperature and composition, and thermodynamic, electrochemical and practical efficiencies. Both energetic and exergetic methods are considered for performance analysis. The results obtained from natural gas reforming thermodynamics simulation show that the hydrogen production is maximum around 700 °C, for a steam/carbon ratio equal to 3. As shown in the literature, the found results indicate that the SOFC is more efficient than MCFC.

  9. Synergistic production of hydrogen using fossil fuels and nuclear energy application of nuclear-heated membrane reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hori, M.; Matsui, K.; Tashimo, M.; Yasuda, I.

    2004-01-01

    Processes and technologies to produce hydrogen synergistically by the steam reforming reaction using fossil fuels and nuclear heat are reviewed. Formulas of chemical reactions, required heats for reactions, saving of fuel consumption or reduction of carbon dioxide emission, possible processes and other prospects are examined for such fossil fuels as natural gas, petroleum and coal. The 'membrane reformer' steam reforming with recirculation of reaction products in a closed loop configuration is considered to be the most advantageous among various synergistic hydrogen production methods. Typical merits of this method are: nuclear heat supply at medium temperature below 600 deg. C, compact plant size and membrane area for hydrogen production, efficient conversion of feed fuel, appreciable reduction of carbon dioxide emission, high purity hydrogen without any additional process, and ease of separating carbon dioxide for future sequestration requirements. With all these benefits, the synergistic production of hydrogen by membrane reformer using fossil fuels and nuclear energy can be an effective solution in this century for the world which has to use. fossil fuels any way to some extent while reducing carbon dioxide emission. For both the fossil fuels industry and the nuclear industry, which are under constraint of resource, environment and economy, this production method will be a viable symbiosis strategy for the coming hydrogen economy era. (author)

  10. Evaluation of an integrated methane autothermal reforming and high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Authayanun, Suthida; Saebea, Dang; Patcharavorachot, Yaneeporn; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the performance and efficiency of an integrated autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC (high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system fueled by methane. Effect of the inclusion of a CO (carbon monoxide) removal process on the integrated HT-PEMFC system was considered. An increase in the S/C (steam-to-carbon) ratio and the reformer temperature can enhance the hydrogen fraction while the CO formation reduces with increasing S/C ratio. The fuel processor efficiency of the methane autothermal reformer with a WGS (water gas shift reactor) reactor, as the CO removal process, is higher than that without a WGS reactor. A higher fuel processor efficiency can be obtained when the feed of the autothermal reformer is preheated to the reformer temperature. Regarding the cell performance, the reformate gas from the methane reformer operated at T in  = T R and with a high S/C ratio is suitable for the HT-PEMFC system without a WGS reactor. When considering the HT-PEMFC system with a WGS reactor, the CO poisoning has less significant impact on the cell performance and the system can be operated over a broader range to minimize the required total active area. A WGS reactor is necessary for the methane autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC integrated system with regard to the system efficiency. - Highlights: • An integrated autothermal reforming and HT-PEMFC system was studied. • The HT-PEMFC system with and without a CO removal process was considered. • Parametric analysis was performed to obtain a high system efficiency. • The HT-PEMFC system with the WGS reactor can be run over a broader range. • The efficiencies of the HT-PEMFC systems without and with a WGS reactor were reported

  11. Control and experimental characterization of a methanol reformer for a 350 W high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Sahlin, Simon Lennart

    2013-01-01

    is the water and methanol mixture fuel flow and the burner fuel/air ratio and combined flow. An experimental setup is presented capable of testing the methanol reformer used in the Serenergy H3 350 Mobile Battery Charger; a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell system......This work presents a control strategy for controlling the methanol reformer temperature of a 350 W high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system, by using a cascade control structure for reliable system operation. The primary states affecting the methanol catalyst bed temperature....... The experimental system consists of a fuel evaporator utilizing the high temperature waste gas from the cathode air cooled 45 cell HTPEM fuel cell stack. The fuel cells used are BASF P1000 MEAs which use phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes. The resulting reformate gas output of the reformer system...

  12. Integrated HT-PEMFC and multi-fuel reformer for micro CHP. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2010-07-01

    The project was initiated in April 2008 and completed by the end of March 2010. The project consortium consisted of: Dantherm Power, Serenergy and Department of Energy Technology at Aalborg University (project manager). The activities were coordinated with the project ''Nordjysk H2FC Center'' funded by the Region of Northern Jutland. A number of experimental characterization methods were developed through this project to improve the understanding in fuel cell performance under different operating conditions. In particular the application of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was found useful and lead to new information about individual losses in the fuel cell. Techniques to measure local temperatures of the MEA were also successfully developed. Durability studies were made on single cells as well as complete stacks. A dedicated test facility was constructed in a container to isolate the test from disturbances that occur in the laboratory. The stack tests were run for just above 6 months with few interruptions and it was found that single cell and stack degradation rates were comparable. Operation temperature was found to have the most pronounced influence on degradation. The information formed the basis for a simple modeling tool to optimize the stack operating temperature versus reformate gas CO concentration. The activities on multi-fuel reformer development were mostly focused on two issues; manufacturability and analyses of flow distribution and heat transfer. The latter was required since these areas these turned out to cause challenges in the reactor design. Through a combination of experimental tests, CFD analyses and flow network modeling design modifications were suggested to improve flow distribution on both the flue gas side and the reformate side. Most of these design changes were not validated in this project through the construction and test of a new reformer. In spite of the problems identifies, the reformed successfully

  13. The agnion Heatpipe-Reformer - operating experiences and evaluation of fuel conversion and syngas composition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallmetzer, Georg; Ackermann, Pascal [Highterm Research GmbH, Hettenshausen (Germany); Schweiger, Andreas; Kienberger, Thomas [Highterm Research GmbH, Graz (Austria); Groebl, Thomas; Walter, Heimo [Technische Universitaet Wien, Institut fuer Energietechnik und Thermodynamik, Wien (Austria); Zankl, Markus; Kroener, Martin [Agnion Technologies GmbH, Hettenshausen (Germany)

    2012-09-15

    Fluidized bed gasification of solid fuels is considered as one of the core technologies for future sustainable energy supply. Whereas autothermal oxygen-driven gasification is applied in large-scale substitute natural gas (SNG) and Fischer-Tropsch (FT) plants or small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) plants, the allothermal steam-reforming process of the agnion Heatpipe-Reformer is designed for cost- and fuel-efficient syngas generation at small scales for distributed applications. The Heatpipe-Reformer's pressurized syngas generation provides a number of benefits for SNG, biomass to liquid (BTL) and CHP applications. A modified gas engine concept uses the pressurized and hydrogen-rich syngas for increased performance and tar tolerance at decreased capital expenses. Agnion has installed and operated a 500-kW thermal input pilot plant in Pfaffenhofen, Germany, over the last 2 years, showing stable operation over a variety of operating points. The syngas composition has been measured at values expected by thermodynamic models. An influence of the steam-to-fuel ratio and reformer temperature was observed. Tar and sulphur contents have been monitored and correlated to operation parameters, showing influences on stoichiometry and carbon conversion. The mass and energy streams of the plant were balanced. One of the main observations in the monitoring programme is the fact that syngas output, efficiency and syngas quality correlate to high values if the carbon conversion is high. Carbon conversion rates and cold gas efficiencies are comparably high in respect to today's processes, promising economic and fuel-efficient operation of the Heatpipe-Reformer applications. (orig.)

  14. Compact methanol reformer test for fuel-cell powered light-duty vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Emonts, B; Hoehlein, B; Peters, R [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Energieverfahrenstechnik (IEV); Hansen, J B; Joergensen, S L [Haldor Topsoe A/S, Lyngby (Denmark)

    1998-03-15

    On-board production of hydrogen from methanol based on a steam reformer in connection with the use of low-temperature fuel-cells (PEMFC) is an attractive option as energy conversion unit for light-duty vehicles. A steam reforming process at higher pressures with an external burner offers advantages in comparison to a steam reformer with integrated partial oxidation in terms of total efficiency for electricity production. The main aim of a common project carried out by the Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ), Haldor Topsoee A/S (HTAS) and Siemens AG is to design, to construct and to test a steam reformer reactor concept (HTAS) with external catalytic burner (FZJ) as heat source as well as catalysts for heterogeneously catalyzed hydrogen production (HTAS), concepts for gas treatment (HTAS, FZJ) and a low-temperature fuel cell (Siemens). Based on the experimental results obtained so far concerning methanol reformers, catalytic burners and gas conditioning units, our report describes the total system, a test unit and preliminary test results related to a hydrogen production capacity of 50 kW (LHV) and dynamic operating conditions. This hydrogen production system is aimed at reducing the specific weight (<2 kg/kW{sub th} or 4 kg/kW{sub el}) combined with high efficiency for net electricity generation from methanol (about 50%) and low specific emissions. The application of Pd-membranes as gas cleaning unit fulfill the requirements with high hydrogen permeability and low cost of the noble metal. (orig.)

  15. Catalytic autothermal reforming increases fuel cell flexibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, M.; Voecks, G. E.

    1981-01-01

    Experimental results are presented for the autothermal reforming (ATR) of n-hexane, n-tetradecane, benzene and benzene solutions of naphthalene. The tests were run at atmospheric pressure and at moderately high reactant preheat temperatures in the 800-900 K range. Carbon formation lines were determined for paraffinic and aromatic liquids. Profiles were determined for axial bed temperature and composition. Space velocity efforts were assessed, and the locations and types of carbon were recorded. Significant reactive differences between hydrocarbons were identified. Carbon formation characteristics were hydrocarbon specific. The differing behavior of paraffinic and aromatic fuels with respect to their carbon formation may be important in explaining the narrow range of carbon-free operating conditions found in the ATR of number two fuel oil.

  16. Heat and fuel coupled operation of a high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell with a heat exchanger methanol steam reformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuller, G.; Vázquez, F. Vidal; Waiblinger, W.; Auvinen, S.; Ribeirinha, P.

    2017-04-01

    In this work a methanol steam reforming (MSR) reactor has been operated thermally coupled to a high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell stack (HT-PEMFC) utilizing its waste heat. The operating temperature of the coupled system was 180 °C which is significantly lower than the conventional operating temperature of the MSR process which is around 250 °C. A newly designed heat exchanger reformer has been developed by VTT (Technical Research Center of Finland LTD) and was equipped with commercially available CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 (BASF RP-60) catalyst. The liquid cooled, 165 cm2, 12-cell stack used for the measurements was supplied by Serenergy A/S. The off-heat from the electrochemical fuel cell reaction was transferred to the reforming reactor using triethylene glycol (TEG) as heat transfer fluid. The system was operated up to 0.4 A cm-2 generating an electrical power output of 427 Wel. A total stack waste heat utilization of 86.4% was achieved. It has been shown that it is possible to transfer sufficient heat from the fuel cell stack to the liquid circuit in order to provide the needed amount for vaporizing and reforming of the methanol-water-mixture. Furthermore a set of recommendations is given for future system design considerations.

  17. Gas composition modeling in a reformed Methanol Fuel Cell system using adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Shaker, Hamid Reza

    2013-01-01

    This work presents a method for modeling the gas composition in a Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell system. The method is based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy-Inference-Systems which are trained on experimental data. The developed models are of the H2, CO2, CO and CH3OH mass flows of the reformed gas. The ANFIS......, or fuel cell diagnostics systems....

  18. Modeling of Pem Fuel Cell Systems Including Controls and Reforming Effects for Hybrid Automotive Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Boettner, Daisie

    2001-01-01

    .... This study develops models for a stand-alone Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack, a direct-hydrogen fuel cell system including auxiliaries, and a methanol reforming fuel cell system for integration into a vehicle performance simulator...

  19. A revisit of fossil-fuel subsidies in China: Challenges and opportunities for energy price reform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Boqiang; Ouyang, Xiaoling

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We measure fossil-fuel subsidies and effects of subsidy removal in a systematic fashion during 2006–2010. • Fossil-fuel subsidies scale of China was CNY 881.94 billion in 2010, equivalent to 2.59% of GDP. • Impacts of removing subsidies on macroeconomic variables are examined by the CGE model. • Future policy should focus on designing transparent, targeted and efficient energy subsidies. - Abstract: Fossil-fuel subsidies contribute to the extensive growth of energy demand and the related carbon dioxide emissions in China. However, the process of energy price reform is slow, even though China faces increasing problems of energy scarcity and environmental deterioration. This paper focuses on analyzing fossil fuel subsidies in China by estimating subsidies scale and the implications for future reform. We begin by measuring fossil-fuel subsidies and the effects of subsidy removal in a systematic fashion during 2006–2010 using a price-gap approach. Results indicate that the oil price reform in 2009 significantly reduced China’s fossil-fuel subsidies and modified the subsidy structure. Fossil-fuel subsidies scale in China was 881.94 billion CNY in 2010, which was lower than the amount in 2006, equivalent to 2.59% of the GDP. The macro-economic impacts of removing fossil-fuel subsidies are then evaluated by the computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. Results demonstrate that the economic growth and employment will be negatively affected as well as energy demand, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. Finally, policy implications are suggested: first, risks of government pricing of energy are far from negligible; second, an acceptable macroeconomic impact is a criterion for energy price reform in China; third, the future energy policy should focus on designing transparent, targeted and efficient energy subsidies

  20. Coupling of a 2.5 kW steam reformer with a 1 kW el PEM fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathiak, J.; Heinzel, A.; Roes, J.; Kalk, Th.; Kraus, H.; Brandt, H.

    The University of Duisburg-Essen has developed a compact multi-fuel steam reformer suitable for natural gas, propane and butane. This steam reformer was combined with a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM FC) and a system test of the process chain was performed. The fuel processor comprises a prereformer step, a primary reformer, water gas shift reactors, a steam generator, internal heat exchangers in order to achieve an optimised heat integration and an external burner for heat supply as well as a preferential oxidation step (PROX) as CO purification. The fuel processor is designed to deliver a thermal hydrogen power output from 500 W to 2.5 kW. The PEM fuel cell stack provides about 1 kW electrical power. In the following paper experimental results of measurements of the single components PEM fuel cell and fuel processor as well as results of the coupling of both to form a process chain are presented.

  1. High-Temperature Desulfurization of Heavy Fuel-Derived Reformate Gas Streams for SOFC Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Maria; Surgenor, Angela D.

    2007-01-01

    Desulfurization of the hot reformate gas produced by catalytic partial oxidation or autothermal reforming of heavy fuels, such as JP-8 and jet fuels, is required prior to using the gas in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Development of suitable sorbent materials involves the identification of sorbents with favorable sulfidation equilibria, good kinetics, and high structural stability and regenerability at the SOFC operating temperatures (650 to 800 C). Over the last two decades, a major barrier to the development of regenerable desulfurization sorbents has been the gradual loss of sorbent performance in cyclic sulfidation and regeneration at such high temperatures. Mixed oxide compositions based on ceria were examined in this work as regenerable sorbents in simulated reformate gas mixtures and temperatures greater than 650 C. Regeneration was carried out with dilute oxygen streams. We have shown that under oxidative regeneration conditions, high regeneration space velocities (greater than 80,000 h(sup -1)) can be used to suppress sulfate formation and shorten the total time required for sorbent regeneration. A major finding of this work is that the surface of ceria and lanthanan sorbents can be sulfided and regenerated completely, independent of the underlying bulk sorbent. This is due to reversible adsorption of H2S on the surface of these sorbents even at temperatures as high as 800 C. La-rich cerium oxide formulations are excellent for application to regenerative H2S removal from reformate gas streams at 650 to 800 C. These results create new opportunities for compact sorber/regenerator reactor designs to meet the requirements of solid oxide fuel cell systems at any scale.

  2. Spectroscopic studies of non-thermal plasma jet at atmospheric pressure formed in low-current nonsteady-state plasmatron for biomedical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Demkin, V. P.; Melnichuk, S. V.; Demkin, O. V. [National Research Tomsk State University, Lenin 36, 634050 Tomsk, The Russian Federation (Russian Federation); Kingma, H.; Van de Berg, R. [National Research Tomsk State University, Lenin 36, 634050 Tomsk, The Russian Federation (Russian Federation); Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht (Netherlands)

    2016-04-15

    The optical and electrophysical characteristics of the nonequilibrium low-temperature plasma formed by a low-current nonsteady-state plasmatron are experimentally investigated in the present work. It is demonstrated that experimental data on the optical diagnostics of the plasma jet can provide a basis for the construction of a self-consistent physical and mathematical plasma model and for the creation of plasma sources with controllable electrophysical parameters intended for the generation of the required concentration of active particles. Results of spectroscopic diagnostics of plasma of the low-current nonsteady-state plasmatron confirm that the given source is efficient for the generation of charged particles and short-wavelength radiation—important plasma components for biomedical problems of an increase in the efficiency of treatment of biological tissues by charged particles. Measurement of the spatial distribution of the plasma jet potential by the probe method has demonstrated that a negative space charge is formed in the plasma jet possibly due to the formation of electronegative oxygen ions.

  3. Experimental Evaluation of a Pt-based Heat Exchanger Methanol Reformer for a HTPEM Fuel Cell Stack

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Nielsen, Mads Pagh

    2008-01-01

    and automotive applications. Using a liquid hydrocarbon as e.g. methanol as the hydrogen carrier and reforming it to a hydrogen rich gas can solve some of these storage issues. The work presented here examines the use of a heat exchanger methanol reformer for use with a HTPEM fuel cell stack. Initial......Fuel cell systems running on pure hydrogen can efficiently produce electricity and heat for various applications, stationary and mobile. Storage volume can be problematic for stationary fuel cell systems with high run-time demands, but it is especially a challenge when dealing with mobile...

  4. Electricity reforms and firm level responses: changing ownership, fuel choices, and technology decisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukla, P.R.; Nag, Tirthankar; Biswas, Debashish

    2005-01-01

    This paper examines how electricity reforms in India managed to influence the responses of generating firms. Indian electricity reforms have federal and state character. This paper utilises an extensive survey of generation units in Gujarat State. The findings suggest that reforms have created heterogeneous ownership of generation units. The fuel-mix and technology choices of new owners differ from pre-reform pattern followed by state-owned utilities. The new owners prefer natural gas, sourced technologies internationally, and chosen unit sizes that follow market dynamics. Consequently, the operational performance of power plants has improved. This paper quantifies energy efficiency and carbon intensity baselines, projects their trends, and delineates the contribution of reforms for the state. In generalisation, this paper argues that energy and cost efficiency of power plants across different states shows secular improvements under the reforms, though it cautions that environmental performance would not show such uniformly improving trends. (Author)

  5. Dynamic modeling and controllability analysis of an ethanol reformer for fuel cell application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia, Vanesa M.; Serra, Maria; Riera, Jordi [Institut de Robotica i Informatica Industrial (CSIC-UPC), Llorens i Artigas 4-6, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Lopez, Eduardo [Institut de Tecniques Energetiques, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, ed. ETSEIB, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (CONICET-UNS), Camino de la Carrindanga km7, 8000 Bahia Blanca (Argentina); Llorca, Jordi [Institut de Tecniques Energetiques, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, ed. ETSEIB, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

    2010-09-15

    This work presents a controllability analysis of a low temperature ethanol reformer based on a cobalt catalyst for fuel cell application. The study is based on a non-linear dynamic model of a reformer which operates in three separate stages: ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde and hydrogen, acetaldehyde steam reforming, and water-gas-shift reaction. The controllability analysis is focused on the rapid dynamics due to mass balances and is based on a linearization of the complex non-linear model of the reformer. RGA, CN and MRI analysis tools are applied to the linear model suggesting that a good performance can be obtained with decentralized control for frequencies up to 0.1 rad s{sup -1}. (author)

  6. A novel reactor type for autothermal reforming of diesel fuel and kerosene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pasel, Joachim; Samsun, Remzi Can; Tschauder, Andreas; Peters, Ralf; Stolten, Detlef

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Development and experimental evaluation of Juelich’s novel ATR reactor type. • Constructive integration of steam generation chamber and nozzle for water injection. • Internal steam generator modified to reduce pressure drop to approx. a thirtieth. • Novel concept for ATR heat management proven to be suitable for fuel cell systems. • Reaction conditions during shut-down and start-up optimized to reduce byproducts. - Abstract: This paper describes the development and experimental evaluation of Juelich’s novel reactor type ATR AH2 for autothermal reforming of diesel fuel and kerosene. ATR AH2 overcomes the disadvantages of Juelich’s former reactor generations from the perspective of the fuel cell system by constructively integrating an additional pressure swirl nozzle for the injection of cold water and a steam generation chamber. As a consequence, ATR AH2 eliminates the need for external process configurations for steam supply. Additionally, the internal steam generator has been modified by increasing its cross-sectional area and by decreasing its length. This measure reduces the pressure drop of the steam generator from approx. 500 mbar to roughly a thirtieth. The experimental evaluation of ATR AH2 at steady state revealed that the novel concept for heat management applied in ATR AH2 is suitable for fuel cell systems at any reformer load point between 20% and 120% when the mass fractions of cold water to the newly integrated nozzle are set to values between 40% and 50%. The experimental evaluation of ATR AH2 during start-up and shut-down showed that slight modifications of the reaction conditions during these transient phases greatly reduced the concentrations of ethene, ethane, propene and benzene in the reformate. From the fuel cell system perspective, these improvements provide a very beneficial contribution to longer stabilities for the catalysts and adsorption materials

  7. Thermodynamic simulation of biomass gas steam reforming for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Sordi

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology to simulate a small-scale fuel cell system for power generation using biomass gas as fuel. The methodology encompasses the thermodynamic and electrochemical aspects of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC, as well as solves the problem of chemical equilibrium in complex systems. In this case the complex system is the internal reforming of biomass gas to produce hydrogen. The fuel cell input variables are: operational voltage, cell power output, composition of the biomass gas reforming, thermodynamic efficiency, electrochemical efficiency, practical efficiency, the First and Second law efficiencies for the whole system. The chemical compositions, molar flows and temperatures are presented to each point of the system as well as the exergetic efficiency. For a molar water/carbon ratio of 2, the thermodynamic simulation of the biomass gas reforming indicates the maximum hydrogen production at a temperature of 1070 K, which can vary as a function of the biomass gas composition. The comparison with the efficiency of simple gas turbine cycle and regenerative gas turbine cycle shows the superiority of SOFC for the considered electrical power range.

  8. Simulation study of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system with autothermal reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ersoz, Atilla [TUBITAK Marmara Research Centre, Energy Systems and Environmental Research Institute, 41470 Gebze, Kocaeli (Turkey); Olgun, Hayati [TUBITAK Marmara Research Centre, Energy Systems and Environmental Research Institute, 41470 Gebze, Kocaeli (Turkey); Ozdogan, Sibel [Marmara University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 81040 Goztepe, Istanbul (Turkey)

    2006-08-15

    This paper presents the results of a study for a 100 kW net electrical power PEM fuel cell system. The major system components are an autothermal reformer, high and low temperature shift reactors, a preferential oxidation reactor, a PEM fuel cell, a combustor and an expander. Intensive heat integration within the PEM fuel cell system has been necessary to achieve acceptable net electrical efficiency levels. The calculations comprise the auxiliary equipment such as pumps, compressors, heaters, coolers, heat exchangers and pipes. The process simulation package 'ASPEN-HYSYS 3.1' has been used along with conventional calculations. The operation conditions of the autothermal reformer have been studied in detail to determine the values, which lead to the production of a hydrogen rich gas mixture with CO concentration at ppm level. The operation parameters of the other reactors have been determined considering the limitations implied by the catalysts involved. A gasoline type hydrocarbon fuel has been studied as the source for hydrogen production. The chemical composition of the hydrocarbon fuel affects the favorable operation conditions of autothermal reforming and the following fuel purification steps. Thermal efficiencies have been calculated for all of the major system components for selected operation conditions. The fuel cell stack efficiency has been calculated as a function of the number of cells (500-1250 cells). Efficiencies of all of the major system components along with auxiliary unit efficiencies determine the net electrical efficiency of the PEM fuel cell system. The obtained net electrical efficiency levels are between 30 (500 cells) and 37% (1250 cells). Hence, they are comparable with or higher than those of the conventional gasoline based internal combustion engine systems, in terms of the mechanical power efficiency.

  9. Simulation study of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system with autothermal reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ersoz, Atilla; Olgun, Hayati; Ozdogan, Sibel

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a study for a 100 kW net electrical power PEM fuel cell system. The major system components are an autothermal reformer, high and low temperature shift reactors, a preferential oxidation reactor, a PEM fuel cell, a combustor and an expander. Intensive heat integration within the PEM fuel cell system has been necessary to achieve acceptable net electrical efficiency levels. The calculations comprise the auxiliary equipment such as pumps, compressors, heaters, coolers, heat exchangers and pipes. The process simulation package 'ASPEN-HYSYS 3.1' has been used along with conventional calculations. The operation conditions of the autothermal reformer have been studied in detail to determine the values, which lead to the production of a hydrogen rich gas mixture with CO concentration at ppm level. The operation parameters of the other reactors have been determined considering the limitations implied by the catalysts involved. A gasoline type hydrocarbon fuel has been studied as the source for hydrogen production. The chemical composition of the hydrocarbon fuel affects the favorable operation conditions of autothermal reforming and the following fuel purification steps. Thermal efficiencies have been calculated for all of the major system components for selected operation conditions. The fuel cell stack efficiency has been calculated as a function of the number of cells (500-1250 cells). Efficiencies of all of the major system components along with auxiliary unit efficiencies determine the net electrical efficiency of the PEM fuel cell system. The obtained net electrical efficiency levels are between 30 (500 cells) and 37% (1250 cells). Hence, they are comparable with or higher than those of the conventional gasoline based internal combustion engine systems, in terms of the mechanical power efficiency

  10. Dynamic modeling of a three-stage low-temperature ethanol reformer for fuel cell application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia, Vanesa M; Serra, Maria [Institut de Robotica i Informatica Industrial (CSIC-UPC), Llorens i Artigas 4-6, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Lopez, Eduardo; Llorca, Jordi [Institut de Tecniques Energetiques, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Diagonal 647, ed. ETSEIB, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

    2009-07-01

    A low-temperature ethanol reformer based on a cobalt catalyst for the production of hydrogen has been designed aiming the feed of a fuel cell for an autonomous low-scale power production unit. The reformer comprises three stages: ethanol dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde and hydrogen over SnO{sub 2} followed by acetaldehyde steam reforming over Co(Fe)/ZnO catalyst and water gas shift reaction. Kinetic data have been obtained under different experimental conditions and a dynamic model has been developed for a tubular reformer loaded with catalytic monoliths for the production of the hydrogen required to feed a 1 kW PEMFC. (author)

  11. High-frequency electrodeless plasmatrons and their application in chemistry and material engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Czernichowska, A.; Jurewicz, J.

    1975-01-01

    An apparatus used to obtain high frequency induction-coupled type plasma was described with regard to the working chamber design, methods employed for stabilization of plasma, types of working gases, operating conditions such as pressure, plasmatron power rating, diameter of plasma stream and its temperature. The methods of high frequency discharge ignition, inductor design as well as the requirements to be satisfied by the generators employed for excitation of high frequency electrodeless plasma were briefly discussed. A number of applications of high frequency electrodeless plasma were mentioned such as monocrystal growing, excitation of spectra in the optical spectroscopy, spheroidization of powders and other processes with particular emphasis on chemical reactions. A review of plasmotron designs was also made. (author)

  12. Design and optimization of a combined fuel reforming and solid oxide fuel cell system with anode off-gas recycling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Tae Seok; Chung, J.N.; Chen, Yen-Cho

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → In this work, an analytical, parametric study is performed to evaluate the feasibility and performance of a combined fuel reforming and SOFC system. → Specifically the effects of adding the anode off-gas recycling and recirculation components and the CO 2 absorbent unit are investigated. → The AOG recycle ratio increases with increasing S/C ratio and the addition of AOG recycle eliminates the need for external water consumption. → The key finding is that for the SOFC operating at 900 deg. C with the steam to carbon ratio at 5 and no AOG recirculation, the system efficiency peaks. - Abstract: An energy conversion and management concept for a combined system of a solid oxide fuel cell coupled with a fuel reforming device is developed and analyzed by a thermodynamic and electrochemical model. The model is verified by an experiment and then used to evaluate the overall system performance and to further suggest an optimal design strategy. The unique feature of the system is the inclusion of the anode off-gas recycle that eliminates the need of external water consumption for practical applications. The system performance is evaluated as a function of the steam to carbon ratio, fuel cell temperature, anode off gas recycle ratio and CO 2 adsorption percentage. For most of the operating conditions investigated, the system efficiency starts at around 70% and then monotonically decreases to the average of 50% at the peak power density before dropping down to zero at the limiting current density point. From an engineering application point of view, the proposed combined fuel reforming and SOFC system with a range of efficiency between 50% and 70% is considered very attractive. It is suggested that the optimal system is the one where the SOFC operates around 900 deg. C with S/C ratio higher than 3, maximum CO 2 capture, and minimum AOG recirculation.

  13. Direct ethanol solid oxide fuel cell operating in gradual internal reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobrega, S. D.; Galesco, M. V.; Girona, K.; de Florio, D. Z.; Steil, M. C.; Georges, S.; Fonseca, F. C.

    2012-09-01

    An electrolyte supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using standard electrodes, doped-lanthanum manganite cathode and Ni-cermet anode, was operated with direct (anhydrous) ethanol for more than 100 h, delivering essentially the same power output as running on hydrogen. A ceria-based layer provides the catalytic activity for the gradual internal reforming, which uses the steam formed by the electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen for the decomposition of ethanol. Such a concept opens up the way for multi-fuel SOFCs using standard components and a catalytic layer.

  14. The economic consequences of a fuel levy reform in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramos Mabugu

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the economic effects of a hypothetical fuel levy imposed by South African provinces. The welfare effects of increasing the fuel levy by 10 per cent are negative but very small. Similarly, the marginal excess burdens for efficiency and equity (poverty are quite low, suggesting much smaller impacts of the intervention on both economic activity and equity.  Furthermore, a fiscal policy reform that raises fuel levy by 10 per cent is progressive as it has stronger negative effects on higher income households than the lower income households. A potential source of instability for the macroeconomy and total government revenue is the negative effect on economic activity induced by the fuel levy increase. The remedies suggested are that policymakers should make tax room elsewhere in the intergovernmental fiscal system to accommodate the fuel levy increase.

  15. Performance evaluation of a proof-of-concept 70 W internal reforming methanol fuel cell system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avgouropoulos, G.; Schlicker, S.; Schelhaas, K.-P.; Papavasiliou, J.; Papadimitriou, K. D.; Theodorakopoulou, E.; Gourdoupi, N.; Machocki, A.; Ioannides, T.; Kallitsis, J. K.; Kolb, G.; Neophytides, S.

    2016-03-01

    A proof-of-concept 70 W Internal Reforming Methanol Fuel Cell (IRMFC) stack including Balance-of-Plant (BoP) was designed, assembled and tested. Advent TPS® high-temperature, polymer electrolyte membrane electrode assemblies were employed for fuel cell operation at 200 °C. In order to avoid phosphoric acid poisoning of the reformer, the anode electrocatalyst of each cell was indirectly adjoined, via a separation plate, to a highly active CuMnAlOx catalyst coated onto copper foam, which served as methanol reforming layer. The reformer was in-situ converting the methanol/steam feed to the required hydrogen (internal reforming concept) at 200 °C, which was readily oxidized at the anode electrodes. The operation of the IRMFC was supported through a number of BoP components consisting of a start-up subsystem (air blower, evaporator and monolithic burner), a combined afterburner/evaporator device, methanol/water supply and data acquisition units (reactants/products analysis, temperature control, flow control, system load/output control). Depending on the composition of the liquid MeOH/H2O feed streams, current densities up to 0.18 A cm-2 and power output up to 70 W could be obtained with remarkable repeatability. Specific targets for improvement of the efficiency were identified.

  16. Direct internal steam reforming of ethanol in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) - A thermodynamic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima da Silva, Aline; De Fraga Malfatti, Celia; Heck, Nestor Cesar; Melo Halmenschlager, Cibele

    2003-01-01

    Among the various types of fuel cells, the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has attracted considerable interest due to the possibility for operation with an internal reformer and higher system efficiency. In SOFC, high operative temperature allows the direct conversion of ethanol into H 2 and CO to take place in the electrochemical cell. Ethanol is considered to be an attractive fuel because it is a renewable energy source and presents some advantages over other green fuels such as safety in storage and handling. Direct internal reforming of ethanol, however, can produce undesirable products that diminish system efficiency and, in the case of carbon deposition over the anode, promote the growth of carbon filaments attached to the anode crystallites which generate massive forces within the electrode structure leading to its rapid breakdown. In this context, a thermodynamic analysis is fundamental to predict the product distribution as well as the conditions favorable for carbon to precipitate inside the cell. Despite of such importance, there are few works in literature dealing with thermodynamic analysis of the direct internal steam reforming of ethanol in fuel cell systems. Hence, the aim of this work is to find appropriate ranges for operating conditions where carbon deposition in SOFC with direct internal reforming operation is not feasible, in temperature range of 500- 1200K. The calculation here is more complicated than that for a reformer because the disappearance of hydrogen and the generation of H 2 O from electrochemical reaction must be taken into account. In the present study, the effects of hydrogen consumption on anode components and on carbon formation are investigated. Equilibrium determinations are performed by the Gibbs energy minimization method, considering the following species: H 2 , H 2 O, CH 4 , CO, CO 2 and C gr . (graphite). The effect of the type of solid electrolyte (oxygen-conducting and hydrogen-conducting) on carbon formation is also

  17. Thermodynamic analysis of direct internal reforming of methane and butane in proton and oxygen conducting fuel cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biesheuvel, P.M.; Geerlings, J.J.C.

    2008-01-01

    We present results of a thermodynamic analysis of direct internal reforming fuel cells, based on either a proton conducting fuel cell (FC-H+) or an oxygen ion conducting fuel cell (FC-O2-). We analyze the option of methane as fuel as well as butane. The model self-consistently combines all chemical

  18. Hydrogen from biomass gas steam reforming for low temperature fuel cell: energy and exergy analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Sordi

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a method to analyze hydrogen production by biomass gasification, as well as electric power generation in small scale fuel cells. The proposed methodology is the thermodynamic modeling of a reaction system for the conversion of methane and carbon monoxide (steam reforming, as well as the energy balance of gaseous flow purification in PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption is used with eight types of gasification gases in this study. The electric power is generated by electrochemical hydrogen conversion in fuel cell type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Energy and exergy analyses are applied to evaluate the performance of the system model. The simulation demonstrates that hydrogen production varies with the operation temperature of the reforming reactor and with the composition of the gas mixture. The maximum H2 mole fraction (0.6-0.64 mol.mol-1 and exergetic efficiency of 91- 92.5% for the reforming reactor are achieved when gas mixtures of higher quality such as: GGAS2, GGAS4 and GGAS5 are used. The use of those gas mixtures for electric power generation results in lower irreversibility and higher exergetic efficiency of 30-30.5%.

  19. Reformate tolerant electrocatalysts in solid polymer fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cooper, S J; Gunner, A G; Thompsett, D; Hards, G A

    1998-12-31

    The aim of the project was to evaluate a series of platinum group metal catalysts which had previously been identified from a wide range of areas related to carbon monoxide (CO) activation, and to demonstrate superior intrinsic reformate tolerance to current platinum/ruthenium technology as anode catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC). (author)

  20. Kinetic Studies on State of the Art Solid Oxide Cells – A Comparison between Hydrogen/Steam and Reformate Fuels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Njodzefon, Jean-Claude; Graves, Christopher R.; Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

    2015-01-01

    Electrochemical reaction kinetics at the electrodes of Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) were investigated at 700 °C for two cells with different fuel electrode microstructures as well as on a third cell with a reduced active electrode area. Three fuel mixtures were investigated – hydrogen/steam and refor......Electrochemical reaction kinetics at the electrodes of Solid Oxide Cells (SOCs) were investigated at 700 °C for two cells with different fuel electrode microstructures as well as on a third cell with a reduced active electrode area. Three fuel mixtures were investigated – hydrogen....../steam fuel split into two processes with opposing temperature behavior in the reformate fuels. An 87.5% reduction in active electrode area diminishes the gas conversion impedance in the hydrogen/steam fuel at high fuel flow rates. In both reformates, the second and third lowest frequency processes merged...

  1. Design and Control of High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Systems using Methanol Reformers with Air or Liquid Heat Integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Sahlin, Simon Lennart

    2013-01-01

    The present work describes the ongoing development of high temperature PEM fuel cell systems fuelled by steam reformed methanol. Various fuel cell system solutions exist, they mainly differ depending on the desired fuel used. High temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cells offer the possibility of using...... methanol is converted to a hydrogen rich gas with CO2 trace amounts of CO, the increased operating temperatures allow the fuel cell to tolerate much higher CO concentrations than Nafion-based membranes. The increased tolerance to CO also enables the use of reformer systems with less hydrogen cleaning steps...... liquid fuels such as methanol, due to the increased robustness of operating at higher temperatures (160-180oC). Using liquid fuels such as methanol removes the high volume demands of compressed hydrogen storages, simplifies refueling, and enables the use of existing fuel distribution systems. The liquid...

  2. Fossil fuel reform in developing states: The case of Trinidad and Tobago, a petroleum producing small Island developing State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scobie, Michelle

    2017-01-01

    Trinidad and Tobago is an oil exporting small island developing state (SIDS) with a 0.12% contribution to global emissions and with important socio-economic challenges. It has producer, electricity and transport fuel subsidies. It is at an interesting juncture in subsidy reform: the government faces the embeddedness of distributive justice norms that are contested by fiscal prudence and environmental stewardship norms. The value of the paper is twofold. First it develops a subsidy intractability framework to explain reform global narratives that highlights: the power of agents, the nature of contested economic, justice and environmental norms and the availability of mechanisms for reform. Second, this framework is used to explain reform narratives and trajectories in Trinidad and Tobago using data from public documents and from a unique elite survey of former and present heads of state, politicians, policy makers and stakeholders. Even in conditions of falling oil prices and national revenue and pressures to reduce emissions, where redistributive justice arguments are heavily embedded in public discourses, those aspects of the subsidy that have developmental or distributive justice goals are more intractable. The results of the study have implications for carbon emission reduction strategies in developing states with fossil fuel reserves. - Highlights: • A subsidy intractability framework is used to analyse fuel subsidy reform. • A sense of entitlement to resources contributes to subsidy intractability. • Global environmental stewardship norms matter less for fuel subsidy reform in SIDS. • Policy space is most determined by international economic conditions in SIDS.

  3. Dynamic Modeling of a Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell System using Empirical Data and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Shaker, Hamid Reza

    2013-01-01

    In this work, a dynamic MATLAB Simulink model of a H3-350 Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell (RMFC) stand-alone battery charger produced by Serenergy is developed on the basis of theoretical and empirical methods. The advantage of RMFC systems is that they use liquid methanol as a fuel instead of gaseous...... of the reforming process are implemented. Models of the cooling flow of the blowers for the fuel cell and the burner which supplies process heat for the reformer are made. The two blowers have a common exhaust, which means that the two blowers influence each other’s output. The models take this into account using...... an empirical approach. Fin efficiency models for the cooling effect of the air are also developed using empirical methods. A fuel cell model is also implemented based on a standard model which is adapted to fit the measured performance of the H3-350 module. All the individual parts of the model are verified...

  4. Dynamic Modeling of a Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell System using Empirical Data and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Shaker, Hamid Reza

    2014-01-01

    In this work, a dynamic MATLAB Simulink model of a H3-350 Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell (RMFC) stand-alone battery charger produced by Serenergy is developed on the basis of theoretical and empirical methods. The advantage of RMFC systems is that they use liquid methanol as a fuel instead of gaseous...... of the reforming process are implemented. Models of the cooling flow of the blowers for the fuel cell and the burner which supplies process heat for the reformer are made. The two blowers have a common exhaust, which means that the two blowers influence each other’s output. The models take this into account using...... an empirical approach. Fin efficiency models for the cooling effect of the air are also developed using empirical methods. A fuel cell model is also implemented based on a standard model which is adapted to fit the measured performance of the H3-350 module. All the individual parts of the model are verified...

  5. Coke-free dry reforming of model diesel fuel by a pulsed spark plasma at low temperatures using an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sekine, Yasushi; Furukawa, Naotsugu; Matsukata, Masahiko; Kikuchi, Eiichi, E-mail: ysekine@waseda.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, Waseda University, 65-301, Okubo, Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8555 (Japan)

    2011-07-13

    Dry reforming of diesel fuel, an endothermic reaction, is an attractive process for on-board hydrogen/syngas production to increase energy efficiency. For operating this dry reforming process in a vehicle, we can use the exhaust gas from an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system as a source of carbon dioxide. Catalytic dry reforming of heavy hydrocarbon is a very difficult reaction due to the high accumulation of carbon on the catalyst. Therefore, we attempted to use a non-equilibrium pulsed plasma for the dry reforming of model diesel fuel without a catalyst. We investigated dry reforming of model diesel fuel (n-dodecane) with a low-energy pulsed spark plasma, which is a kind of non-equilibrium plasma at a low temperature of 523 K. Through the reaction, we were able to obtain syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) and a small amount of C{sub 2} hydrocarbon without coke formation at a ratio of CO{sub 2}/C{sub fuel} = 1.5 or higher. The reaction can be conducted at very low temperatures such as 523 K. Therefore, it is anticipated as a novel and effective process for on-board syngas production from diesel fuel using an EGR system.

  6. Non-catalytic recuperative reformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khinkis, Mark J.; Kozlov, Aleksandr P.; Kurek, Harry

    2015-12-22

    A non-catalytic recuperative reformer has a flue gas flow path for conducting hot flue gas from a thermal process and a reforming mixture flow path for conducting a reforming mixture. At least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is embedded in the flue gas flow path to permit heat transfer from the hot flue gas to the reforming mixture. The reforming mixture flow path contains substantially no material commonly used as a catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., nickel oxide, platinum group elements or rhenium), but instead the reforming mixture is reformed into a higher calorific fuel via reactions due to the heat transfer and residence time. In a preferred embodiment, extended surfaces of metal material such as stainless steel or metal alloy that are high in nickel content are included within at least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path.

  7. Performance evaluation and comparison of fuel processors integrated with PEM fuel cell based on steam or autothermal reforming and on CO preferential oxidation or selective methanation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ercolino, Giuliana; Ashraf, Muhammad A.; Specchia, Vito; Specchia, Stefania

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Modeling of different fuel processors integrated with PEM fuel cell stack. • Steam or autothermal reforming + CO selective methanation or preferential oxidation. • Reforming of different hydrocarbons: gasoline, light diesel oil, natural gas. • 5 kW e net systems comparison via energy efficiency and primary fuel rate consumed. • Highest net efficiency: steam reformer + CO selective methanation based system. - Abstract: The performances of four different auxiliary power unit (APU) schemes, based on a 5 kW e net proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) stack, are evaluated and compared. The fuel processor section of each APU is characterized by a reformer (autothermal ATR or steam SR), a non-isothermal water gas shift (NI-WGS) reactor and a final syngas catalytic clean-up step: the CO preferential oxidation (PROX) reactor or the CO selective methanation (SMET) one. Furthermore, three hydrocarbon fuels, the most commonly found in service stations (gasoline, light diesel oil and natural gas) are considered as primary fuels. The comparison is carried out examining the results obtained by a series of steady-state system simulations in Aspen Plus® of the four different APU schemes by varying the fed fuel. From the calculated data, the performance of CO-PROX is not very different compared to that of the CO-SMET, but the performance of the SR based APUs is higher than the scheme of the ATR based APUs. The most promising APU scheme with respect to an overall performance target is the scheme fed with natural gas and characterized by a fuel processor chain consisting of SR, NI-WGS and CO-SMET reactors. This processing reactors scheme together with the fuel cell section, notwithstanding having practically the same energy efficiency of the scheme with SR, NI-WGS and CO-PROX reactors, ensures a less complex scheme, higher hydrogen concentration in the syngas, lower air mass rate consumption, the absence of nitrogen in the syngas and higher potential

  8. Thermodynamic performance analysis of a fuel cell trigeneration system integrated with solar-assisted methanol reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jiangjiang; Wu, Jing; Xu, Zilong; Li, Meng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Propose a fuel cell trigeneration system integrated with solar-assisted methanol reforming. • Optimize the reaction parameters of methanol steam reforming. • Present the energy and exergy analysis under design and off-design work conditions. • Analyze the contributions of solar energy to the trigeneration system. - Abstract: A solar-assisted trigeneration system for producing electricity, cooling, and heating simultaneously is an alternative scheme to improve energy efficiency and boost renewable energy. This paper proposes a phosphoric acid fuel cell trigeneration system integrated with methanol and steam reforming assisted by solar thermal energy. The trigeneration system consists of a solar heat collection subsystem, methanol steam reforming subsystem, fuel cell power generation subsystem, and recovered heat utilization subsystem. Their respective thermodynamic models are constructed to simulate the system input/output characteristics, and energy and exergy efficiencies are employed to evaluate the system thermodynamic performances. The contribution of solar energy to the system is analyzed using solar energy/exergy share. Through the simulation and analysis of methanol and steam reforming reactions, the optimal reaction pressure, temperature, and methanol to water ratio are obtained to improve the flow rate and content of produced hydrogen. The thermodynamic simulations of the trigeneration system show that the system energy efficiencies at the summer and winter design work conditions are 73.7% and 51.7%, while its exergy efficiencies are 18.8% and 26.1%, respectively. When the solar radiation intensity is different from the design work condition, the total energy and exergy efficiencies in winter decrease approximately by 4.7% and 2.2%, respectively, due to the decrease in solar heat collection efficiency. This proposed novel trigeneration system complemented by solar heat energy and methanol chemical energy is favorable for improving the

  9. A Phenomenological Study on the Synergistic Role of Precious Metals in the Steam Reforming of Logistic Fuels on Bimetal-Supported Catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul-Majeed Azad

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Fuel processors are required to convert sulfur-laden logistic fuels into hydrogen-rich reformate and deliver to the fuel cell stack with little or no sulfur. Since sulfur poisons and deactivates the reforming catalyst, robust sulfur-tolerant catalysts ought to be developed. In this paper, the development, characterization and evaluation of a series of reforming catalysts containing two noble metals (with total metal loading not exceeding 1 weight percent supported on nanoscale ceria for the steam-reforming of kerosene is reported. Due to inherent synergy, a bimetallic catalyst is superior to its monometallic analog, for the same level of loading. The choice of noble metal combination in the bimetallic formulations plays a vital and meaningful role in their performance. Presence of ruthenium and/or rhodium in formulations containing palladium showed improved sulfur tolerance and significant enhancement in their catalytic activity and stability. Rhodium was responsible for higher hydrogen yields in the logistic fuel reformate. Duration of steady hydrogen production was higher in the case of RhPd (75 h than for RuPd (68 h; hydrogen generation was stable over the longest period (88 h with RuRh containing no Pd. A mechanistic correlation between the characteristic role of precious metals in the presence of each other is discussed.

  10. Performance and economic assessments of a solid oxide fuel cell system with a two-step ethanol-steam-reforming process using CaO sorbent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tippawan, Phanicha; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2016-02-01

    The hydrogen production process is known to be important to a fuel cell system. In this study, a carbon-free hydrogen production process is proposed by using a two-step ethanol-steam-reforming procedure, which consists of ethanol dehydrogenation and steam reforming, as a fuel processor in the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. An addition of CaO in the reformer for CO2 capture is also considered to enhance the hydrogen production. The performance of the SOFC system is analyzed under thermally self-sufficient conditions in terms of the technical and economic aspects. The simulation results show that the two-step reforming process can be run in the operating window without carbon formation. The addition of CaO in the steam reformer, which runs at a steam-to-ethanol ratio of 5, temperature of 900 K and atmospheric pressure, minimizes the presence of CO2; 93% CO2 is removed from the steam-reforming environment. This factor causes an increase in the SOFC power density of 6.62%. Although the economic analysis shows that the proposed fuel processor provides a higher capital cost, it offers a reducing active area of the SOFC stack and the most favorable process economics in term of net cost saving.

  11. Internal steam reforming in solid oxide fuel cells: Status and opportunities of kinetic studies and their impact on modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, David; Grunwaldt, J.-D.; Hendriksen, Peter Vang

    2011-01-01

    Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) systems with internal steam reforming have the potential to become an economically competitive technology for cogeneration power plants, exploiting its significantly higher electrical efficiency compared to existing technologies. Optimal design and operation of such ......Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) systems with internal steam reforming have the potential to become an economically competitive technology for cogeneration power plants, exploiting its significantly higher electrical efficiency compared to existing technologies. Optimal design and operation...

  12. Radiant non-catalytic recuperative reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khinkis, Mark J.; Kozlov, Aleksandr P.

    2017-10-31

    A radiant, non-catalytic recuperative reformer has a flue gas flow path for conducting hot exhaust gas from a thermal process and a reforming mixture flow path for conducting a reforming mixture. At least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is positioned adjacent to the flue gas flow path to permit heat transfer from the hot exhaust gas to the reforming mixture. The reforming mixture flow path contains substantially no material commonly used as a catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., nickel oxide, platinum group elements or rhenium), but instead the reforming mixture is reformed into a higher calorific fuel via reactions due to the heat transfer and residence time. In a preferred embodiment, a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is positioned outside of flue gas flow path for a relatively large residence time.

  13. Thermal Modeling and Management of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Operating with Internally Reformed Methane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yiyang; Shi, Yixiang; Cai, Ningsheng; Ni, Meng

    2018-06-01

    A detailed three-dimensional mechanistic model of a large-scale solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) unit running on partially pre-reformed methane is developed. The model considers the coupling effects of chemical and electrochemical reactions, mass transport, momentum and heat transfer in the SOFC unit. After model validation, parametric simulations are conducted to investigate how the methane pre-reforming ratio affects the transport and electrochemistry of the SOFC unit. It is found that the methane steam reforming reaction has a "smoothing effect", which can achieve more uniform distributions of gas compositions, current density and temperature among the cell plane. In the case of 1500 W/m2 power density output, adding 20% methane absorbs 50% of internal heat production inside the cell, reduces the maximum temperature difference inside the cell from 70 K to 22 K and reduces the cathode air supply by 75%, compared to the condition of completely pre-reforming of methane. Under specific operating conditions, the pre-reforming ratio of methane has an optimal range for obtaining a good temperature distribution and good cell performance.

  14. Pembuatan Fuel dari Liquid Hasil Pirolisis Plastik Polipropilen Melalui Proses Reforming Dengan Katalis NiO/γ-Al2O3

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahendra Fajri Nugraha

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Estimasi jumlah timbulan sampah di Indonesia pada tahun 2008 mencapai 38,5 juta ton/tahun. Melihat dari sifat penyusun plastik yang tersusun dari komponen hidrokarbon minyak bumi, maka limbah plastik sangat berpotensi untuk dikonversi menjadi BBM. Tujuan penelitian ini Mempelajari proses konversi limbah plastik khususnya jenis polipropilen (PP menjadi fuel serta pengaruh berbagai macam komposisi katalis NiO/γ-Al2O3, temperatur, laju alir reaktan pada reactor reforming terhadap kualitas fuel (yield aromatis yang dihasilkan. Pada penelitian ini bahan baku yang digunakan merupakan plastik jenis Polipropilen (PP. Pada penelitian ini minyak yang telah dihasilkan pada proses pirolisis selanjutnya akan di reforming. Pada penelitian ini digunakan logam NiO dengan penyangga γ-Al2O3 (NiO/γ-Al2O3 sebagai katalis untuk proses reforming minyak hasil pirolisis plastik polipropilen. Variabel penelitian meliputi Loading Ni (% massa : 6; 10; 14, Laju alir (ml/jam : 2I7; 500; 690, Suhu reaksi (oC : 400; 450; 500. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dan analisa diketahui bahwa % yield aromatis terbesar pada proses reforming minyak hasil pirolisis plastik polipropilen dihasilkan dengan kondisi operasi 14 % loading Ni pada katalis, temperatur reforming 500oC serta laju reaktan sebesar 217 mL/jam. Dengan kata lain dapat disimpulkan bahwa pada penelitian ini, hasil terbaik didapat pada variabel flowlaju terendah dan variabel suhu tertinggi. Kondisi operasi efektif dalam pembuatan fuel pada proses reforming diperoleh saat loading Ni pada katalis NiO/γ-Al2O3 14 %, temperatur reforming 400oC serta laju reaktan 500 mL/jam.

  15. Thermodynamic analysis of ethanol/water system in a fuel cell reformer with the Gibbs energy minimization method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima da Silva, Aline; De Fraga Malfatti, Celia; Heck, Nestor Cesar

    2003-01-01

    The use of fuel cells is a promising technology in the conversion of chemical to electrical energy. Due to environmental concerns related to the reduction of atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gases emissions such as CO 2 , NO x and hydrocarbons, there have been many researches about fuel cells using hydrogen as fuel. Hydrogen gas can be produced by several routes; a promising one is the steam reforming of ethanol. This route may become an important industrial process, especially for sugarcane producing countries. Ethanol is renewable energy and presents several advantages over other sources related to natural availability, storage and handling safety. In order to contribute to the understanding of the steam reforming of ethanol inside the reformer, this work displays a detailed thermodynamic analysis of the ethanol/water system, in the temperature range of 500-1200K, considering different H 2 O/ethanol reforming ratios. The equilibrium determinations were done with the help of the Gibbs energy minimization method using the Generalized Reduced Gradient algorithm (GRG). Based on literature data, the species considered in calculations were: H 2 , H 2 O, CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , C 2 H 4 , CH 3 CHO, C 2 H 5 OH (gas phase) and C gr . (graphite phase). The thermodynamic conditions for carbon deposition (probably soot) on catalyst during gas reforming were analyzed, in order to establish temperature ranges and H 2 O/ethanol ratios where carbon precipitation is not thermodynamically feasible. Experimental results from literature show that carbon deposition causes catalyst deactivation during reforming. This deactivation is due to encapsulating carbon that covers active phases on a catalyst substrate, e.g. Ni over Al 2 O 3 . In the present study, a mathematical relationship between Lagrange multipliers and the carbon activity (with reference to the graphite phase) was deduced, unveiling the carbon activity in the reformer atmosphere. From this, it is possible to foreseen if soot

  16. High thermal efficiency and low emission performance of a methanol reformed gas fueled engine for hybrid electric vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamane, K.; Nakajima, Y.; Shudo, T.; Hiruma, M. [Musahi Inst. of Tech., Tokyo (Japan); Komatsu, H.; Takagi, Y. [Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Yokosuka (Japan)

    2000-07-01

    An internal combustion engine (ICE) operation was carried out experimentally by using the mixture of air and fuel simulating the reformed gas as the fuel. It has been found that the engine can expectedly attain ultra-low emission and high thermal efficiency, namely 35% brake thermal efficiency in the basis of the low heat value of the theoretically reformed gas or 42% in the basis of the low heat value of methanol. By using the result for the estimation of the total thermal efficiency at the end of the motor output shaft of a hybrid electric vehicle, it has been found that the total thermal efficiency of the reformed gas engine system is 34% in case of a 120% energy increment and 33% in case of a 116% energy increment with a little higher NOx emission of 60 ppm while the counterpart of the fuel cell system is 34%. When the emission level for EZEV is required, the total thermal efficiency falls to 32% in case of a 120% energy increment and 31% in case of a 116% energy increment. From the points of the reliability proved by the long history, higher specific power and low cost, the internal combustion engine system with the thermal efficiency almost equal to that of the fuel cell (FC) system is further more practical when methanol is used as the fuel. (orig.)

  17. Modeling and parametric simulations of solid oxide fuel cells with methane carbon dioxide reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni, Meng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► A 2D model is developed for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). ► CH 4 reforming by CO 2 (MCDR) is included. ► SOFC with MCDR shows comparable performance with methane steam reforming SOFC. ► Increasing CO electrochemical oxidation greatly enhances the SOFC performance. ► Effects of potential and temperature on SOFC performance are also discussed. - Abstract: A two-dimensional model is developed to simulate the performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) fed with CO 2 and CH 4 mixture. The electrochemical oxidations of both CO and H 2 are included. Important chemical reactions are considered in the model, including methane carbon dioxide reforming (MCDR), reversible water gas shift reaction (WGSR), and methane steam reforming (MSR). It’s found that at a CH 4 /CO 2 molar ratio of 50/50, MCDR and reversible WGSR significantly influence the cell performance while MSR is negligibly small. The performance of SOFC fed with CO 2 /CH 4 mixture is comparable to SOFC running on CH 4 /H 2 O mixtures. The electric output of SOFC can be enhanced by operating the cell at a low operating potential or at a high temperature. In addition, the development of anode catalyst with high activity towards CO electrochemical oxidation is important for SOFC performance enhancement. The model can serve as a useful tool for optimization of the SOFC system running on CH 4 /CO 2 mixtures

  18. Development of ATSR (Auto Thermal Steam Reformer)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ono, J.; Yoshino, Y.; Kuwabara, T.; Fujisima, S.; Kobayashi, S.; Maruko, S.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' Auto-thermal reformers are used popularly for fuel cell vehicle because they are compact and can start up quickly. On the other hand, steam reformers are used for stationary fuel cell power plant because they are good thermal efficiency. While, there are many cases using the auto- thermal reformer for stationary use with expectation of cost reduction in USA, as well. However, they are still insufficient for its durability, compactness and cost. We have been developing the new type of fuel processing system that is auto-thermal steam reformer (ATSR), which is hybrid of a conventional steam reformer (STR) and a conventional auto-thermal reformer (ATR). In this study, some proto-type of ATSR for field test were designed, tried manufacturing and tested performance and durability. And we have tried to operate with fuel cell stack to evaluate the system interface performance, that is, operability and controllability. (author)

  19. Performance analysis of a SOFC under direct internal reforming conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Deutschmann, Olaf [Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry, Engesserstr 20, D-76131 Karlsruhe, University of Karlsruhe (Germany); Heuveline, Vincent [Institute for Applied and Numerical Mathematics, Kaiserstr. 12, D-76128 Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2007-10-11

    This paper presents the performance analysis of a planar solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) under direct internal reforming conditions. A detailed solid-oxide fuel cell model is used to study the influences of various operating parameters on cell performance. Significant differences in efficiency and power density are observed for isothermal and adiabatic operational regimes. The influence of air number, specific catalyst area, anode thickness, steam to carbon (s/c) ratio of the inlet fuel, and extend of pre-reforming on cell performance is analyzed. In all cases except for the case of pre-reformed fuel, adiabatic operation results in lower performance compared to isothermal operation. It is further discussed that, though direct internal reforming may lead to cost reduction and increased efficiency by effective utilization of waste heat, the efficiency of the fuel cell itself is higher for pre-reformed fuel compared to non-reformed fuel. Furthermore, criteria for the choice of optimal operating conditions for cell stacks operating under direct internal reforming conditions are discussed. (author)

  20. Performance analysis of a SOFC under direct internal reforming conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Heuveline, Vincent; Deutschmann, Olaf

    This paper presents the performance analysis of a planar solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) under direct internal reforming conditions. A detailed solid-oxide fuel cell model is used to study the influences of various operating parameters on cell performance. Significant differences in efficiency and power density are observed for isothermal and adiabatic operational regimes. The influence of air number, specific catalyst area, anode thickness, steam to carbon (s/c) ratio of the inlet fuel, and extend of pre-reforming on cell performance is analyzed. In all cases except for the case of pre-reformed fuel, adiabatic operation results in lower performance compared to isothermal operation. It is further discussed that, though direct internal reforming may lead to cost reduction and increased efficiency by effective utilization of waste heat, the efficiency of the fuel cell itself is higher for pre-reformed fuel compared to non-reformed fuel. Furthermore, criteria for the choice of optimal operating conditions for cell stacks operating under direct internal reforming conditions are discussed.

  1. Fuel processor and method for generating hydrogen for fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Shabbir [Naperville, IL; Lee, Sheldon H. D. [Willowbrook, IL; Carter, John David [Bolingbrook, IL; Krumpelt, Michael [Naperville, IL; Myers, Deborah J [Lisle, IL

    2009-07-21

    A method of producing a H.sub.2 rich gas stream includes supplying an O.sub.2 rich gas, steam, and fuel to an inner reforming zone of a fuel processor that includes a partial oxidation catalyst and a steam reforming catalyst or a combined partial oxidation and stream reforming catalyst. The method also includes contacting the O.sub.2 rich gas, steam, and fuel with the partial oxidation catalyst and the steam reforming catalyst or the combined partial oxidation and stream reforming catalyst in the inner reforming zone to generate a hot reformate stream. The method still further includes cooling the hot reformate stream in a cooling zone to produce a cooled reformate stream. Additionally, the method includes removing sulfur-containing compounds from the cooled reformate stream by contacting the cooled reformate stream with a sulfur removal agent. The method still further includes contacting the cooled reformate stream with a catalyst that converts water and carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and H.sub.2 in a water-gas-shift zone to produce a final reformate stream in the fuel processor.

  2. A case study of different configurations for the performance analysis of solid oxide fuel cells with external reformers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kang Hun; Woo, Hyun Tak; Yu, Sang Seok; Lee, Sang Min; Lee, Young Duk; Kang, Sang Gyu; Ahn, Kook Young

    2012-01-01

    A planar solid oxide fuel cell (PSOFC) is studied in its application in a high temperature stationary power plant. Even though PSOFCs with external reformers are designed for application from the distributed power source to the central power plant, such PSOFCs may sacrifice more system efficiency than internally reformed SOFCs. In this study, modeling of the PSOFC with an external reformer was developed to analyze the feasibility of thermal energy utilization for the external reformer. The PSOFC system model includes the stack, reformer, burner, heat exchanger, blower, pump, PID controller, 3-way valve, reactor, mixer, and steam separator. The model was developed under the Matlab/Simulink environment with Thermolib'R'modules. The model was used to study the system performance according to its configuration. Three configurations of the SOFC system were selected for the comparison of the system performance. The system configuration considered the cathode recirculation, thermal sources for the external reformer, heat up of operating gases, and condensate anode off gas for the enhancement of the fuel concentration. The simulation results show that the magnitude of the electric efficiency of the PSOFC system for Case 2 is 12.13% higher than that for Case 1 (reference case), and the thermal efficiency of the PSOFC system for Case 3 is 76.12%, which is the highest of all the cases investigated

  3. Investigation of methane steam reforming in planar porous support of solid oxide fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yongping; Du Xiaoze; Yang Lijun; Huang Yuan; Xian Haizhen

    2009-01-01

    Adopting the porous support in integrated-planar solid oxide fuel cell (IP-SOFC) can reduce the operating temperature by reducing thickness of electrolyte layer, and also, provide internal reforming environment for hydrogen-rich fuel gas. The distributions of reactant and product components, and temperature of methane steam reforming for IP-SOFC were investigated by the developed physical and mathematical model with thermodynamic analysis, in which eleven possible reaction mechanisms were considered by the source terms and Arrhenius relationship. Numerical simulation of the model revealed that the progress of reforming reaction and the distribution of the product, H 2 , were influenced by the operating conditions, included that of temperature, ratio of H 2 O and CH 4 , as well as by the porosity of the supporting material. The simulating results indicate that the methane conversion rate can reach its maximum value under the operating temperature of 800 deg. C and porosity of ε = 0.4, which rather approximate to the practical operating conditions of IP-SOFC. In addition, characteristics of carbon deposition on surface of catalyst were discussed under various operating conditions and configuration parameters of the porous support. The present works provided some theoretical explanations to the numerous experimental observations and engineered practices

  4. Solar hydrogen production: renewable hydrogen production by dry fuel reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakos, Jamie; Miyamoto, Henry K.

    2006-09-01

    SHEC LABS - Solar Hydrogen Energy Corporation constructed a pilot-plant to demonstrate a Dry Fuel Reforming (DFR) system that is heated primarily by sunlight focusing-mirrors. The pilot-plant consists of: 1) a solar mirror array and solar concentrator and shutter system; and 2) two thermo-catalytic reactors to convert Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Water into Hydrogen. Results from the pilot study show that solar Hydrogen generation is feasible and cost-competitive with traditional Hydrogen production. More than 95% of Hydrogen commercially produced today is by the Steam Methane Reformation (SMR) of natural gas, a process that liberates Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere. The SMR process provides a net energy loss of 30 to 35% when converting from Methane to Hydrogen. Solar Hydrogen production provides a 14% net energy gain when converting Methane into Hydrogen since the energy used to drive the process is from the sun. The environmental benefits of generating Hydrogen using renewable energy include significant greenhouse gas and criteria air contaminant reductions.

  5. Effect of ion beam irradiation on the structure of ZnO films deposited by a dc arc plasmatron.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penkov, Oleksiy V; Lee, Heon-Ju; Plaksin, Vadim Yu; Ko, Min Gook; Joa, Sang Beom; Yim, Chan Joo

    2008-02-01

    The deposition of polycrystalline ZnO film on a cold substrate was performed by using a plasmatron in rough vacuum condition. Low energy oxygen ion beam generated by a cold cathode ion source was introduced during the deposition process. The change of film property on the ion beam energy was checked. It is shown that irradiation by 200 eV ions improves crystalline structure of the film. Increasing of ion beam energy up to 400 eV leads to the degradation of a crystalline structure and decreases the deposition rate.

  6. Assessment of bio-fuel options for solid oxide fuel cell applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Jiefeng

    Rising concerns of inadequate petroleum supply, volatile crude oil price, and adverse environmental impacts from using fossil fuels have spurred the United States to promote bio-fuel domestic production and develop advanced energy systems such as fuel cells. The present dissertation analyzed the bio-fuel applications in a solid oxide fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit from environmental, economic, and technological perspectives. Life cycle assessment integrated with thermodynamics was applied to evaluate the environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emission, fossil energy consumption) of producing bio-fuels from waste biomass. Landfill gas from municipal solid wastes and biodiesel from waste cooking oil are both suggested as the promising bio-fuel options. A nonlinear optimization model was developed with a multi-objective optimization technique to analyze the economic aspect of biodiesel-ethanol-diesel ternary blends used in transportation sectors and capture the dynamic variables affecting bio-fuel productions and applications (e.g., market disturbances, bio-fuel tax credit, policy changes, fuel specification, and technological innovation). A single-tube catalytic reformer with rhodium/ceria-zirconia catalyst was used for autothermal reformation of various heavy hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., diesel, biodiesel, biodiesel-diesel, and biodiesel-ethanol-diesel) to produce a hydrogen-rich stream reformates suitable for use in solid oxide fuel cell systems. A customized mixing chamber was designed and integrated with the reformer to overcome the technical challenges of heavy hydrocarbon reformation. A thermodynamic analysis, based on total Gibbs free energy minimization, was implemented to optimize the operating environment for the reformations of various fuels. This was complimented by experimental investigations of fuel autothermal reformation. 25% biodiesel blended with 10% ethanol and 65% diesel was determined to be viable fuel for use on a truck travelling with

  7. Structural analysis of nickel doped cerium oxide catalysts for fuel reforming in solid oxide fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavendish, Rio

    As world energy demands increase, research into more efficient energy production methods has become imperative. Heterogeneous catalysis and nanoscience are used to promote chemical transformations important for energy production. These concepts are important in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) which have attracted attention because of their potential to provide an efficient and environmentally favorable power generation system. The SOFC is also fuel-flexible with the ability to run directly on many fuels other than hydrogen. Internal fuel reforming directly in the anode of the SOFC would greatly reduce the cost and complexity of the device. Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon and a main component in natural gas, making it useful when testing catalysts on the laboratory scale. Nickel (Ni) and gadolinium (Gd) doped ceria (CeO 2) catalysts for potential use in the SOFC anode were synthesized with a spray drying method and tested for catalytic performance using partial oxidation of methane and steam reforming. The relationships between catalytic performance and structure were then investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and environmental transmission electron microscopy. The possibility of solid solutions, segregated phases, and surface layers of Ni were explored. Results for a 10 at.% Ni in CeO2 catalyst reveal a poor catalytic behavior while a 20 at.% Ni in CeO2 catalyst is shown to have superior activity. The inclusion of both 10 at.% Gd and 10 at.% Ni in CeO2 enhances the catalytic performance. Analysis of the presence of Ni in all 3 samples reveals Ni heterogeneity and little evidence for extensive solid solution doping. Ni is found in small domains throughout CeO2 particles. In the 20 at.% Ni sample a segregated, catalytically active NiO phase is observed. Overall, it is found that significant interaction between Ni and CeO2 occurs that could affect the synthesis and functionality of the SOFC anode.

  8. Feasability of the direct generation of hydrogen for fuel-cell-powered vehicles by on-board steam reforming of naphta

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Darwish, Naif A.; Hilal, Nidal; Versteeg, Geert; Heesink, Albertus B.M.

    2004-01-01

    A process flow sheet for the production of hydrogen to run a 50 kW fuel-cell-powered-vehicle by steam reforming of naphtha is presented. The major units in the flow sheet involve a desulfurization unit, a steam reformer, a low temperature (LT) shift reactor, a methanation reactor, and a membrane

  9. Feasibility of the direct generation of hydrogen for fuel-cell-powered vehicles by on-board steam reforming of naphtha

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Darwish, Naif A.; Hilal, Nidal; Versteeg, Geert; Heesink, Bert

    2004-01-01

    A process flow sheet for the production of hydrogen to run a 50 kW fuel-cell-powered-vehicle by steam reforming of naphtha is presented. The major units in the flow sheet involve a desulfurization unit, a steam reformer, a low temperature (LT) shift reactor, a methanation reactor, and a membrane

  10. System requirements of diesel reforming for the SOFC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harasti, P.T.; Amphlett, J.C.; Mann, R.F.; Peppley, B.A.; Thurgood, C.P.

    2003-01-01

    Diesel fuels are currently a very attractive source of hydrogen due to the global infrastructure for production and distribution that exists today. In order to extract the hydrogen, the hydrocarbon molecules must be chemically reformed into manageable, hydrogen-rich product gases that can be directly used in electrochemical energy conversion devices such as fuel cells. High temperature fuel cells are particularly attractive for diesel-fuelled systems due to the possibility of thermal integration with the high temperature reformer. The methods available for diesel fuel processing are: Steam Reforming, Partial Oxidation, and Auto-Thermal Reforming. The latter two methods introduce air into the process in order to cause exothermic oxidation reactions, which complement the endothermic heating requirement of the reforming reactions. This helps to achieve the high temperature required, but also introduces nitrogen, which can yield unwanted NO x emissions. The components of the reformer should include: an injection system to mix and vaporize the diesel fuel and steam while avoiding the formation of carbon deposits inside the reactor; a temperature and heat management system; and a method of sulphur removal. This presentation will discuss the operating conditions and design requirements of a diesel fuel processor for a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. (author)

  11. Fuels processing for transportation fuel cell systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, R.; Ahmed, S.

    Fuel cells primarily use hydrogen as the fuel. This hydrogen must be produced from other fuels such as natural gas or methanol. The fuel processor requirements are affected by the fuel to be converted, the type of fuel cell to be supplied, and the fuel cell application. The conventional fuel processing technology has been reexamined to determine how it must be adapted for use in demanding applications such as transportation. The two major fuel conversion processes are steam reforming and partial oxidation reforming. The former is established practice for stationary applications; the latter offers certain advantages for mobile systems and is presently in various stages of development. This paper discusses these fuel processing technologies and the more recent developments for fuel cell systems used in transportation. The need for new materials in fuels processing, particularly in the area of reforming catalysis and hydrogen purification, is discussed.

  12. Steam reformer with catalytic combustor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voecks, Gerald E. (Inventor)

    1990-01-01

    A steam reformer is disclosed having an annular steam reforming catalyst bed formed by concentric cylinders and having a catalytic combustor located at the center of the innermost cylinder. Fuel is fed into the interior of the catalytic combustor and air is directed at the top of the combustor, creating a catalytic reaction which provides sufficient heat so as to maintain the catalytic reaction in the steam reforming catalyst bed. Alternatively, air is fed into the interior of the catalytic combustor and a fuel mixture is directed at the top. The catalytic combustor provides enhanced radiant and convective heat transfer to the reformer catalyst bed.

  13. JP8 Reformation for Combat Vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-08-07

    phase (fuel), and a gas phase (hydrogen) at elevated pressures. • Trickle - bed configuration is difficult to model and scale down—not practical for...gases output from HDS reactor are used to fuel the reformer. Current Technology Status: •Integrated desulfurization/reforming system successfully

  14. Application of flexible micro temperature sensor in oxidative steam reforming by a methanol micro reformer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Shen, Chia-Chieh; Yeh, Chuin-Tih; Chang, Chi-Chung; Lo, Yi-Man

    2011-01-01

    Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM), with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  15. Application of Flexible Micro Temperature Sensor in Oxidative Steam Reforming by a Methanol Micro Reformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Man Lo

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM, with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  16. Fuel processing requirements and techniques for fuel cell propulsion power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, R.; Ahmed, S.; Yu, M.

    Fuels for fuel cells in transportation systems are likely to be methanol, natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or ethanol. Fuels other than hydrogen will need to be reformed to hydrogen on-board the vehicle. The fuel reformer must meet stringent requirements for weight and volume, product quality, and transient operation. It must be compact and lightweight, must produce low levels of CO and other byproducts, and must have rapid start-up and good dynamic response. Catalytic steam reforming, catalytic or noncatalytic partial oxidation reforming, or some combination of these processes may be used. This paper discusses salient features of the different kinds of reformers and describes the catalysts and processes being examined for the oxidation reforming of methanol and the steam reforming of ethanol. Effective catalysts and reaction conditions for the former have been identified; promising catalysts and reaction conditions for the latter are being investigated.

  17. Fiscal reform of fuel regulation in Brazil: recent developments and environmental implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hinostroza, Miriam; Sauer, Ildo Luis; Guerra, Sinclair M.-G.

    2005-11-15

    Internationally the fossil fuel-based energy sector now faces increasing uncertainties due to changes in its fiscal regulation, prompted by pressure for environmental regulation. These changes typically eliminate some taxes at the beginning of the oil production chain, but compensate for these by increasing taxation on consumption. In Brazil, fiscal reform proposals focus not on environmental arguments but on the elimination of excess levies and red tape and on increasing equity across income classes. However, liberalization process of oil and gas industries in Brazil has led to modifications in fuels taxation. This article discusses current Brazilian fiscal policy as related to fossil fuels, explaining the nature of recently introduced contribution for economic regulation (Contribuicao de Intervencao ao Dominio Economico, CIDE) and the impacts on price formation. It also shows how those modifications tend to include external costs from activities in the fuel sector; through revenues from a levy earmarked for two purposes: i) funding investments in projects deemed to be environmentally beneficial, and, ii) improvements in road infrastructure aimed at reducing emissions from transportation. Some ideas on how to improve use of the levy to perk up fuel alcohol competitiveness are also discussed. (Author)

  18. Upgrading versus reforming: an energy and exergy analysis of two Solid Oxide Fuel Cell-based systems for a convenient biogas-to-electricity conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldinelli, A.; Barelli, L.; Bidini, G.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Biogas-to-electricity conversion through Solid Oxide Fuel Cell is investigated. • Two solutions are compared for biogas-to-electricity conversion. • Direct feeding by partially upgraded biogas meets with fuel cell long operation. • Best energy and exergy performances are obtained with an innovative system-design. • A sensitivity analysis on the process parameters determines its convenience margin. - Abstract: Aiming at designing biogas-to-electricity advanced systems, Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are promising candidates. They benefit from scalability on plant sizes that suit anaerobic digesters potentialities. For biogas-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells applications, the implementation of an external pre-reformer is usually considered. However, the possibility to perform direct fuel feeding to the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell offers new opportunities towards the realization of lean systems, which are competitive especially on small-scale installations (i.e. on-farm biogas-to-electricity conversion). In this frame, scientific literature is rather poor and, to cover this gap, system simulations are called for two reasons: first, to demonstrate the potential efficiency gain of new concepts; second, to provide a meaningful support for long-term experimental investigation on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells operated upon direct feeding of unreformed biogas. For that, the current study compares two system designs for biogas utilization into Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. The conventional one realizes biogas steam reforming prior the fuel cell, while the novel concept is based on direct feeding of partially upgraded biogas by means of carbon dioxide-separation membranes. As main outcome of the study, the system equipped with carbon dioxide-separation membranes achieves better performances than its conventional competitor does, scoring 51.1% energy efficiency and 52.3% exergy efficiency (compared to 37.2% and 38.6% respectively exhibited by the reformer-based system). Because of the lack

  19. Exergetic analysis and optimization of a solar-powered reformed methanol fuel cell micro-powerplant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotz, Nico; Zimmerman, Raúl; Weinmueller, Christian; Lee, Ming-Tsang; Grigoropoulos, Costas P.; Rosengarten, Gary; Poulikakos, Dimos

    The present study proposes a combination of solar-powered components (two heaters, an evaporator, and a steam reformer) with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell to form a powerplant that converts methanol to electricity. The solar radiation heats up the mass flows of methanol-water mixture and air and sustains the endothermic methanol steam reformer at a sufficient reaction temperature (typically between 220 and 300 °C). In order to compare the different types of energy (thermal, chemical, and electrical), an exergetic analysis is applied to the entire system, considering only the useful part of energy that can be converted to work. The effect of the solar radiation intensity and of different operational and geometrical parameters like the total inlet flow rate of methanol-water mixture, the size of the fuel cell, and the cell voltage on the performance of the entire system is investigated. The total exergetic efficiency comparing the electrical power output with the exergy input in form of chemical and solar exergy reaches values of up to 35%, while the exergetic efficiency only accounting for the conversion of chemical fuel to electricity (and neglecting the 'cost-free' solar input) is increased up to 59%. At the same time, an electrical power density per irradiated area of more than 920 W m -2 is obtained for a solar heat flux of 1000 W m -2.

  20. Hydrogen fueling stations in Japan hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koseki, K.; Tomuro, J.; Sato, H.; Maruyama, S.

    2004-01-01

    A new national demonstration project of fuel cell vehicles, which is called Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project (JHFC Project), has started in FY2002 on a four-year plan. In this new project, ten hydrogen fueling stations have been constructed in Tokyo and Kanagawa area in FY2002-2003. The ten stations adopt the following different types of fuel and fueling methods: LPG reforming, methanol reforming, naphtha reforming, desulfurized-gasoline reforming, kerosene reforming, natural gas reforming, water electrolysis, liquid hydrogen, by-product hydrogen, and commercially available cylinder hydrogen. Approximately fifty fuel cell passenger cars and a fuel cell bus are running on public roads using these stations. In addition, two hydrogen stations will be constructed in FY2004 in Aichi prefecture where The 2005 World Exposition (EXPO 2005) will be held. The stations will service eight fuel cell buses used as pick-up buses for visitors. We, Engineering Advancement Association of Japan (ENAA), are commissioned to construct and operate a total of twelve stations by Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI). We are executing to demonstrate or identify the energy-saving effect, reduction of the environmental footprint, and issues for facilitating the acceptance of hydrogen stations on the basis of the data obtained from the operation of the stations. (author)

  1. Methane Steam Reforming over an Ni-YSZ Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode in Stack Configuration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, David; Grunwaldt, Jan-Dierk; Hendriksen, Peter Vang

    2014-01-01

    The kinetics of catalytic steam reforming of methane over an Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been investigated with the cell placed in a stack configuration. In order to decrease the degree of conversion, a single cell stack with reduced area was used. Measurements were...

  2. A thermally self-sustained micro-power plant with integrated micro-solid oxide fuel cells, micro-reformer and functional micro-fluidic carrier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherrer, Barbara; Evans, Anna; Santis-Alvarez, Alejandro J.; Jiang, Bo; Martynczuk, Julia; Galinski, Henning; Nabavi, Majid; Prestat, Michel; Tölke, René; Bieberle-Hütter, Anja; Poulikakos, Dimos; Muralt, Paul; Niedermann, Philippe; Dommann, Alex; Maeder, Thomas; Heeb, Peter; Straessle, Valentin; Muller, Claude; Gauckler, Ludwig J.

    2014-07-01

    Low temperature micro-solid oxide fuel cell (micro-SOFC) systems are an attractive alternative power source for small-size portable electronic devices due to their high energy efficiency and density. Here, we report on a thermally self-sustainable reformer-micro-SOFC assembly. The device consists of a micro-reformer bonded to a silicon chip containing 30 micro-SOFC membranes and a functional glass carrier with gas channels and screen-printed heaters for start-up. Thermal independence of the device from the externally powered heater is achieved by exothermic reforming reactions above 470 °C. The reforming reaction and the fuel gas flow rate of the n-butane/air gas mixture controls the operation temperature and gas composition on the micro-SOFC membrane. In the temperature range between 505 °C and 570 °C, the gas composition after the micro-reformer consists of 12 vol.% to 28 vol.% H2. An open-circuit voltage of 1.0 V and maximum power density of 47 mW cm-2 at 565 °C is achieved with the on-chip produced hydrogen at the micro-SOFC membranes.

  3. Experimental characterization and modeling of an ethanol steam reformer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandø, Matthias; Bovo, Mirko; Nielsen, Mads Pagh

    2006-01-01

    This work describes the characterization of an ethanol reforming system for a high temperature PEM fuel cell system. High temperature PEM fuel cells are well suited for operation on reformate gas due to the superior CO tolerance compared with low temperature PEM. Steam reforming of liquid biofuels...

  4. A low-temperature partial-oxidation-methanol micro reformer with high fuel conversion rate and hydrogen production yield

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Hsueh-Sheng; Huang, Kuo-Yang; Huang, Yuh-Jeen; Su, Yu-Chuan; Tseng, Fan-Gang

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A low-operating temperature of the POM-mode micro methanol reformer is obtained. • The effect of channel design on the performance is studied. • The effect of solid content and binder’ ratio on the performance is studied. • The centrifugal process is benefit for the modification of performance. • 98% of methanol conversion rate of the micro reformer can be obtained at 180 °C. - Abstract: A partial oxidation methanol micro reformer (POM-μReformer) with finger-shaped channels for low operating temperature and high conversing efficiency is proposed in this study. The micro reformer employs POM reaction for low temperature operation (less than 200 °C), exothermic reaction, and quick start-up, as well as air feeding capability; and the finger type reaction chambers for increasing catalyst loading as well as reaction area for performance enhancement. In this study, centrifugal technique was introduced to assist on the catalyst loading with high amount and uniform distribution. The solid content (S), binder’s ratio (B), and channel design (the ratio between channel’s length and width, R) were investigated in detail to optimize the design parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), gas chromatography (GC), and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) were employed to analyze the performance of the POM-μReformer. The result depicted that the catalyst content and reactive area could be much improved at the optimized condition, and the conversion rate and hydrogen selectivity approached 97.9% and 97.4%, respectively, at a very low operating temperature of 180 °C with scarce or no binder in catalyst. The POM-μReformer can supply hydrogen to fuel cells by generating 2.23 J/min for 80% H 2 utilization and 60% fuel cell efficiency at 2 ml/min of supplied reactant gas, including methanol, oxygen and argon at a mixing ratio of 12.2%, 6.1% and 81.7%, respectively

  5. Control and Experimental Characterization of a Methanol Reformer for a 350 W High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Jensen, Hans-Christian Becker

    , i.e. cathode and anode gas flows and temperature by using mass flow controllers and controlled heaters. Using this system the methanol reformer is characterized in its different operating points, both steady-state but also dynamically. Methanol steam reforming is a well known process, and provides...... and burner and the behaviour of the CO concentration of the reformate gas....... the high temperature waste gas from a cathode air cooled 45 cell HTPEM fuel cell stack. The MEAs used are BASF P2100 which use phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole type membranes; an MEA with high CO tolerance and no complex humidity requirements. The methanol reformer used is integrated into a compact...

  6. Development, investigation and modelling of a micro reformer as part of a system for off-grid power supply with PEM fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rochlitz, Lisbeth

    2008-11-18

    In this thesis a micro reformer fuel cell system ({mu}RFCS) for 300 Wel off-grid power supply, fuelled with bioethanol, was simulated, designed, developed and investigated in a test-rig. First a literature study was carried through to point out the specific characteristics of micro reforming, the most important being heat transfer, and present the systems currently under research and already on the market. As a next step, the processes of the RFCS were simulated with the commercial simulation tool CHEMCAD. This comprised thermodynamic equilibrium simulations for the separate reactions of steam reforming, water gas shift and selective methanation. It also included a simulation of the complete {mu}RFCS with thermodynamic equilibrium for all reactors and assumed values for heat loss and fuel cell efficiency. The resulting net electrical efficiency was 24%. As a third step, a reaction pathway scheme with parallel and serial reactions for the steam reforming reaction of ethanol was simulated, developed, evaluated and proven plausible by matching the simulation to experimental results obtained in the {mu}RFCS test rig. The equilibrium simulations were used to evaluate the catalyst screening carried through for reformer, water gas shift and selective methanation catalysts. The catalysts for the {mu}RFCS were chosen and the optimum operating conditions determined by the screening tests. Having accomplished the simulation and design of the system, the largest proportion of this work was spent on the construction, set-up, testing and evaluation of the complete {mu}RFCS. The focus for the evaluations lay on the reformer side of the system. The technical feasibility was demonstrated for an ethanol/water mix of 3 ml/min at S/C 3. The first tests without optimized heat and water management between the reformer system and the fuel cell system resulted in power output of around 115 W{sub el}, at a total electrical efficiency of 31%. (orig.)

  7. Session 4: The influence of elementary heterogeneous reforming chemistry within solid-oxide fuel cell anodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, H.; Kee, R.J. [Engineering Division, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Janardhanan, V.M.; Deutschmann, O. [Karlsruhe Univ., Institute for Chemical Technology (Germany); Goodwin, D.G. [Engineering and Applied Science., California Inst. of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States); Sullivan, N.P. [ITN Energy Systems, Littleton, CO (United States)

    2004-07-01

    In the work presented a computational model is developed that represents the coupled effects of fluid flow in fuel channels, porous media transport and chemistry in the anode, and electrochemistry associated with the membrane-electrode assembly. An important objective is to explore the role of heterogeneous chemistry within the anode. In addition to cell electrical performance the chemistry model predicts important behaviors like catalyst-fouling deposit formation (i.e., coking). The model is applied to investigate alternative fuel-cell operating conditions, including varying fuel flow rates, adding air to the fuel stream, and recirculating exhaust gases. Results include assessments of performance metrics like fuel utilization, cell efficiency, power density, and catalyst coking. The model shows that 'direct electrochemical oxidation' of hydrocarbon fuels in solid-oxide fuel cells can be explained by a process that involves reforming the fuel to H{sub 2}, with hydrogen being the only species responsible for charge exchange. The model can be applied to investigate alternative design and operating conditions, seeking to improve the overall performance. (O.M.)

  8. Modeling and control of the output current of a Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Pasupathi, Sivakumar

    2015-01-01

    In this work, a dynamic Matlab SIMULINK model of the relationship between the fuel cell current set point of a Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell system and the output current of the system is developed. The model contains an estimated fuel cell model, based on a polarization curve and assumed first order...... dynamics, as well as a battery model based on an equivalent circuit model and a balance of plant power consumption model. The models are tuned with experimental data and verified using a verification data set. The model is used to develop an output current controller which can control the charge current...... of the battery. The controller is a PI controller with feedforward and anti-windup. The performance of the controller is tested and verified on the physical system....

  9. Thermodynamic analysis of carbon formation in solid oxide fuel cells with a direct internal reformer fueled by ethanol, methanol, and methane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laosiripojana, N.; Assabumrungrat, S.; Pavarajarn, V.; Sangtongkitcharoen, W.; Tangjitmatee, A.; Praserthdam, P.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' This paper concerns a detailed thermodynamic analysis of carbon formation for a Direct Internal Reformer (DIR) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC). The modeling of DIR-SOFC fueled by ethanol, methanol, and methane were compared. Two types of fuel cell electrolytes, i.e. oxygen-conducting and hydrogen-conducting, are considered. Equilibrium calculations were performed to find the ranges of inlet steam/fuel ratio where carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavorable in the temperature range of 500-1200 K. It was found that the key parameters determining the boundary of carbon formation are temperature, type of solid electrolyte and extent of the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen. The minimum requirements of H2O/fuel ratio for each type of fuel in which the carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavored were compared. At the same operating conditions, DIR-SOFC fueled by ethanol required the lowest inlet H2O/fuel ratio in which the carbon formation is thermodynamically unfavored. The requirement decreased with increasing temperature for all three fuels. Comparison between two types of the electrolytes reveals that the hydrogen-conducting electrolyte is impractical for use, regarding to the tendency of carbon formation. This is due mainly to the water formed by the electrochemical reaction at the electrodes. (author)

  10. Biogas Catalytic Reforming Studies on Nickel-Based Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johnson, Gregory B.; Hjalmarsson, Per; Norrman, Kion

    2016-01-01

    Heterogeneous catalysis studies were conducted on two crushed solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes in fixed-bed reactors. The baseline anode was Ni/ScYSZ (Ni/scandia and yttria stabilized zirconia), the other was Ni/ScYSZ modified with Pd/doped ceria (Ni/ScYSZ/Pd-CGO). Three main types......-programmed oxidation and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. Results showed thatNi/ScYSZ/Pd-CGO was more active for catalytic dissociation of CH4 at 750°C and subsequent reactivity of deposited carbonaceous species. Sulfur deactivated most catalytic reactions except CO2 dissociation at 750°C. The presence...... of Pd-CGO helped to mitigate sulfur deactivation effect; e.g. lowering the onset temperature (up to 190°C) for CH4 conversion during temperature-programmed reactions. Both Ni/ScYSZ and Ni/ScYSZ/Pd-CGO anode catalysts were more active for dry reforming of biogas than they were for steam reforming...

  11. Liquid and Gaseous Fuel from Waste Plastics by Sequential Pyrolysis and Catalytic Reforming Processes over Indonesian Natural Zeolite Catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mochamad Syamsiro

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the performance of several differently treated natural zeolites in a sequential pyrolysis and catalytic reforming of plastic materials i.e. polypropylene (PP and polystyrene (PS were investigated. The experiments were carried out on two stage reactor using semi-batch system. The samples were degraded at 500°C in the pyrolysis reactor and then reformed at 450°C in the catalytic reformer. The results show that the mordenite-type natural zeolites could be used as efficient catalysts for the conversion of PP and PS into liquid and gaseous fuel. The treatment of natural zeolites in HCl solution showed an increase of the surface area and the Si/Al ratio while nickel impregnation increased the activity of catalyst. As a result, liquid product was reduced while gaseous product was increased. For PP, the fraction of gasoline (C5-C12 increased in the presence of catalysts. Natural zeolite catalysts could also be used to decrease the heavy oil fraction (>C20. The gaseous products were found that propene was dominated in all conditions. For PS, propane and propene were the main components of gases in the presence of nickel impregnated natural zeolite catalyst. Propene was dominated in pyrolysis over natural zeolite catalyst. The high quality of gaseous product can be used as a fuel either for driving gas engines or for dual-fuel diesel engine.

  12. Applications of solar reforming technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spiewak, I. [Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovoth (Israel); Tyner, C.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Langnickel, U. [Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Koeln (Germany)

    1993-11-01

    Research in recent years has demonstrated the efficient use of solar thermal energy for driving endothermic chemical reforming reactions in which hydrocarbons are reacted to form synthesis gas (syngas). Closed-loop reforming/methanation systems can be used for storage and transport of process heat and for short-term storage for peaking power generation. Open-loop systems can be used for direct fuel production; for production of syngas feedstock for further processing to specialty chemicals and plastics and bulk ammonia, hydrogen, and liquid fuels; and directly for industrial processes such as iron ore reduction. In addition, reforming of organic chemical wastes and hazardous materials can be accomplished using the high-efficiency destruction capabilities of steam reforming. To help identify the most promising areas for future development of this technology, we discuss in this paper the economics and market potential of these applications.

  13. Fossil fuel subsidy reform in the WTO : Options for constraining dual pricing in the multilateral trading system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marhold, Anna

    2017-01-01

    Fossil fuel subsidies harm the environment, add to health hazards caused by air pollution, and delay the energy transition. Scholars and practitioners have therefore been exploring ways to reform and eliminate them. This paper discusses the practice of energy dual pricing in the broader context of

  14. Energy Analysis in Combined Reforming of Propane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Moon

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Combined (steam and CO2 reforming is one of the methods to produce syngas for different applications. An energy requirement analysis of steam reforming to dry reforming with intermediate steps of steam reduction and equivalent CO2 addition to the feed fuel for syngas generation has been done to identify condition for optimum process operation. Thermodynamic equilibrium data for combined reforming was generated for temperature range of 400–1000°C at 1 bar pressure and combined oxidant (CO2 + H2O stream to propane (fuel ratio of 3, 6, and 9 by employing the Gibbs free energy minimization algorithm of HSC Chemistry software 5.1. Total energy requirement including preheating and reaction enthalpy calculations were done using the equilibrium product composition. Carbon and methane formation was significantly reduced in combined reforming than pure dry reforming, while the energy requirements were lower than pure steam reforming. Temperatures of minimum energy requirement were found in the data analysis of combined reforming which were optimum for the process.

  15. Modeling of electrochemistry and steam-methane reforming performance for simulating pressurized solid oxide fuel cell stacks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Recknagle, Kurtis P.; Ryan, Emily M.; Koeppel, Brian J.; Mahoney, Lenna A.; Khaleel, Moe A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352 (United States)

    2010-10-01

    This paper examines the electrochemical and direct internal steam-methane reforming performance of the solid oxide fuel cell when subjected to pressurization. Pressurized operation boosts the Nernst potential and decreases the activation polarization, both of which serve to increase cell voltage and power while lowering the heat load and operating temperature. A model considering the activation polarization in both the fuel and the air electrodes was adopted to address this effect on the electrochemical performance. The pressurized methane conversion kinetics and the increase in equilibrium methane concentration are considered in a new rate expression. The models were then applied in simulations to predict how the distributions of direct internal reforming rate, temperature, and current density are effected within stacks operating at elevated pressure. A generic 10 cm counter-flow stack model was created and used for the simulations of pressurized operation. The predictions showed improved thermal and electrical performance with increased operating pressure. The average and maximum cell temperatures decreased by 3% (20 C) while the cell voltage increased by 9% as the operating pressure was increased from 1 to 10 atm. (author)

  16. Design, fabrication and performance evaluation of an integrated reformed methanol fuel cell for portable use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shubin; Zhang, Yufeng; Chen, Junyu; Yin, Congwen; Liu, Xiaowei

    2018-06-01

    In this paper, an integrated reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC) as a portable power source is designed, fabricated and tested. The RMFC consists of a methanol steam reformer (MSR), a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) stack, a microcontroller unit (MCU) and other auxiliaries. First, a system model based on Matlab/Simulink is established to investigate the mass and energy transport characteristics within the whole system. The simulation results suggest a hydrogen flow rate of at least 670 sccm is needed for the system to output 30 W and simultaneously maintain thermal equilibrium. Second, a metallic MSR and an HT-PEMFC stack with 12 cells are fabricated and tested. The tests show that the RMFC system is able to function normally when the performances of all the components meet the minimum requirements. At last, in the experiment of successfully powering a laptop, the RMFC system exhibits a stable performance during the complete work flow of all the phases, namely start-up, output and shutdown. Moreover, with a conservative design of 20 W power rating, maximum energy conversion efficiency of the RMFC system can be achieved (36%), and good stability in long-term operation is shown.

  17. Method for generating hydrogen for fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Shabbir; Lee, Sheldon H. D.; Carter, John David; Krumpelt, Michael

    2004-03-30

    A method of producing a H.sub.2 rich gas stream includes supplying an O.sub.2 rich gas, steam, and fuel to an inner reforming zone of a fuel processor that includes a partial oxidation catalyst and a steam reforming catalyst or a combined partial oxidation and stream reforming catalyst. The method also includes contacting the O.sub.2 rich gas, steam, and fuel with the partial oxidation catalyst and the steam reforming catalyst or the combined partial oxidation and stream reforming catalyst in the inner reforming zone to generate a hot reformate stream. The method still further includes cooling the hot reformate stream in a cooling zone to produce a cooled reformate stream. Additionally, the method includes removing sulfur-containing compounds from the cooled reformate stream by contacting the cooled reformate stream with a sulfur removal agent. The method still further includes contacting the cooled reformate stream with a catalyst that converts water and carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and H.sub.2 in a water-gas-shift zone to produce a final reformate stream in the fuel processor.

  18. Investigations on autothermal reforming of kerosene Jet A-1 for supplying solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC); Untersuchungen zur autothermen Reformierung von Kerosin Jet A-1 zur Versorgung oxidkeramischer Festelektrolyt-Brennstoffzellen (SOFC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lenz, B.

    2007-01-25

    The auxiliary power unit of commercial aircraft is a gas turbine producing electric power with an efficiency of 18 %. This APU can be replaced by a fuel cell system, consisting of an autothermal kerosene reformer and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The fuel is kerosene Jet A-1. The autothermal reforming of Jet A-1 is practically investigated under variation of steam-to-carbon-ratio, air ratio, space velocity, time in operation and reactor pressure on commercial catalysts. Using stationary system simulation the thermodynamic processes of the device is investigated. Finally, the autothermal reformer and the SOFC consisting of 14 cells are coupled. During this test series, I-V-characteristics are measured, fuel utilisation is calculated and the self-sufficient system operation is shown. (orig.)

  19. Steam reforming of commercial ultra-low sulphur diesel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boon, J.; Van Dijk, E.; De Munck, S.; Van den Brink, R. [Energy research Centre of The Netherlands, ECN Hydrogen and Clean Fossil Fuels, P.O. Box 1, NL1755ZG Petten (Netherlands)

    2011-03-11

    Two main routes for small-scale diesel steam reforming exist: low-temperature pre-reforming followed by well-established methane steam reforming on the one hand and direct steam reforming on the other hand. Tests with commercial catalysts and commercially obtained diesel fuels are presented for both processes. The fuels contained up to 6.5 ppmw sulphur and up to 4.5 vol.% of biomass-derived fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Pre-reforming sulphur-free diesel at around 475C has been tested with a commercial nickel catalyst for 118 h without observing catalyst deactivation, at steam-to-carbon ratios as low as 2.6. Direct steam reforming at temperatures up to 800C has been tested with a commercial precious metal catalyst for a total of 1190 h with two catalyst batches at steam-to-carbon ratios as low as 2.5. Deactivation was neither observed with lower steam-to-carbon ratios nor for increasing sulphur concentration. The importance of good fuel evaporation and mixing for correct testing of catalysts is illustrated. Diesel containing biodiesel components resulted in poor spray quality, hence poor mixing and evaporation upstream, eventually causing decreasing catalyst performance. The feasibility of direct high temperature steam reforming of commercial low-sulphur diesel has been demonstrated.

  20. Steam reforming of commercial ultra-low sulphur diesel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boon, Jurriaan; van Dijk, Eric; de Munck, Sander; van den Brink, Ruud

    Two main routes for small-scale diesel steam reforming exist: low-temperature pre-reforming followed by well-established methane steam reforming on the one hand and direct steam reforming on the other hand. Tests with commercial catalysts and commercially obtained diesel fuels are presented for both processes. The fuels contained up to 6.5 ppmw sulphur and up to 4.5 vol.% of biomass-derived fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Pre-reforming sulphur-free diesel at around 475 °C has been tested with a commercial nickel catalyst for 118 h without observing catalyst deactivation, at steam-to-carbon ratios as low as 2.6. Direct steam reforming at temperatures up to 800 °C has been tested with a commercial precious metal catalyst for a total of 1190 h with two catalyst batches at steam-to-carbon ratios as low as 2.5. Deactivation was neither observed with lower steam-to-carbon ratios nor for increasing sulphur concentration. The importance of good fuel evaporation and mixing for correct testing of catalysts is illustrated. Diesel containing biodiesel components resulted in poor spray quality, hence poor mixing and evaporation upstream, eventually causing decreasing catalyst performance. The feasibility of direct high temperature steam reforming of commercial low-sulphur diesel has been demonstrated.

  1. A natural-gas fuel processor for a residential fuel cell system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adachi, H.; Ahmed, S.; Lee, S. H. D.; Papadias, D.; Ahluwalia, R. K.; Bendert, J. C.; Kanner, S. A.; Yamazaki, Y.

    A system model was used to develop an autothermal reforming fuel processor to meet the targets of 80% efficiency (higher heating value) and start-up energy consumption of less than 500 kJ when operated as part of a 1-kWe natural-gas fueled fuel cell system for cogeneration of heat and power. The key catalytic reactors of the fuel processor - namely the autothermal reformer, a two-stage water gas shift reactor and a preferential oxidation reactor - were configured and tested in a breadboard apparatus. Experimental results demonstrated a reformate containing ∼48% hydrogen (on a dry basis and with pure methane as fuel) and less than 5 ppm CO. The effects of steam-to-carbon and part load operations were explored.

  2. Technoeconomic analysis of jet fuel production from hydrolysis, decarboxylation, and reforming of camelina oil

    KAUST Repository

    Natelson, Robert H.; Wang, Weicheng; Roberts, William L.; Zering, Kelly D.

    2015-01-01

    The commercial production of jet fuel from camelina oil via hydrolysis, decarboxylation, and reforming was simulated. The refinery was modeled as being close to the farms for reduced camelina transport cost. A refinery with annual nameplate capacity of 76,000 cubic meters hydrocarbons was modeled. Assuming average camelina production conditions and oil extraction modeling from the literature, the cost of oil was 0.31$kg-1. To accommodate one harvest per year, a refinery with 1 year oil storage capacity was designed, with the total refinery costing 283 million dollars in 2014 USD. Assuming co-products are sold at predicted values, the jet fuel break-even selling price was 0.80$kg-1. The model presents baseline technoeconomic data that can be used for more comprehensive financial and risk modeling of camelina jet fuel production. Decarboxylation was compared to the commercially proven hydrotreating process. The model illustrated the importance of refinery location relative to farms and hydrogen production site.

  3. Technoeconomic analysis of jet fuel production from hydrolysis, decarboxylation, and reforming of camelina oil

    KAUST Repository

    Natelson, Robert H.

    2015-04-01

    The commercial production of jet fuel from camelina oil via hydrolysis, decarboxylation, and reforming was simulated. The refinery was modeled as being close to the farms for reduced camelina transport cost. A refinery with annual nameplate capacity of 76,000 cubic meters hydrocarbons was modeled. Assuming average camelina production conditions and oil extraction modeling from the literature, the cost of oil was 0.31$kg-1. To accommodate one harvest per year, a refinery with 1 year oil storage capacity was designed, with the total refinery costing 283 million dollars in 2014 USD. Assuming co-products are sold at predicted values, the jet fuel break-even selling price was 0.80$kg-1. The model presents baseline technoeconomic data that can be used for more comprehensive financial and risk modeling of camelina jet fuel production. Decarboxylation was compared to the commercially proven hydrotreating process. The model illustrated the importance of refinery location relative to farms and hydrogen production site.

  4. In-situ study of the gas-phase composition and temperature of an intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell anode surface fed by reformate natural gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santoni, F.; Silva Mosqueda, D. M.; Pumiglia, D.; Viceconti, E.; Conti, B.; Boigues Muñoz, C.; Bosio, B.; Ulgiati, S.; McPhail, S. J.

    2017-12-01

    An innovative experimental setup is used for in-depth and in-operando characterization of solid oxide fuel cell anodic processes. This work focuses on the heterogeneous reactions taking place on a 121 cm2 anode-supported cell (ASC) running with a H2, CH4, CO2, CO and steam gas mixture as a fuel, using an operating temperature of 923 K. The results have been obtained by analyzing the gas composition and temperature profiles along the anode surface in different conditions: open circuit voltage (OCV) and under two different current densities, 165 mA cm-2 and 330 mA cm-2, corresponding to 27% and 54% of fuel utilization, respectively. The gas composition and temperature analysis results are consistent, allowing to monitor the evolution of the principal chemical and electrochemical reactions along the anode surface. A possible competition between CO2 and H2O in methane internal reforming is shown under OCV condition and low current density values, leading to two different types of methane reforming: Steam Reforming and Dry Reforming. Under a current load of 40 A, the dominance of exothermic reactions leads to a more marked increase of temperature in the portion of the cell close to the inlet revealing that current density is not uniform along the anode surface.

  5. Comparison of high-temperature and low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems with glycerol reforming process for stationary applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Authayanun, Suthida; Mamlouk, Mohamed; Scott, Keith; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • PEMFC systems with a glycerol steam reformer for stationary application are studied. • Performance of HT-PEMFC and LT-PEMFC systems is compared. • HT-PEMFC system shows good performance over LT-PEMFC system at a high current density. • HT-PEMFC system with water gas shift reactor shows the highest system efficiency. • Heat integration can improve the efficiency of HT-PEMFC system. - Abstract: A high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) has a major advantage over a low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (LT-PEMFC) demonstrated by a tolerance to a higher CO content in the hydrogen feed and thus a simpler fuel processing. In this study, a direct comparison between the performance of HT-PEMFC and LT-PEMFC systems integrated with a glycerol steam reformer with and without a water gas shift reactor is shown. Under pure hydrogen operation, the LT-PEMFC performance is superior to the HT-PEMFC. However, the HT-PEMFC system shows good performance over the LT-PEMFC system when operated under high current density and high pressure (3 atm) and using the reformate gas derived from the glycerol processor as fuel. At high current density, the high concentration of CO is the major limitation for the operation of HT-PEMFC system without water gas shift reactor, whereas the LT-PEMFC suffers from CO poisoning and restricted oxygen mass transport. Considering the system efficiency with co-heat and power generation, the HT-PEMFC system with water gas shift reactor shows the highest overall system efficiency (approximately 60%) and therefore one of the most suitable technologies for stationary applications

  6. Exergy analysis of the biogas sorption-enhanced chemical looping reforming process integrated with a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kasemanand, Sarunyou; Im-orb, Karittha; Tippawan, Phanicha; Wiyaratn, Wisitsree; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A biogas reforming and fuel cell integrated process is considered. • Energy and exergy analyses of the integrated process are performed. • Increasing the nickel oxide-to-biogas ratio decreases the exergy efficiency. • The exergy destruction of the fuel cell increases with increasing cell temperature. • The exergy efficiency of the process is improved when heat integration is applied. - Abstract: A biogas sorption-enhanced chemical looping reforming process integrated with a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell is analyzed. Modeling of such an integrated process is performed by using a flowsheet simulator (Aspen plus). The exergy analysis is performed to evaluate the energy utilization efficiency of each unit and that of the integrated process. The effect of steam and nickel oxide to biogas ratios on the exergetic performance of the stand-alone biogas sorption-enhanced chemical looping reforming process is investigated. The total exergy destruction increases as the steam or nickel oxide to biogas ratio increases. The main exergy destruction is found at the air reactor. For the high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the main exergy destruction is found at the cathode. The total exergy destruction increases when cell temperature increases, whereas the inverse effect is found when the current density is considered as a key parameter. Regarding the exergy efficiency, the results show opposite trend to the exergy destruction. The heat integration analysis is performed to improve the exergetic performance. It is found that the integrated process including the heat integration system can improve the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of 48% and 60%, respectively.

  7. Development of a 400 W High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Power Pack

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schaltz, Erik; Jespersen, Jesper Lebæk; Rasmussen, Peter Omand

    2006-01-01

    reformer design because CO removal is not needed. A fuel like methanol would be a preferable choice for reforming when using HTPEM fuel cells because of its high energy density and low reforming temperatures. The thermal integration and use of HTPEM fuel cells with methanol reformers show promising results......When using pressurized hydrogen to fuel a fuel cell, much space is needed for fuel storage. This is undesirable especially with mobile or portable fuel cell systems, where refuelling also often is inconvenient. Using a reformed liquid carbonhydrate can reduce this fuel volume considerably. Nafion...... based low temperature PEM (LTPEM) fuel cells are very intolerant to reformate gas because of the presence of CO. PBI based high temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cells can operate stable at much higher CO concentrations. This makes the HTPEM very suitable for applications using a reformer, and could simplify...

  8. Hydrogen production by reforming of fossil and biomass fuels accompanied by carbon dioxide capture process is the energy source for the near future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aboudheir, Ahmed; Idem, Raphael; Tontiwachwuthikul, Paitoon; Wilson, Malcolm; Kambietz, Lionel

    2006-01-01

    Hydrogen has a significant future potential as an alternative energy source for the transportation sector as well as in residential homes and offices, H 2 in fuel cell power systems provides an alternative to direct fossil fuel and biomass combustion based technologies and offer the possibility for a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission based on improved H 2 yield per unit of fossil fuel and biomass, compatibility with renewable energies and motivation to convert to a H 2 -based energy economy. Several practical techniques for H 2 production to service H 2 refuelling stations as well as homes and offices, all of which need to be located at the end of the energy distribution network, include: (1) the carbon dioxide reforming of natural gas; (2) reforming of gasoline; (3) reforming of crude ethanol. Locating the H 2 production at the end of the energy distribution network solves the well-known problems of metal fatigue and high cost of H 2 compression for long distance transportation if H 2 is produced in a large centralized plant. In addition, the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and the need to reduce emissions of CO 2 to the atmosphere has prompted the capture and utilization of the CO 2 produced from the reforming process. In this research: (1) new efficient catalysts for each reforming process was developed; (2) a new efficient catalyst for our version of the water gas shift reaction to convert carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide was developed; (3) a new membrane separation process for production of high purity, fuel cell-grade H 2 was designed; (4) a numerical model for optimum process design and optimum utilization of resources both at the laboratory and industrial scales was developed; (5) various processes for CO 2 capture were investigated experimentally in order to achieve a net improvement in the absorption process; (6) the utilization of captured CO 2 for enhanced oil recovery and/or storage in an aging oil field were investigated; (7

  9. Reforming processes for micro combined heat and powersystem based on solid oxide fuel cell

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liso, Vincenzo; Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2009-01-01

    Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a promising technology for decentralized power generation and cogeneration. This technology has several advantages: the high electric efficiency, which can be theoretically improved through integration in power cycles; the low emissions; and the possibility of using...... a large variety of gaseous fuels. The high operating temperature (700-1000°C) of SOFCs has a number of consequences, the most important of which are the possibility to partially reform the raw fuel in the fuel cell anode compartment and the possibility to use high quality heat for cogeneration....... In this work, different configurations of SOFC systems for decentralized electricity production are considered and studied. The balance of plant (BoP) components will be identified including fuel and air supply, fuel management, start-up steam, anode re-circulation, exhaust gas heat management, power...

  10. Vapor Delivery Systems for the Study of the Effects of Reformate Gas Impurities in HT-PEM Fuel Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Araya, Samuel Simon; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Andreasen, Søren Juhl

    2011-01-01

    , impurities in the reformate gas produced from methanol steam reforming can affect the performance and durability of fuel cells. In this paper different vapor delivery systems, intended to assist in the study of the effects of some of the impurities, are described and compared with each other. A system based...... on a pump and electrically heated evaporator was found to be more suitable for the typical flow rates involved in the anode feed of an H3PO4/PBI based HT-PEMFC unit cell assembly. Test stations composed of vapor delivery systems and mass flow controllers for testing the effects of methanol slip, water vapor...

  11. Selective catalytic oxidation: a new catalytic approach to the desulfurization of natural gas and liquid petroleum gas for fuel cell reformer applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampert, J.

    In both natural gas and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), sulfur degrades the performance of the catalysts used in fuel reformers and fuel cells. In order to improve system performance, the sulfur must be removed to concentrations of less than 200 ppbv (in many applications to less than 20 ppbv) before the fuel reforming operation. Engelhard Corporation presents a unique approach to the desulfurization of natural gas and LPG. This new method catalytically converts the organic and inorganic sulfur species to sulfur oxides. The sulfur oxides are then adsorbed on a high capacity adsorbent. The sulfur compounds in the fuel are converted to sulfur oxides by combining the fuel with a small amount of air. The mixture is then heated from 250 to 270 °C, and contacted with a monolith supported sulfur tolerant catalyst at atmospheric pressure. When Engelhard Corporation demonstrated this catalytic approach in the laboratory, the result showed sulfur breakthrough to be less than 10 ppbv in the case of natural gas, and less than 150 ppbv for LPG. We used a simulated natural gas and LPG mixture, doped with a 50-170 ppmv sulfur compound containing equal concentrations of COS, ethylmercaptan, dimethylsulfide, methylethylsulfide and tetrahydrothiophene. There is no need for recycled H 2 as in the case for hydrodesulfurization.

  12. Development of a coupled reactor with a catalytic combustor and steam reformer for a 5 kW solid oxide fuel cell system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Sanggyu; Lee, Kanghun; Yu, Sangseok; Lee, Sang Min; Ahn, Kook-Young

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Proposes the scale-up strategy to develop a large-scale coupled reactor. • Investigation of performance of steam reformer coupled with catalytic combustor. • Experimental parameters are inlet temp., air excess ratio, SCR, fuel utilization. • Evaluation of the heat transfer distribution along the gas flow direction. • The mean value of methane conversion rate is approximately 93.4%. - Abstract: The methane (CH 4 ) conversion rate of a steam reformer can be increased by thermal integration with a catalytic combustor, called a coupled reactor. In the present study, a 5 kW coupled reactor has been developed based on a 1 kW coupled reactor in previous work. The geometric parameters of the space velocity, diameter and length of the coupled reactor selected from the 1 kW coupled reactor are tuned and applied to the design of the 5 kW coupled reactor. To confirm the scale-up strategy, the performance of 5 kW coupled reactor is experimentally investigated with variations of operating parameters such as the fuel utilization in the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack, the inlet temperature of the catalytic combustor, the excess air ratio of the catalytic combustor, and the steam to carbon ratio (SCR) in the steam reformer. The temperature distributions of coupled reactors are measured along the gas flow direction. The gas composition at the steam reformer outlet is measured to find the CH 4 conversion rate of the coupled reactor. The maximum value of the CH 4 conversion rate is approximately 93.4%, which means the proposed scale-up strategy can be utilized to develop a large-scale coupled reactor

  13. Autothermal reforming catalyst having perovskite structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krumpel, Michael [Naperville, IL; Liu, Di-Jia [Naperville, IL

    2009-03-24

    The invention addressed two critical issues in fuel processing for fuel cell application, i.e. catalyst cost and operating stability. The existing state-of-the-art fuel reforming catalyst uses Rh and platinum supported over refractory oxide which add significant cost to the fuel cell system. Supported metals agglomerate under elevated temperature during reforming and decrease the catalyst activity. The catalyst is a perovskite oxide or a Ruddlesden-Popper type oxide containing rare-earth elements, catalytically active firs row transition metal elements, and stabilizing elements, such that the catalyst is a single phase in high temperature oxidizing conditions and maintains a primarily perovskite or Ruddlesden-Popper structure under high temperature reducing conditions. The catalyst can also contain alkaline earth dopants, which enhance the catalytic activity of the catalyst, but do not compromise the stability of the perovskite structure.

  14. Experimental Evaluation of SI Engine Operation Supplemented by Hydrogen Rich Gas from a Compact Plasma Boosted Reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    J. B. Green, Jr.; N. Domingo; J. M. E. Storey; R.M. Wagner; J.S. Armfield; L. Bromberg; D. R. Cohn; A. Rabinovich; N. Alexeev

    2000-01-01

    It is well known that hydrogen addition to spark-ignited (SI) engines can reduce exhaust emissions and increase efficiency. Micro plasmatron fuel converters can be used for onboard generation of hydrogen-rich gas by partial oxidation of a wide range of fuels. These plasma-boosted microreformers are compact, rugged, and provide rapid response. With hydrogen supplement to the main fuel, SI engines can run very lean resulting in a large reduction in nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions relative to stoichiometric combustion without a catalytic converter. This paper presents experimental results from a microplasmatron fuel converter operating under variable oxygen to carbon ratios. Tests have also been carried out to evaluate the effect of the addition of a microplasmatron fuel converter generated gas in a 1995 2.3-L four-cylinder SI production engine. The tests were performed with and without hydrogen-rich gas produced by the plasma boosted fuel converter with gasoline. A one hundred fold reduction in NO x due to very lean operation was obtained under certain conditions. An advantage of onboard plasma-boosted generation of hydrogen-rich gas is that it is used only when required and can be readily turned on and off. Substantial NO x reduction should also be obtainable by heavy exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) facilitated by use of hydrogen-rich gas with stoichiometric operation

  15. A survey of processes for producing hydrogen fuel from different sources for automotive-propulsion fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, L.F.

    1996-03-01

    Seven common fuels are compared for their utility as hydrogen sources for proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells used in automotive propulsion. Methanol, natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation jet fuel, ethanol, and hydrogen are the fuels considered. Except for the steam reforming of methanol and using pure hydrogen, all processes for generating hydrogen from these fuels require temperatures over 1000 K at some point. With the same two exceptions, all processes require water-gas shift reactors of significant size. All processes require low-sulfur or zero-sulfur fuels, and this may add cost to some of them. Fuels produced by steam reforming contain {approximately}70-80% hydrogen, those by partial oxidation {approximately}35-45%. The lower percentages may adversely affect cell performance. Theoretical input energies do not differ markedly among the various processes for generating hydrogen from organic-chemical fuels. Pure hydrogen has severe distribution and storage problems. As a result, the steam reforming of methanol is the leading candidate process for on-board generation of hydrogen for automotive propulsion. If methanol unavailability or a high price demands an alternative process, steam reforming appears preferable to partial oxidation for this purpose.

  16. Methods of reforming hydrocarbon fuels using hexaaluminate catalysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Todd H [Morgantown, WV; Berry, David A [Morgantown, WV; Shekhawat, Dushyant [Morgantown, WV

    2012-03-27

    A metal substituted hexaaluminate catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuels to synthesis gas of the general formula AB.sub.yAl.sub.12-yO.sub.19-.delta., A being selected from alkali metals, alkaline earth metals and lanthanide metals or mixtures thereof. A dopant or surface modifier selected from a transitions metal, a spinel of an oxygen-ion conductor is incorporated. The dopant may be Ca, Cs, K, La, Sr, Ba, Li, Mg, Ce, Co, Fe, Ir, Rh, Ni, Ru, Cu, Pe, Os, Pd, Cr, Mn, W, Re, Sn, Gd, V, Ti, Ag, Au, and mixtures thereof. The oxygen-ion conductor may be a perovskite selected from M'RhO.sub.3, M'PtO.sub.3, M'PdO.sub.3, M'IrO.sub.3, M'RuO.sub.3 wherein M'=Mg, Sr, Ba, La, Ca; a spinel selected from MRh.sub.2O.sub.4, MPt.sub.2O.sub.4, MPd.sub.2O.sub.4, MIr.sub.2O.sub.4, MRu.sub.2O.sub.4 wherein M=Mg, Sr, Ba, La, Ca and mixtures thereof; a florite is selected from M''O.sub.2.

  17. Fabrication of a Flexible Micro CO Sensor for Micro Reformer Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Man Lo

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Integration of a reformer and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC is problematic due to the presence in the gas from the reforming process of a slight amount of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide poisons the catalyst of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell subsequently degrading the fuel cell performance, and necessitating the sublimation of the reaction gas before supplying to fuel cells. Based on the use of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology to manufacture flexible micro CO sensors, this study elucidates the relation between a micro CO sensor and different SnO2 thin film thicknesses. Experimental results indicate that the sensitivity increases at temperatures ranging from 100–300 °C. Additionally, the best sensitivity is obtained at a specific temperature. For instance, the best sensitivity of SnO2 thin film thickness of 100 nm at 300 °C is 59.3%. Moreover, a flexible micro CO sensor is embedded into a micro reformer to determine the CO concentration in each part of a micro reformer in the future, demonstrating the inner reaction of a micro reformer in depth and immediate detection.

  18. Study on effect of plasma surface treatments for diamond deposition by DC arc plasmatron.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, In-Je; Joa, Sang-Beom; Lee, Heon-Ju

    2013-11-01

    To improve the thermal conductivity and wear resistance of ceramic materials in the field of renewable energy technologies, diamond coating by plasma processing has been carried out in recent years. This study's goal is to improve diamond deposition on Al2O3 ceramic substrates by plasma surface treatments. Before diamond deposition was carried out in a vacuum, plasma surface treatments using Ar gas were conducted to improve conditions for deposition. We also conducted plasma processing for diamond deposition on Al2O3 ceramic substrates using a DC arc Plasmatron. The Al2O3 ceramic substrates with diamond film (5 x 15 mm2), were investigated by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) and XRD (X-ray Diffractometer). Then, the C-H stretching of synthetic diamond films by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) was studied. We identified nanocrystalline diamond films on the Al2O3 ceramic substrates. The results showed us that the deposition rate of diamond films was 2.3 microm/h after plasma surface treatments. Comparing the above result with untreated ceramic substrates, the deposition rate improved with the surface roughness of the deposited diamond films.

  19. Development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) automotive auxiliary power unit (APU) fueled by gasoline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeMinco, C.; Mukerjee, S.; Grieve, J.; Faville, M.; Noetzel, J.; Perry, M.; Horvath, A.; Prediger, D.; Pastula, M.; Boersma, R.; Ghosh, D.

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes the design and the development progress of a 3 to 5 auxiliary power unit (APU) based on a gasoline fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). This fuel cell was supplied reformate gas (reactant) by a partial oxidation (POx) catalytic reformer utilizing liquid gasoline and designed by Delphi Automotive Systems. This reformate gas consists mainly of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and nitrogen and was fed directly in to the SOFC stack without any additional fuel reformer processing. The SOFC stack was developed by Global Thermoelectric and operates around 700 o C. This automotive APU produces power to support future 42 volt vehicle electrical architectures and loads. The balance of the APU, designed by Delphi Automotive Systems, employs a packaging and insulation design to facilitate installation and operation on-board automobiles. (author)

  20. Steam Reformer With Fibrous Catalytic Combustor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voecks, Gerald E.

    1987-01-01

    Proposed steam-reforming reactor derives heat from internal combustion on fibrous catalyst. Supplies of fuel and air to combustor controlled to meet demand for heat for steam-reforming reaction. Enables use of less expensive reactor-tube material by limiting temperature to value safe for material yet not so low as to reduce reactor efficiency.

  1. Catalysis in high-temperature fuel cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Föger, K; Ahmed, K

    2005-02-17

    Catalysis plays a critical role in solid oxide fuel cell systems. The electrochemical reactions within the cell--oxygen dissociation on the cathode and electrochemical fuel combustion on the anode--are catalytic reactions. The fuels used in high-temperature fuel cells, for example, natural gas, propane, or liquid hydrocarbons, need to be preprocessed to a form suitable for conversion on the anode-sulfur removal and pre-reforming. The unconverted fuel (economic fuel utilization around 85%) is commonly combusted using a catalytic burner. Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. has developed anodes that in addition to having electrochemical activity also are reactive for internal steam reforming of methane. This can simplify fuel preprocessing, but its main advantage is thermal management of the fuel cell stack by endothermic heat removal. Using this approach, the objective of fuel preprocessing is to produce a methane-rich fuel stream but with all higher hydrocarbons removed. Sulfur removal can be achieved by absorption or hydro-desulfurization (HDS). Depending on the system configuration, hydrogen is also required for start-up and shutdown. Reactor operating parameters are strongly tied to fuel cell operational regimes, thus often limiting optimization of the catalytic reactors. In this paper we discuss operation of an authothermal reforming reactor for hydrogen generation for HDS and start-up/shutdown, and development of a pre-reformer for converting propane to a methane-rich fuel stream.

  2. Solid oxide fuel cell performance comparison fueled by methane, MeOH, EtOH and gasoline surrogate C_8H_1_8

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liso, Vincenzo; Cinti, Giovanni; Nielsen, Mads P.; Desideri, Umberto

    2016-01-01

    Carbon deposition is a major cause of degradation in solid oxide fuel cell systems. The ability to predict carbon formation in reforming processes is thus absolutely necessary for stable operation of solid oxide fuel cell systems. In the open literature it is found that the steam input is always considered in large excess compared to what required by the reforming process with the purpose of reducing carbon formation and avoiding rapid degradation of the cell performance. This makes it difficult to consistently compare system performance with different fuels. In this work, the molar compositions at equilibrium are calculated for a minimum steam to carbon ratio for each fuel type. We carry out a thermodynamic analysis of fuel/steam system using Gibbs Free Energy minimization method. A mathematical relationship between Lagrange's multipliers and carbon activity in the gas phase was deduced. Minimum steam required for the reforming process for each fuel was related to the heat required for the reforming process and fuel cell open circuit voltage. Furthermore, in an experimental test, steam reforming product compositions were used to evaluate and compare SOFC performance with different hydrocarbons. Comparing the model to the experimental activity, it is revealed that at temperatures exceeding 800 °C the gas composition is dominated by hydrogen and carbon monoxide for any of the fuels considered leading to similar cell polarization curves performance for different fuels. The main effect on the performance is related to OCV values which are dependent on different steam content for each fuel. It was concluded that the magnitude of the heat requested for the fuel reforming process is the major difference in system performance when comparing different fuels. However, reforming kinetic effects can become predominant rather than thermodynamics, especially at lower temperatures.

  3. Simulation of a 250 kW diesel fuel processor/PEM fuel cell system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amphlett, J. C.; Mann, R. F.; Peppley, B. A.; Roberge, P. R.; Rodrigues, A.; Salvador, J. P.

    Polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems offer a potential power source for utility and mobile applications. Practical fuel cell systems use fuel processors for the production of hydrogen-rich gas. Liquid fuels, such as diesel or other related fuels, are attractive options as feeds to a fuel processor. The generation of hydrogen gas for fuel cells, in most cases, becomes the crucial design issue with respect to weight and volume in these applications. Furthermore, these systems will require a gas clean-up system to insure that the fuel quality meets the demands of the cell anode. The endothermic nature of the reformer will have a significant affect on the overall system efficiency. The gas clean-up system may also significantly effect the overall heat balance. To optimize the performance of this integrated system, therefore, waste heat must be used effectively. Previously, we have concentrated on catalytic methanol-steam reforming. A model of a methanol steam reformer has been previously developed and has been used as the basis for a new, higher temperature model for liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Similarly, our fuel cell evaluation program previously led to the development of a steady-state electrochemical fuel cell model (SSEM). The hydrocarbon fuel processor model and the SSEM have now been incorporated in the development of a process simulation of a 250 kW diesel-fueled reformer/fuel cell system using a process simulator. The performance of this system has been investigated for a variety of operating conditions and a preliminary assessment of thermal integration issues has been carried out. This study demonstrates the application of a process simulation model as a design analysis tool for the development of a 250 kW fuel cell system.

  4. Hydrogen as a fuel for fuel cell vehicles: A technical and economic comparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogden, J.; Steinbugler, M.; Kreutz, T. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Center for Energy and Environmental Studies

    1997-12-31

    All fuel cells currently being developed for near term use in vehicles require hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen can be stored directly or produced onboard the vehicle by reforming methanol, ethanol or hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil (e.g., Diesel, gasoline or middle distillates). The vehicle design is simpler with direct hydrogen storage, but requires developing a more complex refueling infrastructure. In this paper, the authors compare three leading options for fuel storage onboard fuel cell vehicles: compressed gas hydrogen storage; onboard steam reforming of methanol; onboard partial oxidation (POX) of hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil. Equilibrium, kinetic and heat integrated system (ASPEN) models have been developed to estimate the performance of onboard steam reforming and POX fuel processors. These results have been incorporated into a fuel cell vehicle model, allowing us to compare the vehicle performance, fuel economy, weight, and cost for various fuel storage choices and driving cycles. A range of technical and economic parameters were considered. The infrastructure requirements are also compared for gaseous hydrogen, methanol and hydrocarbon fuels from crude oil, including the added costs of fuel production, storage, distribution and refueling stations. Considering both vehicle and infrastructure issues, the authors compare hydrogen to other fuel cell vehicle fuels. Technical and economic goals for fuel cell vehicle and hydrogen technologies are discussed. Potential roles for hydrogen in the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles are sketched.

  5. Effect of different fuel options on performance of high-temperature PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Authayanun, Suthida; Saebea, Dang; Patcharavorachot, Yaneeporn; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2014-01-01

    High-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) have received substantial attention due to their high CO (carbon monoxide) tolerance and simplified water management. The hydrogen and CO fractions affect the HT-PEMFC performance and different fuel sources for hydrogen production result in different product gas compositions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the theoretical performance of HT-PEMFCs fueled by the reformate gas derived from various fuel options (i.e., methane, methanol, ethanol, and glycerol). Effects of fuel types and CO poisoning on the HT-PEMFC performance are analyzed. Furthermore, the necessity of a water-gas shift (WGS) reactor as a CO removal unit for pretreating the reformate gas is investigated for each fuel type. The methane steam reforming shows the highest possibility of CO formation, whereas the methanol steam reforming produces the lowest quantity of CO in the reformate gas. The methane fuel processing gives the maximum fraction of hydrogen (≈0.79) when the WGS reactor is included. The most suitable fuel is the one with the lowest CO poisoning effect and the maximum fuel cell performance. It is found that the HT-PEMFC system fueled by methanol without the WGS reactor and methane with WGS reactor shows the highest system efficiency (≈50%). - Highlights: • Performance of HT-PEMFC run on different fuel options is theoretically investigated. • Glycerol, methanol, ethanol and methane are hydrogen sources for the HT-PEMFC system. • Effect of CO poisoning on the HT-PEMFC performance is taken into account. • The suitable fuel for HT-PEMFC system is identified regarding the system efficiency

  6. Internal reforming of methane in a mono-block-layer build solid oxide fuel cell with an embedding porous pipe: Numerical analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramírez-Minguela, J.J.; Mendoza-Miranda, J.M.; Muñoz-Carpio, V.D.; Rangel-Hernández, V.H.; Pérez-García, V.; Rodríguez-Muñoz, J.L.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A MOLB-type SOFC with different biogas compositions is modeled. • Internal reforming of methane and water gas shift in the anode side are considered. • Changes in the SOFC according to the phenomena inside of them are assessed. • A new configuration for the MOLB-type geometry is proposed. • Temperature gradients effects in the new configuration are significant. - Abstract: A mono-block-layer build type (MOLB-type) geometry, composed with trapezoidal cross-section channels for fuel and air, of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), is modeled in this study using a three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The model is used to obtain the performance of the SOFC considering internal reforming of methane in the anode side with different biogas compositions. From the results obtained, a new configuration for the MOLB-type geometry is proposed. The model takes into account the mass transfer, heat transfer, species transport, chemical and electrochemical reactions, detailed comparisons of species concentration, temperature and electric fields inside the cell analyzed in the present study. Results show that the biogas from local sludge has the lower temperature gradient and more homogeneous current density distributions along of the fuel cell, on the other hand, with the new configuration proposed for the MOLB-type geometry the temperature distribution inside of the fuel cell has lower temperature gradients

  7. Investigation of Fuel Chemistry and Bed Performance in a Fluidized Bed Black Liquor Steam Reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Whitty

    2007-06-30

    University of Utah's project entitled 'Investigation of Fuel Chemistry and Bed Performance in a Fluidized Bed Black Liquor Steam Reformer' (DOE Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-02NT41490) was developed in response to a solicitation released by the U.S. Department of Energy in December 2001, requesting proposals for projects targeted towards black liquor/biomass gasification technology support research and development. Specifically, the solicitation was seeking projects that would provide technical support for Department of Energy supported black liquor and biomass gasification demonstration projects under development at the time.

  8. Electrochemical cell apparatus having axially distributed entry of a fuel-spent fuel mixture transverse to the cell lengths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichner, Philip; Dollard, Walter J.

    1991-01-01

    An electrochemical apparatus (10) is made having a generator section (22) containing axially elongated electrochemical cells (16), a fresh gaseous feed fuel inlet (28), a gaseous feed oxidant inlet (30), and at least one gaseous spent fuel exit channel (46), where the spent fuel exit channel (46) passes from the generator chamber (22) to combine with the fresh feed fuel inlet (28) at a mixing apparatus (50), reformable fuel mixture channel (52) passes through the length of the generator chamber (22) and connects with the mixing apparatus (50), that channel containing entry ports (54) within the generator chamber (22), where the axis of the ports is transverse to the fuel electrode surfaces (18), where a catalytic reforming material is distributed near the reformable fuel mixture entry ports (54).

  9. Control and experimental characterization of a methanol reformer for a 350W high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen; Jensen, Hans-Christian Becker

    suited for reformer systems, where high CO tolerance is required. This enables the use fuels based on e.g. liquid alcohols. This work presents the control strategies of a methanol refoermer for a 350W HTPEM FC system. The system examined is the Serenergy H3-350 Mobile Battery Charger, an integrated......High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane(HTPEM) fuel cells offer many advantages due to their increased operating tempera-tures compared to similar Nafion-based membrane tech-nologies, that rely on the conductive abilities of liquid water. The polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes are especially...

  10. Energy sector reform, energy transitions and the poor in Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prasad, Gisela

    2008-01-01

    There is little systematic information about the impact of energy sector reform on all sources and methods of energy utilised or potentially utilised by the poor. It is not sufficiently known what fuels the poor use, if a larger range of fuels becomes available and affordable and if barriers to access and consumption are reduced. A detailed assessment is presented for four countries, three in Africa (Botswana, Ghana and Senegal) and for comparison one in Latin America (Honduras), of steps taken to reform the energy sector and their effect on various groups of poor households. The paper analyses the pattern of energy supply to, and use by, poor households and explores the link-or its absence-to energy policy. We investigate what works for the poor and which type of reforms and implementation are effective and lead to a transition to more efficient and clean fuels from which the poor benefit. Energy sector reforms when adjusted to the specific conditions of the poor have a positive impact on access and use of clean, safe and efficient fuels. The poor are using gradually less wood as cooking fuel. Gas and kerosene are made more widely available through market liberalisation and subsidy in the particular case of Senegal. Electricity access and use is generally promoted or subsidised through changes in payment conditions and lifeline tariffs

  11. Energy sector reform, energy transitions and the poor in Africa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prasad, Gisela [Energy Research Centre, University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701 (South Africa)

    2008-08-15

    There is little systematic information about the impact of energy sector reform on all sources and methods of energy utilised or potentially utilised by the poor. It is not sufficiently known what fuels the poor use, if a larger range of fuels becomes available and affordable and if barriers to access and consumption are reduced. A detailed assessment is presented for four countries, three in Africa (Botswana, Ghana and Senegal) and for comparison one in Latin America (Honduras), of steps taken to reform the energy sector and their effect on various groups of poor households. The paper analyses the pattern of energy supply to, and use by, poor households and explores the link - or its absence - to energy policy. We investigate what works for the poor and which type of reforms and implementation are effective and lead to a transition to more efficient and clean fuels from which the poor benefit. Energy sector reforms when adjusted to the specific conditions of the poor have a positive impact on access and use of clean, safe and efficient fuels. The poor are using gradually less wood as cooking fuel. Gas and kerosene are made more widely available through market liberalisation and subsidy in the particular case of Senegal. Electricity access and use is generally promoted or subsidised through changes in payment conditions and lifeline tariffs. (author)

  12. Modeling and simulation of an isothermal reactor for methanol steam reforming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raphael Menechini Neto

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Due to growing electricity demand, cheap renewable energy sources are needed. Fuel cells are an interesting alternative for generating electricity since they use hydrogen as their main fuel and release only water and heat to the environment. Although fuel cells show great flexibility in size and operating temperature (some models even operate at low temperatures, the technology has the drawback for hydrogen transportation and storage. However, hydrogen may be produced from methanol steam reforming obtained from renewable sources such as biomass. The use of methanol as raw material in hydrogen production process by steam reforming is highly interesting owing to the fact that alcohol has the best hydrogen carbon-1 ratio (4:1 and may be processed at low temperatures and atmospheric pressures. They are features which are desirable for its use in autonomous fuel cells. Current research develops a mathematical model of an isothermal methanol steam reforming reactor and validates it against experimental data from the literature. The mathematical model was solved numerically by MATLAB® and the comparison of its predictions for different experimental conditions indicated that the developed model and the methodology for its numerical solution were adequate. Further, a preliminary analysis was undertaken on methanol steam reforming reactor project for autonomous fuel cell.

  13. 2D heat and mass transfer modeling of methane steam reforming for hydrogen production in a compact reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni Meng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► A heat and mass transfer model is developed for a compact reformer. ► Hydrogen production from methane steam reforming is simulated. ► Increasing temperature greatly increases the reaction rates at the inlet. ► Temperature in the downstream is increased at higher rate of heat supply. ► Larger permeability enhances gas flow and reaction rates in the catalyst layer. - Abstract: Compact reformers (CRs) are promising devices for efficient fuel processing. In CRs, a thin solid plate is sandwiched between two catalyst layers to enable efficient heat transfer from combustion duct to the reforming duct for fuel processing. In this study, a 2D heat and mass transfer model is developed to investigate the fundamental transport phenomenon and chemical reaction kinetics in a CR for hydrogen production by methane steam reforming (MSR). Both MSR reaction and water gas shift reaction (WGSR) are considered in the numerical model. Parametric simulations are performed to examine the effects of various structural/operating parameters, such as pore size, permeability, gas velocity, temperature, and rate of heat supply on the reformer performance. It is found that the reaction rates of MSR and WGSR are the highest at the inlet but decrease significantly along the reformer. Increasing the operating temperature raises the reaction rates at the inlet but shows very small influence in the downstream. For comparison, increasing the rate of heat supply raises the reaction rates in the downstream due to increased temperature. A high gas velocity and permeability facilitates gas transport in the porous structure thus enhances reaction rates in the downstream of the reformer.

  14. A light hydrocarbon fuel processor producing high-purity hydrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löffler, Daniel G.; Taylor, Kyle; Mason, Dylan

    This paper discusses the design process and presents performance data for a dual fuel (natural gas and LPG) fuel processor for PEM fuel cells delivering between 2 and 8 kW electric power in stationary applications. The fuel processor resulted from a series of design compromises made to address different design constraints. First, the product quality was selected; then, the unit operations needed to achieve that product quality were chosen from the pool of available technologies. Next, the specific equipment needed for each unit operation was selected. Finally, the unit operations were thermally integrated to achieve high thermal efficiency. Early in the design process, it was decided that the fuel processor would deliver high-purity hydrogen. Hydrogen can be separated from other gases by pressure-driven processes based on either selective adsorption or permeation. The pressure requirement made steam reforming (SR) the preferred reforming technology because it does not require compression of combustion air; therefore, steam reforming is more efficient in a high-pressure fuel processor than alternative technologies like autothermal reforming (ATR) or partial oxidation (POX), where the combustion occurs at the pressure of the process stream. A low-temperature pre-reformer reactor is needed upstream of a steam reformer to suppress coke formation; yet, low temperatures facilitate the formation of metal sulfides that deactivate the catalyst. For this reason, a desulfurization unit is needed upstream of the pre-reformer. Hydrogen separation was implemented using a palladium alloy membrane. Packed beds were chosen for the pre-reformer and reformer reactors primarily because of their low cost, relatively simple operation and low maintenance. Commercial, off-the-shelf balance of plant (BOP) components (pumps, valves, and heat exchangers) were used to integrate the unit operations. The fuel processor delivers up to 100 slm hydrogen >99.9% pure with <1 ppm CO, <3 ppm CO 2. The

  15. Methanol fuel processor and PEM fuel cell modeling for mobile application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chrenko, Daniela [ISAT, University of Burgundy, Rue Mlle Bourgoise, 58000 Nevers (France); Gao, Fei; Blunier, Benjamin; Bouquain, David; Miraoui, Abdellatif [Transport and Systems Laboratory (SeT) - EA 3317/UTBM, Fuel cell Laboratory (FCLAB), University of Technology of Belfort-Montbeliard, Rue Thierry Mieg 90010, Belfort Cedex (France)

    2010-07-15

    The use of hydrocarbon fed fuel cell systems including a fuel processor can be an entry market for this emerging technology avoiding the problem of hydrogen infrastructure. This article presents a 1 kW low temperature PEM fuel cell system with fuel processor, the system is fueled by a mixture of methanol and water that is converted into hydrogen rich gas using a steam reformer. A complete system model including a fluidic fuel processor model containing evaporation, steam reformer, hydrogen filter, combustion, as well as a multi-domain fuel cell model is introduced. Experiments are performed with an IDATECH FCS1200 trademark fuel cell system. The results of modeling and experimentation show good results, namely with regard to fuel cell current and voltage as well as hydrogen production and pressure. The system is auto sufficient and shows an efficiency of 25.12%. The presented work is a step towards a complete system model, needed to develop a well adapted system control assuring optimized system efficiency. (author)

  16. PRICE TRANSMISSION AND HOUSEHOLDS DEMAND ELASTICITY FOR FROZEN FISH UNDER FUEL SUBSIDY REFORM IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Achoja Felix Odemero

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Fuel subsidy removal is assumed to translate to general increase in the cost of operating business such as fish marketing.The response of price of fish and corresponding demand elasticity are welfare issues worthy of investigation in Nigeria. The present study evaluates price transmission in fish marketing system by analysing the response of fish market indices to fuel subsidy reform in Nigeria. Primary data collected with structured questionnaire from purposively selected 78 frozen fish marketers, were analysed with descriptive statistics and regression model. A test of hypothesis shows a significant price transmission of about 100% (P < 0.05. Marketing cost increased by 31.8% and profitability dropped by 24.20%, confirming negative effect of new price regime. The result further revealed a 0.05% drop in quantity of frozen fish demanded by households. It was recommended that economic measures should be introduced by the government to cushion the effect of fuel policy removal.

  17. Utilization of gases from biomass gasification in a reforming reactor coupled to an integrated planar solid oxide fuel cell: Simulation analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Costamagna Paola

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the high-efficiency options currently under study for a rational employment of hydrogen are fuel cells. In this scenario, the integrated planar solid oxide fuel cell is a new concept recently proposed by Rolls-Royce. The basic unit of a modular plant is the so called "strip", containing an electro-chemical reactor formed by a number of IP-SOFC modules, and a reforming reactor. For a better under standing of the behavior of a system of this kind, a simulation model has been set up for both the electrochemical reactor and the reformer; both models follow the approach typically employed in the simulation of chemical reactors, based on the solution of mass and energy balances. In the case of the IP-SOFC electro chemical reactor, the model includes the calculation of the electrical resistance of the stack (that is essentially due to ohmic losses, activation polar is action and mass transport limitations, the mass balances of the gaseous flows, the energy balances of gaseous flows (anodic and cathodic and of the solid. The strip is designed in such a way that the reaction in the reforming reactor is thermally sustained by the sensible heat of the hot air exiting the electrochemical section; this heat exchange is taken into account in the model of the reformer, which includes the energy balance of gaseous flows and of the solid structure. Simulation results are reported and discussed for both the electrochemical reactor in stand-alone configuration (including comparison to experimental data in a narrow range of operating conditions and for the complete strip.

  18. Optimizing the Heat Exchanger Network of a Steam Reforming System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Korsgaard, Anders Risum; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2004-01-01

    Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) based combined heat and power production systems are highly integrated energy systems. They may include a hydrogen production system and fuel cell stacks along with post combustion units optionally coupled with gas turbines. The considered system is based on a natural...... stationary numerical system model was used and process integration techniques for optimizing the heat exchanger network for the reforming unit are proposed. Objective is to minimize the system cost. Keywords: Fuel cells; Steam Reforming; Heat Exchanger Network (HEN) Synthesis; MINLP....... gas steam reformer along with gas purification reactors to generate clean hydrogen suited for a PEM stack. The temperatures in the various reactors in the fuel processing system vary from around 1000°C to the stack temperature at 80°C. Furthermore, external heating must be supplied to the endothermic...

  19. 75 FR 42237 - Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2011 Renewable Fuel Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-20

    ... Based on a Thermochemical Platform 3. Hybrid Thermochemical/Biochemical Processes 4. Pyrolysis and Depolymerization a. Pyrolysis Diesel Fuel and Gasoline b. Catalytic Depolymerization 5. Catalytic Reforming of... result would be that additional volumes of conventional renewable fuel, such as corn-starch ethanol...

  20. Measurements on high temperature fuel cells with carbon monoxide-containing fuel gases; Messungen an Hochtemperatur-Brennstoffzellen mit kohlenmonoxidhaltigen Brenngasen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Apfel, Holger

    2012-10-10

    In the present work the different power density of anode-supported high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (ASC-SOFCs) were examined for carbon monoxide-containing fuels. In addition to wet hydrogen / carbon monoxide mixtures the cells were run with synthetic gas mixtures resembling the products of an autothermal reformer, and actual reformate generated by a 2 kW autothermal reformer. It was found that the power-voltage characteristics of an ASC depends primarily on the open circuit voltages of different gas mixtures, but is nearly independent of the hydrogen concentration of the fuel, although the reaction rates of other potential fuels within the gas mixture, namely carbon monoxide and methane, are much lower that the hydrogen reaction rate. The probable reason is that the main fuel for the electrochemical oxidation within the cell is hydrogen, while the nickel in the base layer of the anode acts as a reformer which replenishes the hydrogen by water reduction via carbon monoxide and methane oxidation.

  1. Auxiliary reactor for a hydrocarbon reforming system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clawson, Lawrence G.; Dorson, Matthew H.; Mitchell, William L.; Nowicki, Brian J.; Bentley, Jeffrey M.; Davis, Robert; Rumsey, Jennifer W.

    2006-01-17

    An auxiliary reactor for use with a reformer reactor having at least one reaction zone, and including a burner for burning fuel and creating a heated auxiliary reactor gas stream, and heat exchanger for transferring heat from auxiliary reactor gas stream and heat transfer medium, preferably two-phase water, to reformer reaction zone. Auxiliary reactor may include first cylindrical wall defining a chamber for burning fuel and creating a heated auxiliary reactor gas stream, the chamber having an inlet end, an outlet end, a second cylindrical wall surrounding first wall and a second annular chamber there between. The reactor being configured so heated auxiliary reactor gas flows out the outlet end and into and through second annular chamber and conduit which is disposed in second annular chamber, the conduit adapted to carry heat transfer medium and being connectable to reformer reaction zone for additional heat exchange.

  2. Hydrogen generation utilizing integrated CO2 removal with steam reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duraiswamy, Kandaswamy; Chellappa, Anand S

    2013-07-23

    A steam reformer may comprise fluid inlet and outlet connections and have a substantially cylindrical geometry divided into reforming segments and reforming compartments extending longitudinally within the reformer, each being in fluid communication. With the fluid inlets and outlets. Further, methods for generating hydrogen may comprise steam reformation and material adsorption in one operation followed by regeneration of adsorbers in another operation. Cathode off-gas from a fuel cell may be used to regenerate and sweep the adsorbers, and the operations may cycle among a plurality of adsorption enhanced reformers to provide a continuous flow of hydrogen.

  3. Development and test of 2 kW natural gas reformers for high and low temperature PEM fuel cells. Project report 2; Udvikling/afproevning af 2 kW naturgasreformere for hoej- og lavtemperatur PEM-braendselsceller. Projektrapport 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wit, J. de [Dansk Gasteknisk Center (Denmark); Bech-Madsen, J. [IRD (Denmark); Bandur, V. [DTU (Denmark); Bartholin, N. [DPS (Denmark)

    2005-11-15

    The use of fuel cells for combined heat and power generation has advantages as regards technology and usability compared to existing CHP technology. Special characteristics for a fuel cell plant are: 1) It can be constructed in modules over a wide power range, 2) The efficiency is significantly independent of size, 3) It is noiseless, 4) A flexible coupling between power and heat production, 5) As there is no movable parts, long service check intervals can be expected, 6) Low emissions. The fuel for fuel cells is hydrogen and optimal utilization and CO{sub 2} reduction will require a 'hydrogen society'. While waiting for a 'hydrogen society' to arise, it is possible to use central or on-site reformers that convert natural gas to hydrogen. There will be some CO{sub 2} emission connected to energy use. The objective of the present project has been development and test of on-site reformers (fuel processors) for hydrogen supply to respectively high and low temperature PEM fuel cells aiming at use in single family houses. Sulphur cleaning, reformers, and lab-scale coupling with fuel cell KV units have been developed and tested during the project, as well as development and test of periphery equipment. (BA)

  4. Fuel cell processor with low-temperature PEM fuel cell - testing. Final report; Naturgasreformersystem med lavtgemperatur-PEM braendselsceller - TEST. Slutrapport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bech-Madsen, J.

    2006-11-03

    The purpose of the project is to further develop a Danish natural gas reformer system including optimisation of subsystems and the overall system consisting of a natural gas reformer and fuel cell CHP generator. This will contribute to the evaluation of to what extend Denmark shall develop small reformer units for PEM fuel Cells. In the project a reformer system with a high degree of automatic control has been build that fulfils the CHP requirements to operation time, dynamics etc. This work, with a FP05 reformer unit, has given valuable results concerning the possibilities and limitations of the reformer technology for CHP usage. It is important that the reformer and fuel cell units are designed with matching yields to optimise efficiency, turn-down start-up time etc. The burner that delivers heat for the steam reaction shall be able to use natural gas as fuel. This gives the possibility of using existing burner technology. In addition this will improve the efficiency since it will not be necessary to reform natural gas to feed the burner. The large number of BoP components in the FP05 unit is primarily used for achieving good regulation dynamics and accuracy. To reduce the number of components, a CHP unit with few or only one operational point should be considered. A single point of operation will reduce the number of valves as well as the requirements to the control and regulation of the system. A large part of the reformer size is needed to meet the high demands for CO purification of the reformat. This purification results in a very narrow window of operation for the reformer system. By using more CO tolerant fuel cells this part of the system can be reduced or even eliminated. To test the developed automatic control it was planned to integrate the FP05 reformer with a 10kW CHP unit that was being build by IRD in a separate project. This unit was perfect in size for testing with the reformer. However due to a number of reasons it was not possible during the

  5. MEMS-based fuel cells with integrated catalytic fuel processor and method thereof

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowski, Alan F [Livermore, CA; Morse, Jeffrey D [Martinez, CA; Upadhye, Ravindra S [Pleasanton, CA; Havstad, Mark A [Davis, CA

    2011-08-09

    Described herein is a means to incorporate catalytic materials into the fuel flow field structures of MEMS-based fuel cells, which enable catalytic reforming of a hydrocarbon based fuel, such as methane, methanol, or butane. Methods of fabrication are also disclosed.

  6. Plasma steam reforming of E85 for hydrogen rich gas production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Xinli; Hoang Trung; Lobban, Lance L; Mallinson, Richard G

    2011-01-01

    E85 (85 vol% ethanol and 15 vol% gasoline) is a partly renewable fuel that is increasing in supply availability. Hydrogen production from E85 for fuel cell or internal combustion engine applications is a potential method for reducing CO 2 emissions. Steam reforming of E85 using a nonthermal plasma (pulse corona discharge) reactor has been exploited at low temperature (200-300 0 C) without external heating, diluent gas, oxidant or catalyst in this work. Several operational parameters, including the discharge current, E85 concentration and feed flow rate, have been investigated. The results show that hydrogen rich gases (63-67% H 2 and 22-29% CO, with small amounts of CO 2 , C 2 hydrocarbons and CH 4 ) can be produced by this method. A comparison with ethanol reforming and gasoline reforming under identical conditions has also been made and the behaviour of E85 reforming is found to be close to that of ethanol reforming with slightly higher C 2 hydrocarbons yields.

  7. Control of a methanol reformer system using an Adaptive Neuro‐Fuzzy Inference System approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andersen, John; Ehmsen, Mikkel Præstholm

    This work presents a stoichiometry control strategy for a reformed methanol fuel cell system, which uses a reformer to produce hydrogen for an HTPEM fuel cell. One such system is the Serenus H3-350 battery charger developed by the Danish company Serenegy® which this work is based on. The poster...

  8. Experimental analysis of an autothermal reformer for automotive purposes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caners, C.; Peppley, B.; Harrison, S.; Oosthuizen, P.

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes the experimental analysis, concomitant with modeling research, to determine improved operating parameters and design of an autothermal reformer. The reformer, utilizing both partial oxidation and steam reforming reactions, along with the water gas shift phenomena is well suited for the mobile application of transportation. This is due to the novel geometry of the autothermal reformer, which seeks to improve the heat transfer characteristics of the process, whereby the exothermic partial oxidation reaction provides the heat energy required to drive the steam reforming reaction, to the point of a thermally neutral system. The paper will present data from the experimental results of reforming iso-octane as a surrogate for gasoline in the form of reformate composition, iso-octane conversion percentages and efficiencies in terms of hydrogen realized per mol of fuel input. (author)

  9. Mixed reforming of simulated gasoline to hydrogen in a BSCFO membrane reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Wenliang; Han, Wei; Xiong, Guoxing; Yang, Weishen [State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 110, Dalian 116023 (China)

    2006-10-30

    Currently, fuel cells are receiving more and more attention as the most promising new power generation technology, and fuel processing by the mixed reforming of liquid hydrocarbons (MRL) with water and oxygen is regarded as a desirable way for fuel cells. In this paper, we developed a new mixed reforming method for hydrogen production by combining a dense ceramic membrane Ba{sub 0.5}Sr{sub 0.5}Co{sub 0.8}Fe{sub 0.2}O{sub 3-{delta}}(BSCFO) with a catalyst LiLaNiO/{gamma}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} in a membrane reactor and reforming a simulated gasoline. During a 500-h long-term test at optimized reaction conditions, all the components in the simulated gasoline converted completely, and around 90% selectivity of CO, around 95% selectivity of H{sub 2} and around 8.0mLcm{sup -2}min{sup -1} oxygen permeation flux were achieved. This provides a new optional way of hydrogen production for fuel cells. (author)

  10. GSPEL - Fuel Cell Laboratory

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Fuel Cell Lab (FCL)Established to investigate, integrate, testand verifyperformance and technology readiness offuel cell systems and fuel reformers for use with...

  11. Fuel Cell Power Plant Initiative. Volume 1; Solid Oxide Fuel Cell/Logistics Fuel Processor 27 kWe Power System Demonstration for ARPA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veyo, S.E.

    1997-01-01

    This report describes the successful testing of a 27 kWe Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) generator fueled by natural gas and/or a fuel gas produced by a brassboard logistics fuel preprocessor (LFP). The test period began on May 24, 1995 and ended on February 26, 1996 with the successful completion of all program requirements and objectives. During this time period, this power system produced 118.2 MWh of electric power. No degradation of the generator's performance was measured after 5582 accumulated hours of operation on these fuels: local natural gas - 3261 hours, jet fuel reformate gas - 766 hours, and diesel fuel reformate gas - 1555 hours. This SOFC generator was thermally cycled from full operating temperature to room temperature and back to operating temperature six times, because of failures of support system components and the occasional loss of test site power, without measurable cell degradation. Numerous outages of the LFP did not interrupt the generator's operation because the fuel control system quickly switched to local natural gas when an alarm indicated that the LFP reformate fuel supply had been interrupted. The report presents the measured electrical performance of the generator on all three fuel types and notes the small differences due to fuel type. Operational difficulties due to component failures are well documented even though they did not affect the overall excellent performance of this SOFC power generator. The final two appendices describe in detail the LFP design and the operating history of the tested brassboard LFP.

  12. Energy market reform and greenhouse gas emission reductions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1999-01-01

    The report reviews micro-economic reform in the energy market and measures the impact that energy market reform is expected to have on greenhouse gas outcomes. It indicates that reform in the electricity and gas industries is delivering what was promised, an efficient market with lower energy prices and, over the longer term, will deliver a gradually reducing rate of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy produced. It also recognises that energy market reform has removed some barriers to the entry of less greenhouse gas intense fuels. These trends will result in reduced greenhouse gas intensity in the supply of energy and significant reductions in the growth in greenhouse gas emissions compared to what may have been expected without the reforms

  13. The conversion of anaerobic digestion waste into biofuels via a novel Thermo-Catalytic Reforming process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Johannes; Meyer, Johannes; Ouadi, Miloud; Apfelbacher, Andreas; Binder, Samir; Hornung, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    Producing energy from biomass and other organic waste residues is essential for sustainable development. Fraunhofer UMSICHT has developed a novel reactor which introduces the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR®) process. The TCR® is a process which can convert any type of biomass and organic feedstocks into a variety of energy products (char, bio-oil and permanent gases). The aim of this work was to demonstrate this technology using digestate as the feedstock and to quantify the results from the post reforming step. The temperature of a post reformer was varied to achieve optimised fuel products. The hydrogen rich permanent gases produced were maximised at a post reforming temperature of 1023 K. The highly de-oxygenated liquid bio-oil produced contained a calorific value of 35.2 MJ/kg, with significantly improved fuel physical properties, low viscosity and acid number. Overall digestate showed a high potential as feedstock in the Thermo-Catalytic Reforming to produce pyrolysis fuel products of superior quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Thermodynamic evaluation of hydrogen production for fuel cells by using bio-ethanol steam reforming: Effect of carrier gas addition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Liliana; Kafarov, Viatcheslav

    Omitting the influence of the addition of carrier gas to the reaction system for hydrogen production by bio-ethanol steam reforming can lead to wrong conclusions, especially when it is going to be made to scale. The effect of carrier gas addition to produce hydrogen using bio-ethanol steam reforming to feed fuel cells was evaluated. Thermodynamic calculations in equilibrium conditions were made, however the analysis derived from them can also be applied to kinetic conditions. These calculations were made by using the Aspen-HYSYS software at atmospheric pressure and different values of temperature, water/ethanol molar ratios, and inert (argon)/(water/ethanol) molar ratios. The addition of inert carrier gas modifies the concentrations of the reaction products in comparison to those obtained without its presence. This behavior occurs because most of the reactions which take place in bio-ethanol steam reforming have a positive difference of moles. This fact enhances the system sensitivity to inert concentration at low and moderated temperatures (<700 °C). At high values of temperature, the inert addition does not influence the composition of the reaction products because of the predominant effect of inverse WGS reaction.

  15. Thermodynamic evaluation of hydrogen production for fuel cells by using bio-ethanol steam reforming: Effect of carrier gas addition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hernandez, Liliana; Kafarov, Viatcheslav [Universidad Industrial de Santander, Escuela de Ingenieria Quimica, Bucaramanga 678 (Colombia)

    2009-07-01

    Omitting the influence of the addition of carrier gas to the reaction system for hydrogen production by bio-ethanol steam reforming can lead to wrong conclusions, especially when it is going to be made to scale. The effect of carrier gas addition to produce hydrogen using bio-ethanol steam reforming to feed fuel cells was evaluated. Thermodynamic calculations in equilibrium conditions were made, however the analysis derived from them can also be applied to kinetic conditions. These calculations were made by using the Aspen-HYSYS software at atmospheric pressure and different values of temperature, water/ethanol molar ratios, and inert (argon)/(water/ethanol) molar ratios. The addition of inert carrier gas modifies the concentrations of the reaction products in comparison to those obtained without its presence. This behavior occurs because most of the reactions which take place in bio-ethanol steam reforming have a positive difference of moles. This fact enhances the system sensitivity to inert concentration at low and moderated temperatures (<700 C). At high values of temperature, the inert addition does not influence the composition of the reaction products because of the predominant effect of inverse WGS reaction. (author)

  16. Draft, development and optimization of a fuel cell system for residential power generation with steam reformer; Entwurf, Aufbau und Optimierung eines PEM-Brennstoffzellensystems zur Hausenergieversorgung mit Dampfreformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandt, H

    2006-05-17

    The first development cycle of a residential power generation system is described. A steam reformer was chosen to produce hydrogen out of natural gas. After carbon monoxide purification with a preferential oxidation (PrOx) unit the hydrogen rich reformat gas is feed to the anode of the PEM-fuel cell, where due to the internal reaction with air oxygen form the cathode side water, heat and electricity is produced. Due to an incomplete conversion the anode off gas contains hydrogen and residual methane, which is feed to the burner of the steam reformer to reduce the needed amount of external fuel to heat the steam reformer. To develop the system the components are separately investigated and optimized in their construction or operation to meet the system requirements. After steady state and dynamic characterization of the components they were coupled one after another to build the system. To operate the system a system control was developed to operate and characterize this complex system. After characterization the system was analyzed for further optimization. During the development of the system inventions like a water cooled PrOx, an independent fuel cell controller or a burner for anodic off gas recirculation were made. The work gives a look into the interactions between the components and allows to understand the problems by coupling such components. (orig.)

  17. Hydrogen generation from natural gas for the fuel cell systems of tomorrow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dicks, Andrew L.

    In most cases hydrogen is the preferred fuel for use in the present generation of fuel cells being developed for commercial applications. Of all the potential sources of hydrogen, natural gas offers many advantages. It is widely available, clean, and can be converted to hydrogen relatively easily. When catalytic steam reforming is used to generate hydrogen from natural gas, it is essential that sulfur compounds in the natural gas are removed upstream of the reformer and various types of desulfurisation processes are available. In addition, the quality of fuel required for each type of fuel cell varies according to the anode material used, and the cell temperature. Low temperature cells will not tolerate high concentrations of carbon monoxide, whereas the molten fuel cell (MCFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes contain nickel on which it is possible to electrochemically oxidise carbon monoxide directly. The ability to internally reform fuel gas is a feature of the MCFC and SOFC. Internal reforming can give benefits in terms of increased electrical efficiency owing to the reduction in the required cell cooling and therefore parasitic system losses. Direct electrocatalysis of hydrocarbon oxidation has been the elusive goal of fuel cell developers over many years and recent laboratory results are encouraging. This paper reviews the principal methods of converting natural gas into hydrogen, namely catalytic steam reforming, autothermic reforming, pyrolysis and partial oxidation; it reviews currently available purification techniques and discusses some recent advances in internal reforming and the direct use of natural gas in fuel cells.

  18. Hydrocarbon fuel processing of micro solid oxide fuel cell systems[Dissertation 17455

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stutz, M. J.

    2007-07-01

    The scope of this thesis is the numerical and experimental investigation of the fuel processing of a micro solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) running on hydrocarbon fuel. The goal is to enhance the overall system efficiency by optimization of the reforming process in the steady state and the improvement of the start-up process. Micro SOFC are a potential alternative to the currently used batteries in portable devices. Liquid butane in a cartridge could be the energy source. This dissertation is focused on the fuel processing of the system, namely the reforming and post-combusting processes. The reformer converts the hydrocarbon fuel to a hydrogen rich gas that can be utilized by the SOFC. The post-combustor depletes the toxic and/or explosive gases before leaving the exhaust. Chapter One presents a short introduction to the field of hydrocarbon fuel processing in micro solid oxide fuel cell systems, the next three chapters deal with computational modeling of the transport phenomena inside a micro-reformer, which leads to a better understanding of the chemistry and the physics therein, hence progress in the design and operation parameters. The experimental part (i.e. Chapter Five) of this thesis focuses on the feasibility of a novel hybrid start-up method of a fuel cell system that employs existing components as an additional heat source. In Chapter Two the effect of wall heat conduction on the syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) production of a micro-reformer, representing micro-fabricated channels or monoliths, is investigated. Methane is used as a model hydrocarbon fuel since its heterogeneous reaction path on rhodium is known and validated. The simulations demonstrate that the axial wall conduction strongly influences the performance of the micro-reformer and should not be neglected without a careful a priori investigation of its impact. Methane conversion and hydrogen yield are strongly dependent of the wall inner surface temperature, which is influenced by the

  19. High temperature nuclear heat for isothermal reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Epstein, M.

    2000-01-01

    High temperature nuclear heat can be used to operate a reformer with various feedstock materials. The product synthesis gas can be used not only as a source for hydrogen and as a feedstock for many essential chemical industries, such as ammonia and other products, but also for methanol and synthetic fuels. It can also be burnt directly in a combustion chamber of a gas turbine in an efficient combined cycle and generate electricity. In addition, it can be used as fuel for fuel cells. The reforming reaction is endothermic and the contribution of the nuclear energy to the calorific value of the final product (synthesis gas) is about 25%, compared to the calorific value of the feedstock reactants. If the feedstock is from fossil origin, the nuclear energy contributes to a substantial reduction in CO 2 emission to the atmosphere. The catalytic steam reforming of natural gas is the most common process. However, other feedstock materials, such as biogas, landfill gas and CO 2 -contaminated natural gas, can be reformed as well, either directly or with the addition of steam. The industrial steam reformers are generally fixed bed reactors, and their performance is strongly affected by the heat transfer from the furnace to the catalyst tubes. In top-fired as well as side-fired industrial configurations of steam reformers, the radiation is the main mechanism of heat transfer and convection heat transfer is negligible. The flames and the furnace gas constitute the main sources of the heat. In the nuclear reformers developed primarily in Germany, in connection with the EVA-ADAM project (closed cycle), the nuclear heat is transferred from the nuclear reactor coolant gas by convection, using a heating jacket around the reformer tubes. In this presentation it is proposed that the helium in a secondary loop, used to cool the nuclear reactor, will be employed to evaporate intermediate medium, such as sodium, zinc and aluminum chloride. Then, the vapors of the medium material transfer

  20. Effect of a diffuser on performance enhancement of a cylindrical methanol steam reformer by computational fluid dynamic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perng, Shiang-Wuu; Horng, Rong-Fang; Wu, Horng-Wen

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •We enhance performance of a cylindrical MSR to get higher net power of fuel cell. •We study diffuser angle and length and wall temperature on net power of fuel cell. •We study methanol conversion, hydrogen production, CO of a novel reformer. •Diffuser in catalyst bed upstream raises methanol conversion, hydrogen production. •The MSR raises hydrogen production up to 44.6% and net fuel cell power up to 24.6%. -- Abstract: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) connected with a methanol steam reformer designed to enhance its performance is considered as a promising future power source. Enhancing the performance of a cylindrical methanol steam reformer due to diffuser effects was then investigated applying three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics by the SIMPLE-C algorithm and an Arrhenius form of reaction model. The effect of the angle and length of the diffuser, and wall temperature have been explored on heat and fluid flow, methanol conversion, hydrogen production, carbon monoxide reduction, as well as estimated net power of fuel cell with the same catalyst volume and entrance condition in a cylindrical methanol steam reformer. The results indicate that the diffuser obviously enhances methanol conversion and hydrogen production of a cylindrical methanol steam reformer. In comparison with a traditional reformer, the reformer with a diffuser of θ d = 6° and L d = 75 mm obtains the maximum enhancement of 22.96% in methanol conversion, 44.62% in hydrogen production, and 24.59% in estimated net power of fuel cell at wall temperature of 250 °C. In addition, the novel reformer with a diffuser of θ d = 9° and L d = 100 mm generates the maximum reduction of 44.17% in CO production at T W = 250 °C.

  1. PEM - fuel cell system for residential applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Britz, P. [Viessmann Werke GmbH and Co KG, 35107 Allendorf (Germany); Zartenar, N.

    2004-12-01

    Viessmann is developing a PEM fuel cell system for residential applications. The uncharged PEM fuel cell system has a 2 kW electrical and 3 kW thermal power output. The Viessmann Fuel Processor is characterized by a steam-reformer/burner combination in which the burner supplies the required heat to the steam reformer unit and the burner exhaust gas is used to heat water. Natural gas is used as fuel, which is fed into the reforming reactor after passing an integrated desulphurisation unit. The low temperature (600 C) fuel processor is designed on the basis of steam reforming technology. For carbon monoxide removal, a single shift reactor and selective methanisation is used with noble metal catalysts on monoliths. In the shift reactor, carbon monoxide is converted into hydrogen by the water gas shift reaction. The low level of carbon monoxide at the outlet of the shift reactor is further reduced, to approximately 20 ppm, downstream in the methanisation reactor, to meet PEM fuel cell requirements. Since both catalysts work at the same temperature (240 C), there is no requirement for an additional heat exchanger in the fuel processor. Start up time is less than 30 min. In addition, Viessmann has developed a 2 kW class PEFC stack, without humidification. Reformate and dry air are fed straight to the stack. Due to the dry operation, water produced by the cell reaction rapidly diffuses through the electrolyte membrane. This was achieved by optimising the MEA, the gas flow pattern and the operating conditions. The cathode is operated by an air blower. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  2. Investigations on a new internally-heated tubular packed-bed methanol–steam reformer

    KAUST Repository

    Nehe, Prashant; Vanteru, Mahendra Reddy; Kumar, Sudarshan

    2015-01-01

    Small-scale reformers for hydrogen production through steam reforming of methanol can provide an alternative solution to the demand of continuous supply of hydrogen gas for the operation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). A packed

  3. Fuel cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veen, van J.A.R.; Janssen, F.J.J.G.; Santen, van R.A.

    1999-01-01

    The principles and present-day embodiments of fuel cells are discussed. Nearly all cells are hydrogen/oxygen ones, where the hydrogen fuel is usually obtained on-site from the reforming of methane or methanol. There exists a tension between the promise of high efficiency in the conversion of

  4. The battle of the fuel cell. De slag om de brandstofcel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Dijkum, P H [Nederlandse Organisatie voor Energie en Milieu BV (NOVEM), Sittard (Netherlands)

    1992-03-01

    An overview is given of several types of fuel cells and for each type the international state of the art in the development and technology. The fuel cells discussed are: the alkaline fuel cell (AFC), the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), the external reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (ER-MCFC), the internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell (IR-MCFC) and the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). 1 figs., 3 ills., 5 tabs., 7 refs.

  5. Investigations on a new internally-heated tubular packed-bed methanol–steam reformer

    KAUST Repository

    Nehe, Prashant

    2015-05-01

    Small-scale reformers for hydrogen production through steam reforming of methanol can provide an alternative solution to the demand of continuous supply of hydrogen gas for the operation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs). A packed-bed type reformer is one of the potential designs for such purpose. An externally heated reformer has issues of adverse lower temperature in the core of the reformer and significant heat loss to the environment thus impacting its performance. Experimental and numerical studies on a new concept of internally heated tubular packed-bed methanol-steam reformer have been reported in this paper with improved performance in terms of higher methanol conversion and reduced heat losses to surroundings. CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 is used as the catalyst for the methanol-steam reforming reaction and a rod-type electric heater at the center of the reactor is used for supplying necessary heat for endothermic steam reforming reaction. The vaporizer and the reformer unit with a constant volume catalyst bed are integrated in the annular section of a tubular reformer unit. The performance of the reformer was investigated at various operating conditions like feed rate of water-methanol mixture, mass of the catalyst and reforming temperature. The experimental and numerical results show that the methanol conversion and CO concentration increase with internal heating for a wide range of operating conditions. The developed reformer unit generates 50-80W (based on lower heating value) of hydrogen gas for applications in PEMFCs. For optimized design and operating conditions, the reformer unit produced 298sccm reformed gas containing 70% H2, 27% CO2 and 3% CO at 200-240°C which can produce a power output of 25-32W assuming 60% fuel cell efficiency and 80% of hydrogen utilization in a PEMFC. © 2015 Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC.

  6. Thermal analysis of cylindrical natural-gas steam reformer for 5 kW PEMFC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, Taehyun; Han, Junhee; Koo, Bonchan; Lee, Dohyung

    2016-11-01

    The thermal characteristics of a natural-gas based cylindrical steam reformer coupled with a combustor are investigated for the use with a 5 kW polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. A reactor unit equipped with nickel-based catalysts was designed to activate the steam reforming reaction without the inclusion of high-temperature shift and low-temperature shift processes. Reactor temperature distribution and its overall thermal efficiency depend on various inlet conditions such as the equivalence ratio, the steam to carbon ratio (SCR), and the fuel distribution ratio (FDR) into the reactor and the combustor components. These experiments attempted to analyze the reformer's thermal and chemical properties through quantitative evaluation of product composition and heat exchange between the combustor and the reactor. FDR is critical factor in determining the overall performance as unbalanced fuel injection into the reactor and the combustor deteriorates overall thermal efficiency. Local temperature distribution also influences greatly on the fuel conversion rate and thermal efficiency. For the experiments, the operation conditions were set as SCR was in range of 2.5-4.0 and FDR was in 0.4-0.7 along with equivalence ratio of 0.9-1.1; optimum results were observed for FDR of 0.63 and SCR of 3.0 in the cylindrical steam reformer.

  7. Logistic Fuel Processor Development

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Salavani, Reza

    2004-01-01

    ... to light gases then steam reform the light gases into hydrogen rich stream. This report documents the efforts in developing a fuel processor capable of providing hydrogen to a 3kW fuel cell stack...

  8. Modeling Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mads Pagh

    The objective of this doctoral thesis was to develop reliable steady-state and transient component models suitable to asses-, develop- and optimize proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems. Several components in PEM fuel cell systems were characterized and modeled. The developed component...... cell systems. Consequences of indirectly fueling PEM stacks with hydrocarbons using reforming technology were investigated using a PEM stack model including CO poisoning kinetics and a transient Simulink steam reforming system model. Aspects regarding the optimization of PEM fuel cell systems...

  9. Biogas Production from Local Biomass Feedstock in the Mekong Delta and Its Utilization for a Direct Internal Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Shiratori

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Fuel-flexible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC technologies are presently under study in a Vietnam-Japan international joint research project. The purpose of this project is to develop and demonstrate an SOFC-incorporated energy circulation system for the sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region. Lab-scale methane fermentation experiments in this study with a mixture of biomass feedstock collected in the Mekong Delta (shrimp pond sludge, bagasse, and molasses from sugar production recorded biogas production yield over 400 L kgVS−1 with H2S concentration below 50 ppm level. This real biogas was directly supplied to an SOFC without any fuel processing such as desulfurization, methane enrichment and pre-reforming, and stable power generation was achieved by applying paper-structured catalyst (PSC technology.

  10. LiquidPower-1. Development and proof-of-concept of core methanol reformer for stationary and motive fuel cell systems and hydrogen refuelling stations. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krogsgaard, J.; Mortensen, Henrik [H2 Logic A/S, Herning (Denmark); Skipper, T. [Dantherm Power A/S, Hobro (Denmark)

    2013-03-15

    LiquidPower-1 has developed laboratory test systems for methanol reforming and tested reformers from four different suppliers. This has contributed to determining the state-of-the-art level for methanol reforming and enabled an update of the LiquidPower R and D Roadmap onwards a commercialisation of the technology. The project has achieved the following results: 1) A detailed technical specification of methanol reformers for the fuel cell back-up power and hydrogen refueling station markets has been conducted; 2) Laboratory test systems for methanol reformers has been developed and established at Dantherm Power and H2 Logic; 3) Initial test of reformers from four suppliers has been conducted - with two suppliers being selected for continued tests; 4) Extensive laboratory tests conducted of reformers from two suppliers, with the aim to determine state-of-the-art for price, efficiency, capacity and lifetime. Several errors and break-downs were experienced during the test period, which revealed a need for further R and D to improve lifetime and stability; 5) The LiquidPower F and U Roadmap has been updated. Reformer TCO targets (Total Cost of Operation) for each of the markets have been calculated including updated targets for efficiency and cost. These targets also serve as the main ones to be pursued as part of the continued R and D roadmap execution. Compared to the previous edition of the Roadmap, the project has confirmed the viability of methanol reforming, but also revealed that stability and lifetime needs to be addressed and solved before commencing commercialization of the technology. If the Roadmap is successful a commercialization can commence beyond 2015. (Author)

  11. Analysis on Operating Parameter Design to Steam Methane Reforming in Heat Application RDE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dibyo, Sukmanto; Sunaryo, Geni Rina; Bakhri, Syaiful; Zuhair; Irianto, Ign. Djoko

    2018-02-01

    The high temperature reactor has been developed with various power capacities and can produce electricity and heat application. One of heat application is used for hydrogen production. Most hydrogen production occurs by steam reforming that operated at high temperature. This study aims to analyze the feasibility of heat application design of RDE reactor in the steam methane reforming for hydrogen production using the ChemCAD software. The outlet temperature of cogeneration heat exchanger is analyzed to be applied as a feed of steam reformer. Furthermore, the additional heater and calculating amount of fuel usage are described. Results show that at a low mass flow rate of feed, its can produce a temperature up to 480°C. To achieve the temperature of steam methane reforming of 850°C the additional fired heater was required. By the fired heater, an amount of fuel usage is required depending on the Reformer feed temperature produced from the heat exchanger of the cogeneration system.

  12. Integrated fuel processor development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, S.; Pereira, C.; Lee, S. H. D.; Krumpelt, M.

    2001-01-01

    The Department of Energy's Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies has been supporting the development of fuel-flexible fuel processors at Argonne National Laboratory. These fuel processors will enable fuel cell vehicles to operate on fuels available through the existing infrastructure. The constraints of on-board space and weight require that these fuel processors be designed to be compact and lightweight, while meeting the performance targets for efficiency and gas quality needed for the fuel cell. This paper discusses the performance of a prototype fuel processor that has been designed and fabricated to operate with liquid fuels, such as gasoline, ethanol, methanol, etc. Rated for a capacity of 10 kWe (one-fifth of that needed for a car), the prototype fuel processor integrates the unit operations (vaporization, heat exchange, etc.) and processes (reforming, water-gas shift, preferential oxidation reactions, etc.) necessary to produce the hydrogen-rich gas (reformate) that will fuel the polymer electrolyte fuel cell stacks. The fuel processor work is being complemented by analytical and fundamental research. With the ultimate objective of meeting on-board fuel processor goals, these studies include: modeling fuel cell systems to identify design and operating features; evaluating alternative fuel processing options; and developing appropriate catalysts and materials. Issues and outstanding challenges that need to be overcome in order to develop practical, on-board devices are discussed

  13. Removal of CO from reformate for PEFC application.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, S. H. D.

    1998-09-14

    Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are being actively developed worldwide for transportation applications. The fuel gas generated from reforming hydrocarbon fuels contains small amounts of CO (0.5-1 vol%), even after the water-gas shift reaction. Carbon monoxide is preferentially adsorbed on the platinum electrocatalyst in the PEFC, thus blocking the access of H{sub 2} to the surface of the catalyst and resulting in the degradation of the cell performance. Therefore, the CO concentration in the PBFC reformate must be reduced to a tolerable level of {le} 100 ppm (1). Catalytic preferential oxidation (2), anode air bleed (3), or a combination of the two can be used to reduce CO to trace levels, but their use in a dynamically varying system is problematic. We are developing a sorption process based on the reversible complex-forming and dissociation reactions of CO with Cu(I). These reactions are well documented in patent and literature (4,5).

  14. Methane steam reforming kinetics over Ni-YSZ anodematerials for Solid Oxide FuelCells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, David

    of internal reforming has to be carefully controlled. The objective of this thesis is to make such a careful control possible by examining the rate of internal steam reforming in SOFCs. The catalytic steam reforming activity of Ni-YSZ anode material was tested both in a packed bed reactor to determine...

  15. Thermodynamic Analysis of an Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cycle with a Rankine Cycle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rokni, Masoud

    2010-01-01

    Hybrid systems consisting of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) on the top of a Steam Turbine (ST) are investigated. The plants are fired by natural gas (NG). A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel while a pre-reformer breaks down the heavier hydrocarbons. The pre-treated fuel......% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional Combined Cycles (CC). Both ASR (Adiabatic Steam Reformer) and CPO (Catalytic Partial Oxidation) fuel pre-reformer reactors are considered in this investigation....

  16. High temperature PEM fuel cells - Degradation and durability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Araya, S.S.

    2012-12-15

    This work analyses the degradation issues of a High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC). It is based on the assumption that given the current challenges for storage and distribution of hydrogen, it is more practical to use liquid alcohols as energy carriers for fuel cells. Among these, methanol is very attractive, as it can be obtained from a variety of renewable sources and has a relatively low reforming temperature for the production of hydrogen rich gaseous mixture. The effects on HT-PEMFC of the different constituents of this gaseous mixture, known as a reformate gas, are investigated in the current work. For this, an experimental set up, in which all these constituents can be fed to the anode side of a fuel cell for testing, is put in place. It includes mass flow controllers for the gaseous species, and a vapor delivery system for the vapor mixture of the unconverted reforming reactants. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is used to characterize the effects of these impurities. The effects of CO were tested up to 2% by volume along with other impurities. All the reformate impurities, including ethanol-water vapor mixture, cause loss in the performance of the fuel cell. In general, CO{sub 2} dilutes the reactants, if tested alone at high operating temperatures (180 C), but tends to exacerbate the effects of CO if they are tested together. On the other hand, CO and methanol-water vapor mixture degrade the fuel cell proportionally to the amounts in which they are tested. In this dissertation some of the mechanisms with which the impurities affect the fuel cell are discussed and interdependence among the effects is also studied. This showed that the combined effect of reformate impurities is more than the arithmetic sum of the individual effects of reformate constituents. The results of the thesis help to understand better the issues of degradation and durability in fuel cells, which can help to make them more durable and

  17. Welfare implication of reforming energy consumption subsidies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breton, Michèle; Mirzapour, Hossein

    2016-01-01

    Reforming energy consumption subsidies, in particular for fossil fuels, has been frequently referred to as a quick-win policy to enhance environmental mitigation. In addition, the removal of such subsidies may release a sizeable portion of a country's national budget for use on more productive targets. One of the most recognized challenges of such reform is “selling” the new energy prices to citizens, particularly those with a more fragile purchasing power. Several empirical and technical studies have prescribed that the reform might be supported by a direct compensation mechanism in order to ensure feasibility. This is what was done during the recent energy subsidy reform in Iran. However, the compensation mechanism implemented in Iran's reform was successful at the beginning, but did not proceed as expected. This has raised questions about the feasibility and sustainability of the direct compensation mechanism, and even of the reform policy itself. In this paper, we consider a stylized model where direct compensation is the instrument proposed to restore consumers’ utility against increased energy prices. We find that, when prices of Other Goods are affected by the announced reform policy, the feasibility of a subsidy reform critically depends on the value of certain parameters: the initial subsidization rate, the share of energy in the consumers’ bundle, and the energy portion of price of Other Goods. - Highlights: • A model of energy subsidy reform with direct compensation is proposed. • Feasibility of the reform is related to three key parameters. • An illustrative example using data from the recent Iranian reform is discussed.

  18. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) Characterization of Reformate-operated High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Stack

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sahlin, Simon Lennart; Simon Araya, Samuel; Andreasen, Søren Juhl

    2017-01-01

    their effects on a reformate-operated stack. Polarization curves were also recorded to complement the impedance analysis of the researched phenomena. An equivalent circuit model was used to estimate the different resistances at varying parameters. It showed a significantly higher low frequency resistance......, λanode= 1.6 for reformate operation and λcathode= 4.The work also compared dry hydrogen, steam reforming and autothermal reforming gas feeds at160 ◦Cand showed appreciably lower performance in the case of autothermal reforming at the same stoichiometry, mainly attributable to mass transport related...

  19. Life cycle inventory analysis of hydrogen production by the steam-reforming process: comparison between vegetable oils and fossil fuels as feedstock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marquevich, M.; Sonnemann, G.W.; Castells, F.; Montane, D.

    2002-01-01

    A life cycle inventory analysis has been conducted to assess the environmental load, specifically CO 2 (fossil) emissions and global warming potential (GWP), associated to the production of hydrogen by the steam reforming of hydrocarbon feedstocks (methane and naphtha) and vegetable oils (rapeseed oil, soybean oil and palm oil). Results show that the GWPs associated with the production of hydrogen by steam reforming in a 100 years time frame are 9.71 and 9.46 kg CO 2 -equivalent/kg H 2 for natural gas and naphtha, respectively. For vegetable oils, the GWP decreases to 6.42 kg CO 2 -equivalent/kg H 2 for rapeseed oil, 4.32 for palm oil and 3.30 for soybean oil. A dominance analysis determined that the part of the process that has the largest effect on the GWP is the steam reforming reaction itself for the fossil fuel-based systems, which accounts for 56.7% and 74% of the total GWP for natural gas and naphtha, respectively. This contribution is zero for vegetable oil-based systems, for which harvesting and oil production are the main sources of CO 2 -eq emissions.(author)

  20. Bio-oil steam reforming, partial oxidation or oxidative steam reforming coupled with bio-oil dry reforming to eliminate CO{sub 2} emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Xun [State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Lu, Gongxuan [State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

    2010-07-15

    Biomass is carbon-neutral and utilization of biomass as hydrogen resource shows no impact on atmospheric CO{sub 2} level. Nevertheless, a significant amount of CO{sub 2} is always produced in biomass gasification processes. If the CO{sub 2} produced can further react with biomass, then the biomass gasification coupled with CO{sub 2} reforming of biomass will result in a net decrease of CO{sub 2} level in atmosphere and produce the chemical raw material, syngas. To achieve this concept, a ''Y'' type reactor is developed and applied in bio-oil steam reforming, partial oxidation, or oxidative steam reforming coupled with CO{sub 2} reforming of bio-oil to eliminate the emission of CO{sub 2}. The experimental results show that the reaction systems can efficiently suppress the emission of CO{sub 2} from various reforming processes. The different coupled reaction systems generate the syngas with different molar ratio of CO/H{sub 2}. In addition, coke deposition is encountered in the different reforming processes. Both catalysts and experimental parameters significantly affect the coke deposition. Ni/La{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst shows much higher resistivity toward coke deposition than Ni/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst, while employing high reaction temperature is vital for elimination of coke deposition. Although the different coupled reaction systems show different characteristic in terms of product distribution and coke deposition, which all can serve as methods for storage of the carbon from fossil fuels or air. (author)

  1. Demonstration of direct internal reforming for MCFC power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aasberg-Petersen, K.; Christensen, P.S.; Winther, S.K. [HALDOR TOPSOE A/S, Lynby (Denmark)] [and others

    1996-12-31

    The conversion of methane into hydrogen for an MCFC by steam reforming is accomplished either externally or internally in the stack. In the case of external reforming the plant electrical efficiency is 5% abs. lower mainly because more parasitic power is required for air compression for stack cooling. Furthermore, heat produced in the stack must be transferred to the external reformer to drive the endothermic steam reforming reaction giving a more complex plant lay-out. A more suitable and cost effective approach is to use internal steam reforming of methane. Internal reforming may be accomplished either by Indirect Internal Reforming (DIR) and Direct Internal Reforming (DIR) in series or by DIR-only as illustrated. To avoid carbon formation in the anode compartment higher hydrocarbons in the feedstock are converted into hydrogen, methane and carbon oxides by reaction with steam in ail adiabatic prereformer upstream the fuel cell stack. This paper discusses key elements of the desire of both types of internal reforming and presents data from pilot plants with a combined total of more than 10,000 operating hours. The project is being carried out as part of the activities of the European MCFC Consortium ARGE.

  2. Molten carbonate fuel cell power generation system. Yoyu tansan prime en gata nenryo denchi hatsuden sochi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uematsu, K; Hatori, S [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    1991-11-01

    In an indirect internal reforming type molten carbonate fuel cell, the reforming temperature is limited less than the operating temperature of the fuel cell, as the heat source for reforming is depended on the reaction heat at about 650 {degree} C of the fuel cell. To improve the reforming rate at the low temperature range, it is considered to increase S/C (ratio of steam to carbon), but this scheme will cause such problems as to increase the voltage drop of the anode, to drop the heat recovery ratio on the cogenerator, to increase the capacity of the heat exchanger, etc. In this invention, in the power generating plant of a molten carbonate fuel cell the inert gas is added to the reforming raw gas, and in addition to the above the gas is mixed with steam and led into the reforming chamber of the plant. When the inert gas which is not directly concerned in the reforming reaction is added to, total mol number increases and the reforming reaction is acceralated. Consequently, the reforming rate can be raised, though the reforming temperature is low. 2 figs.

  3. Tailored reforming of n-dodecane in an aqueous discharge reactor

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Xuming

    2016-03-24

    Here, we present an original technical approach to simultaneously produce a tailored synthetic liquid fuel and a syngas. In an aqueous discharge reactor with gaseous bubbles, we reformed an emulsified n-dodecane/water mixture. The higher dielectric permittivity of the mixture facilitates electrical discharges that cause the electron impact dissociation of n-dodecane into alkyl and hydrogen radicals, while the addition of water also provides a steam-reforming environment inside the discharged bubbles. We added methane and carbon dioxide to the system because they dissociate into methyl and oxygen radicals, respectively, which prevent the alkyl-alkyl recombinations that result in the formation of long-chain hydrocarbons (HCs). Thus, we were able to control product selectivity by adding methane to increase the production of short-chain HCs and hydrogen gas or by adding carbon dioxide to increase the production of oxygenated fuels, such as 1-dodecanol. Using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry we detail the compositions of both the synthetic liquid and the syngas, and we provide conceptual chemical mechanisms to selectively increase the production of oxygenates and that of HCs that are shorter or longer than the base fuel. The basis of this in-liquid discharge for the purpose of fuel reforming has potential applications to advanced engines to control ignition delay time, a continuing focus of study in our lab. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.

  4. Advanced PEFC development for fuel cell powered vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawatsu, Shigeyuki

    Vehicles equipped with fuel cells have been developed with much progress. Outcomes of such development efforts include a Toyota fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) using hydrogen as the fuel which was developed and introduced in 1996, followed by another Toyota FCEV using methanol as the fuel, developed and introduced in 1997. In those Toyota FCEVs, a fuel cell system is installed under the floor of each RAV4L, to sports utility vehicle. It has been found that the CO concentration in the reformed gas of methanol reformer can be reduced to 100 ppm in wide ranges of catalyst temperature and gas flow rate, by using the ruthenium (Ru) catalyst as the CO selective oxidizer, instead of the platinum (Pt) catalyst known from some time ago. It has been also found that a fuel cell performance equivalent to that with pure hydrogen can be ensured even in the reformed gas with the carbon monoxide (CO) concentration of 100 ppm, by using the Pt-Ru (platinum ruthenium alloy) electrocatalyst as the anode electrocatalyst of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), instead of the Pt electrocatalyst known from some time ago.

  5. Methane Steam Reforming over an Ni-YSZ Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anode in Stack Configuration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Mogensen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The kinetics of catalytic steam reforming of methane over an Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC have been investigated with the cell placed in a stack configuration. In order to decrease the degree of conversion, a single cell stack with reduced area was used. Measurements were performed in the temperature range 600–800°C and the partial pressures of all reactants and products were varied. The obtained rates could be well fitted with a power law expression (r ∝PCH40.7. A simple model is presented which is capable of predicting the methane conversion in a stack configuration from intrinsic kinetics of the anode support material. The predictions are compared with the stack measurements presented here, and good agreement is observed.

  6. Catalytic processing of high-sulfur fuels for distributed hydrogen production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muradov, Nazim; Ramasamy, Karthik; Huang, Cunping; T-Raissi, Ali [Central Florida Univ., FL (United States)

    2010-07-01

    In this work, the development of a new on-demand hydrogen production technology is reported. In this process, a liquid hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., high-S diesel) is first catalytically pre-reformed to shorter chain gaseous hydrocarbons (predominantly, C{sub 1}-C{sub 3}) before being directed to the steam reformer, where it is converted to syngas and then to high-purity hydrogen. In the pre-reformer, most sulfurous species present in the fuel are catalytically converted to H{sub 2}S. In the desulfurization unit, H{sub 2}S is scrubbed and converted to H{sub 2} and elemental sulfur. Desulfurization of the pre-reformate gas is carried out in a special regenerative redox system, which includes Fe(II)/Fe(III)-containing aqueous phase scrubber coupled with an electrolyzer. The integrated pre-reformer/scrubber/electrolyzer unit operated successfully on high-S diesel fuel for more than 100 hours meeting the required desulfurization target of >95 % sulfur removal. (orig.)

  7. Metal membrane-type 25-kW methanol fuel processor for fuel-cell hybrid vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jaesung; Lee, Seok-Min; Chang, Hyuksang

    A 25-kW on-board methanol fuel processor has been developed. It consists of a methanol steam reformer, which converts methanol to hydrogen-rich gas mixture, and two metal membrane modules, which clean-up the gas mixture to high-purity hydrogen. It produces hydrogen at rates up to 25 N m 3/h and the purity of the product hydrogen is over 99.9995% with a CO content of less than 1 ppm. In this fuel processor, the operating condition of the reformer and the metal membrane modules is nearly the same, so that operation is simple and the overall system construction is compact by eliminating the extensive temperature control of the intermediate gas streams. The recovery of hydrogen in the metal membrane units is maintained at 70-75% by the control of the pressure in the system, and the remaining 25-30% hydrogen is recycled to a catalytic combustion zone to supply heat for the methanol steam-reforming reaction. The thermal efficiency of the fuel processor is about 75% and the inlet air pressure is as low as 4 psi. The fuel processor is currently being integrated with 25-kW polymer electrolyte membrane fuel-cell (PEMFC) stack developed by the Hyundai Motor Company. The stack exhibits the same performance as those with pure hydrogen, which proves that the maximum power output as well as the minimum stack degradation is possible with this fuel processor. This fuel-cell 'engine' is to be installed in a hybrid passenger vehicle for road testing.

  8. 35-We polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system for notebook computer using a compact fuel processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, In-Hyuk; Shin, Woo-Cheol; Lee, Yong-Kul; Lee, Sung-Chul; Ahn, Jin-Gu; Han, Sang-Il; kweon, Ho-Jin; Kim, Ju-Yong; Kim, Moon-Chan; Park, Jun-Yong

    A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system is developed to power a notebook computer. The system consists of a compact methanol-reforming system with a CO preferential oxidation unit, a 16-cell PEMFC stack, and a control unit for the management of the system with a d.c.-d.c. converter. The compact fuel-processor system (260 cm 3) generates about 1.2 L min -1 of reformate, which corresponds to 35 We, with a low CO concentration (notebook computers.

  9. CFD analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell with internal reforming: Coupled interactions of transport, heterogeneous catalysis and electrochemical processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Deutschmann, Olaf [Institute for Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry, Engesserstr. 20, D-76131 Karlsruhe, University of Karlsruhe (TH) (Germany)

    2006-11-22

    Direct internal reforming in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) results in increased overall efficiency of the system. Present study focus on the chemical and electrochemical process in an internally reforming anode supported SOFC button cell running on humidified CH{sub 4} (3% H{sub 2} O). The computational approach employs a detailed multi-step model for heterogeneous chemistry in the anode, modified Butler-Volmer formalism for the electrochemistry and Dusty Gas Model (DGM) for the porous media transport. Two-dimensional elliptic model equations are solved for a button cell configuration. The electrochemical model assumes hydrogen as the only electrochemically active species. The predicted cell performances are compared with experimental reports. The results show that model predictions are in good agreement with experimental observation except the open circuit potentials. Furthermore, the steam content in the anode feed stream is found to have remarkable effect on the resulting overpotential losses and surface coverages of various species at the three-phase boundary. (author)

  10. CFD analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell with internal reforming: Coupled interactions of transport, heterogeneous catalysis and electrochemical processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janardhanan, Vinod M.; Deutschmann, Olaf

    Direct internal reforming in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) results in increased overall efficiency of the system. Present study focus on the chemical and electrochemical process in an internally reforming anode supported SOFC button cell running on humidified CH 4 (3% H 2 O). The computational approach employs a detailed multi-step model for heterogeneous chemistry in the anode, modified Butler-Volmer formalism for the electrochemistry and Dusty Gas Model (DGM) for the porous media transport. Two-dimensional elliptic model equations are solved for a button cell configuration. The electrochemical model assumes hydrogen as the only electrochemically active species. The predicted cell performances are compared with experimental reports. The results show that model predictions are in good agreement with experimental observation except the open circuit potentials. Furthermore, the steam content in the anode feed stream is found to have remarkable effect on the resulting overpotential losses and surface coverages of various species at the three-phase boundary.

  11. Canola Oil Fuel Cell Demonstration: Volume 2 - Market Availability of Agricultural Crops for Fuel Cell Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Adams, John W; Cassarino, Craig; Spangler, Lee; Johnson, Duane; Lindstrom, Joel; Binder, Michael J; Holcomb, Franklin H; Lux, Scott M

    2006-01-01

    .... The reformation of vegetable oil crops for fuel cell uses is not well known; yet vegetable oils such as canola oil represent a viable alternative and complement to traditional fuel cell feedstocks...

  12. A quasi-direct methanol fuel cell system based on blend polymer membrane electrolytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Qingfeng; Hjuler, Hans Aage; Hasiotis, C.

    2002-01-01

    , compared to less than 100 ppm CO for the Nafion-based technology at 80degrees C. The high CO tolerance makes it possible to use the reformed hydrogen directly from a simple methanol reformer without further CO removal. That both the fuel cell and the methanol reformer operate at temperatures around 200......On the basis of blend polymer electrolytes of polybenzimidazole and sulfonated polysulfone, a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell was developed with an operational temperature up to 200degrees C. Due to the high operational temperature, the fuel cell can tolerate 1.0-3.0 vol % CO in the fuel...

  13. Studies on the efficiency during reactivation of a generation system based on natural gas reformer and a 5 k W fuel cell; Estudos de eficiencia durante reativacao de um sistema de geracao baseado em reformador de gas natural e celula a combustivel de 5 kW

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopes, Francisco da Costa; Furtado, Jose Geraldo de Melo; Silva Junior, Fernando Rodrigues da; Serra, Eduardo Torres [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: fcl@cepel.br

    2008-07-01

    Fuel cell based power generation systems have been pointing as promising technology for stationary applications mainly to supply power to critical loads. Among several types of fuel cells the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are the main type used around the world. Nowadays reformers are widely employed to produce hydrogen for fuel cells. The Fuel Cell Laboratory of CEPEL has a power plant based on a 5 kW PEMFC and a natural gas reformer. For a long time the PEMFC was inoperable due to reformer malfunctioning and during this time the full power availability of PEMFC was lost due to deactivation of its catalytic sites. In most cases this deactivation is reversible. So it was started a reactivation process aiming to recover the full operational condition of the PEMFC unit. During this process the gas flow relationship and efficiency of the reformer were studied. An analysis of the PEMFC reactivation was conducted where it was noted that the reactivation took place as expected. During the reactivation process the PEMFC and the whole system efficiency were analyzed. The results suggest that the PEMFC can reach efficiency compatible with conventional power generation systems thus allowing PEMFC technology to compete with these energy sources in point of efficiency. (author)

  14. Stability, carbon resistance, and reactivity toward autothermal reforming of nickel on ceria-based supports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sutthisripok, W.; Laosiripojana, N.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) normally requires a reformer unit, where the fuel such as natural gas, methane, methanol, or ethanol can be reformed to hydrogen before introducing to the main part of fuel cell. Nickel on commercial supports such as Al2O3, MgO, ZrO2 has been widely reported to be used as the reforming catalyst commercially. Carbon formation and catalyst deactivation are always the main problems of using this type of catalyst. It is well established that CeO2 and CeO2-ZrO2 have been applied as the catalysts in a wide variety of reactions involving oxidation or partial oxidation of hydrocarbons (e.g. automotive catalysis). In order to quantify the performance of nickel on CeO2 and CeO2-ZrO2 supports for reformer application, the stabilities toward methane steam reforming and the carbon formation resistance were studied. After 18 hours, nickel on CeO2-ZrO2 with the Ce/Zr ratio of 3/1 presented the best performance in term of stability and activity. It also provided excellent resistance toward carbon formation compared to commercial Ni/Al2O3. The autothermal reforming of methane over Ni catalyst on CeO2 and CeO2-ZrO2 supports were also investigated. Ni/Ce-ZrO2 with the Ce/ Zr ratio of 3/1 also showed the best performance. The kinetics of this reaction was also studied. In the temperature range of 750-900C, the reaction order in methane was always closed to 1. The catalyst showed a slight positive effect of hydrogen and a negative effect of steam on the steam reforming rate. The addition of oxygen increased the steam reforming rate. However, the productions of CO and H2 decreased with increasing oxygen partial pressure. (author)

  15. Steam reforming of technical bioethanol for hydrogen production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rass-Hansen, Jeppe; Johansson, Roger; Møller, Martin Hulbek

    2008-01-01

    Essentially all work on ethanol steam reforming so far has been carried out using simulated bioethanol feedstocks, which means pure ethanol mixed with water. However, technical bioethanol consists of a lot of different components including sugars, which cannot be easily vaporized and steam reformed....... For ethanol steam reforming to be of practical interest, it is important to avoid the energy-intensive purification steps to fuel grade ethanol. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze how technical bioethanol, with the relevant impurities, reacts during the steam reforming process. We show how three different...... bioethanol will result in a faster catalyst deactivation than what is observed when using pure ethanol-water mixtures because of contaminants remaining in the feed. However, the initial activity of the catalysts are not affected by this, hence it is important to not only focus on catalyst activity but rather...

  16. Development of a basic numerical model of an isooctane catalytic autothermal reformer for an automobile

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, V.C.L.; Harrison, S.; Oosthuizen, P.; Peppley, B.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' A numerical study of the performance of an isooctane catalytic autothermal reformer for a fuel cell automobile has been undertaken. The prototype reformer considered in this study, which is a tubular reformer with three annular sections, was designed and built at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). The flow within the reformer was assumed to be steady. The different chemical reactions, along with the reaction rate constants, that take place over the autothermal reforming catalyst (a ceria-based platinum catalyst), were obtained through the analysis and regression of the experimental results from the literature. By neglecting the radial gradients in the concentrations and the velocities of the various species in the flow and in the temperature of the reformer, a one-dimensional numerical model, based on the molar flow rate differential equations and energy equation, was developed to simulate the composition and temperature profiles along the length of the catalyst bed. The results obtained from the numerical model were verified against published results. Numerical results were obtained for a range of total inlet flow rates, different inlet temperatures of the fuel mixture and different oxygen concentrations in feed air at the inlet of the reformer. (author)

  17. Fuel injection and mixing systems having piezoelectric elements and methods of using the same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Chien-Pei [Clive, IA; Short, John [Norwalk, IA; Klemm, Jim [Des Moines, IA; Abbott, Royce [Des Moines, IA; Overman, Nick [West Des Moines, IA; Pack, Spencer [Urbandale, IA; Winebrenner, Audra [Des Moines, IA

    2011-12-13

    A fuel injection and mixing system is provided that is suitable for use with various types of fuel reformers. Preferably, the system includes a piezoelectric injector for delivering atomized fuel, a gas swirler, such as a steam swirler and/or an air swirler, a mixing chamber and a flow mixing device. The system utilizes ultrasonic vibrations to achieve fuel atomization. The fuel injection and mixing system can be used with a variety of fuel reformers and fuel cells, such as SOFC fuel cells.

  18. Investigation of a methanol reformer concept considering the particular impact of dynamics and long-term stability for use in a fuel-cell-powered passenger car

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, R.; Düsterwald, H. G.; Höhlein, B.

    A methanol reformer concept including a reformer, a catalytic burner, a gas cleaning unit, a PEMFC and an electric motor for use in fuel-cell-powered passenger cars was investigated. Special emphasis was placed on the dynamics and the long-term stability of the reformer. Experiments on a laboratory scale were performed in a methanol steam reformer consisting of four different reactor tubes, which were separately balanced. Due to the endothermy of the steam reforming reaction of methanol, a sharp drop in the reaction temperature of about 50 K occurs at the beginning of the catalyst bed. This agrees well with the high catalytic activity at the entrance of the catalyst bed. Forty-five percent of the methanol was converted within the first 10 cm of the catalyst bed where 12.6 g of the CuO/ZnO catalyst was located. Furthermore, CO formation during methanol steam reforming strongly depends on methanol conversion. Long-term measurements for more than 700 h show that the active reaction zone moved through the catalyst bed. Calculations, on the basis of these experiments, revealed that 63 g of reforming catalyst was necessary for mobile PEMFC applications, in this case for 400 W el at a system efficiency of 42% and a theoretical specific hydrogen production of 5.2 m 3n/(h kg Cat). This amount of catalyst was assumed to maintain a hydrogen production of at least 80% of the original amount over an operating range of 3864 h. Cycled start-up and shut-down processes of the methanol steam reformer under nitrogen and hydrogen atmospheres did not harm the catalytic activity. The simulation of the breakdown of the heating system, in which a liquid water/methanol mixture was in close contact with the catalyst, did not reveal any deactivation of the catalytic activity.

  19. NEW MATERIAL NEEDS FOR HYDROCARBON FUEL PROCESSING: Generating Hydrogen for the PEM Fuel Cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrauto, R.; Hwang, S.; Shore, L.; Ruettinger, W.; Lampert, J.; Giroux, T.; Liu, Y.; Ilinich, O.

    2003-08-01

    The hydrogen economy is fast approaching as petroleum reserves are rapidly consumed. The fuel cell promises to deliver clean and efficient power by combining hydrogen and oxygen in a simple electrochemical device that directly converts chemical energy to electrical energy. Hydrogen, the most plentiful element available, can be extracted from water by electrolysis. One can imagine capturing energy from the sun and wind and/or from the depths of the earth to provide the necessary power for electrolysis. Alternative energy sources such as these are the promise for the future, but for now they are not feasible for power needs across the globe. A transitional solution is required to convert certain hydrocarbon fuels to hydrogen. These fuels must be available through existing infrastructures such as the natural gas pipeline. The present review discusses the catalyst and adsorbent technologies under development for the extraction of hydrogen from natural gas to meet the requirements for the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The primary market is for residential applications, where pipeline natural gas will be the source of H2 used to power the home. Other applications including the reforming of methanol for portable power applications such as laptop computers, cellular phones, and personnel digital equipment are also discussed. Processing natural gas containing sulfur requires many materials, for example, adsorbents for desulfurization, and heterogeneous catalysts for reforming (either autothermal or steam reforming) water gas shift, preferential oxidation of CO, and anode tail gas combustion. All these technologies are discussed for natural gas and to a limited extent for reforming methanol.

  20. Hydrogen Production via a High-Efficiency Low-Temperature Reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paul KT Liu; Theo T. Tsotsis

    2006-05-31

    Fuel cells are promoted by the US government as a viable alternative for clean and efficient energy generation. It is anticipated that the fuel cell market will rise if the key technical barriers can be overcome. One of them is certainly fuel processing and purification. Existing fuel reforming processes are energy intensive, extremely complicated and capital intensive; these disadvantages handicap the scale-down of existing reforming process, targeting distributed or on-board/stationary hydrogen production applications. Our project involves the bench-scale demonstration of a high-efficiency low-temperature steam reforming process. Hydrogen production can be operated at 350 to 400ºC with our invention, as opposed to >800ºC of existing reforming. In addition, our proposed process improves the start-up deficiency of conventional reforming due to its low temperature operation. The objective of this project is to demonstrate the invented process concept via a bench scale unit and verify mathematical simulation for future process optimization study. Under this project, we have performed the experimental work to determine the adsorption isotherm, reaction kinetics, and membrane permeances required to perform the process simulation based upon the mathematical model developed by us. A ceramic membrane coated with palladium thin film fabricated by us was employed in this study. The adsorption isotherm for a selected hydrotalcite adsorbent was determined experimentally. Further, the capacity loss under cyclic adsorption/desorption was confirmed to be negligible. Finally a commercial steam reforming catalyst was used to produce the reaction kinetic parameters required for the proposed operating condition. With these input parameters, a mathematical simulation was performed to predict the performance of the invented process. According to our simulation, our invented hybrid process can deliver 35 to 55% methane conversion, in comparison with the 12 and 18-21% conversion of

  1. Methane steam reforming kinetics over Ni-YSZ anode materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, David

    of internal reforming has to be carefully controlled. The objective of this thesis is to make such a careful control possible by examining the rate of internal steam reforming in SOFCs. The catalytic steam reforming activity of Ni-YSZ anode material was tested both in a packed bed reactor to determine...

  2. Preparation and characterization of the perovskite catalysts : activity studies for diesel surrogate (dodecane) reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kondakindi, R.; Kundu, A.; Karan, K.; Peppley, B. [Queen' s-RMC Fuel Cell Research Centre, Kingston, ON (Canada)

    2009-07-01

    Canada's northern communities rely on diesel fuel for generating electricity. The process of converting diesel to electricity in internal combustion engines is not efficient and generates significant amounts of unwanted products. This paper presented an alternative process whereby diesel is reformed into hydrogen-rich reformate which can then be fed to a solid oxide fuel cell. This alternative process converts energy more efficiently and eliminates the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot. This study focused on the development of LaFeO{sub 3} based perovskite catalysts for diesel reforming. The activity of the perovskite catalysts was assessed for steam reforming of dodecane, a surrogate for diesel. In order to study the effect on catalytic activity, various perovskite materials were prepared by doping the perovskite at A-site to minimize the coke deposition and at B-site to improve the activity. Preliminary results for dodecane reforming for selected perovskites were promising. Additional testing is underway regarding catalyst activity and stability studies as well carbon and sulphur poisoning.

  3. On direct internal methane steam reforming kinetics in operating solid oxide fuel cells with nickel-ceria anodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thallam Thattai, A.; van Biert, L.; Aravind, P. V.

    2017-12-01

    Major operating challenges remain to safely operate methane fuelled solid oxide fuel cells due to undesirable temperature gradients across the porous anode and carbon deposition. This article presents an experimental study on methane steam reforming (MSR) global kinetics for single operating SOFCs with Ni-GDC (gadolinium doped ceria) anodes for low steam to carbon (S/C) ratios and moderate current densities. The study points out the hitherto insufficient research on MSR global and intrinsic kinetics for operating SOFCs with complete Ni-ceria anodes. Further, it emphasizes the need to develop readily applicable global kinetic models as a subsequent step from previously reported state-of-art and complex intrinsic models. Two rate expressions of the Power law (PL) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) type have been compared and based on the analysis, limitations of using previously proposed rate expressions for Ni catalytic beds to study MSR kinetics for complete cermet anodes have been identified. Firstly, it has been shown that methane reforming on metallic (Ni) current collectors may not be always negligible, contrary to literature reports. Both PL and LH kinetic models predict significantly different local MSR reaction rate and species partial pressure distributions along the normalized reactor length, indicating a strong need for further experimental verifications.

  4. JP-8 Catalytic Cracking for Compact Fuel Processors

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Campbell, Timothy

    2004-01-01

    ...), kerosene, and diesel to produce hydrogen for fuel cell use, several issues arise. First, these fuels have high sulfur content, which can poison and deactivate components of the reforming process and the fuel cell stack...

  5. Energetic-economical analysis of a stationary for energy generation with fuel cells and natural gas reforming; Analise energetico-economica de um sistema estacionario de geracao de energia com celulas a combustivel e reforma de gas natural

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furtado, Jose Geraldo de Melo; Silva Junior, Fernando Rodrigues; Silva, Cristiane Abrantes da; Soares, Guilherme Fleury Wanderley; Lopes, Francisco da Costa; Serra, Eduardo Torres [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: furtado@cepel.br; Codeceira Neto, Alcides [Companhia HidroEletrica do Sao Francisco (CHESF), Recife, PE (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Power systems based on fuel cells have been considered for residential and commercial applications in energy Distributed Generation (DG) market as these systems can minimize their acquisition, installation and operation high costs. In this work we present an experimental analysis of a power generation system formed by a 5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell unit and a natural gas reformer (fuel processor) for hydrogen production, of the CEPEL's Fuel Cell Laboratory. It was determined the electrical performance of the cogeneration system in function of the design and operational power plant parameters. Additionally, it was verified the influence of the activation conditions of the fuel cell electrocatalytic system on the system performance. It also appeared that the use of hydrogen produced from the natural gas catalytic reforming provided the system operation in excellent electrothermal stability conditions resulting in increase of the energy conversion efficiency and of the economicity of the cogeneration power plant. The maximum electrical efficiency achieved was around 38% and in all power range unit operated with average potential per single fuel cell higher than 0.60 V. (author)

  6. Heat balance of a molten carbonate fuel cell production hydrogen for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell-CoCell; Waermehaushalt einer Karbonat-Brennstoffzelle zur Wasserstoffherstellung fuer eine Polymerelektrolyt-Brennstoffzelle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adamek, L.

    2006-10-17

    Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) are being used in decentralised power plants, as they can reform hydrocarbon bound fuels internally, e.g. natural gas with a energy density of 10 kWh/m{sup 3} at standard conditions, and the efficiency of this mode of operation is around 50 %. However in comparison to other fuel cell systems the power density is only 5 kW/m{sup 3}. The power density of a polymerelectrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is much higher (50 kW/m{sup 3}). These systems can be run with an efficiency of 50 %, too. Therefore they need hydrogen as a fuel, with an energy density of 2,9 kWh/m{sup 3} at standard conditions. Efficiency decreases to 35 to 40% using Methane as fuel, because of the reforming losses. The power density than is 6 kW/m3 and therefore as high as for a MCFC-system. Acombination of MCFC and PEFC, the so called CoCell, offers the following advantages: - A highly energetic, hydrocarbon based fuel can be used, e.g. Methane. - A high electrical efficiency is achieved. - The power density of this system is higher than for a fuel cell with reformer. In the CoCell the MCFC is working as electricity producing reformer for the PEFC. The off heat of the MCFC is used for reforming, whereby hydrogen is available, being utilised further in the power dense PEFC. The reforming capacity of the MCFC is limited by the internal heat balance. If the endothermic reforming consumes more heat than supplied by the material streams and the fuel cell waste heat, the stack cools down. The performance of such a combined fuel cell system has been evaluated in this thesis using the thermodynamic simulation software Aspen. Calculations reducing the utilisation in the MCFC by various heating techniques showed, that additional heat is supplied most efficiently by increasing the current density of the MCFC. Thereby the stack is heated electrically and the power density of the system is increased by the improved power density of the MCFC. The reduction of the utilisation is achieved

  7. Hydrogen production via catalytic steam reforming of fast pyrolysis oil fractions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, D.; Czernik, S.; Montane, D.; Mann, M.; Chornet, E.

    1997-01-01

    Hydrogen is the prototype of the environmentally cleanest fuel of interest for power generation using fuel cells, and as a co-adjuvant or autonomous transportation fuel in internal combustion engines. The conversion of biomass to hydrogen can be carried out through two distinct thermochemical strategies: (a) gasification followed by shift conversion; (b) catalytic steam reforming and shift conversion of specific fractions derived from fast pyrolysis and aqueous/steam processes of biomass. This paper shows that fast pyrolysis of biomass results in a bio-oil that can be adequately fractionated into valuable co-products leaving as by-product an aqueous fraction containing soluble organics (a mixture of alcohols, aldehydes and acids). This fraction can be converted to hydrogen by catalytic steam reforming followed by a shift conversion step. The methods used, the yields obtained and their economic significance will be discussed. (author)

  8. Performance and endurance of a high temperature PEM fuel cell operated on methanol reformate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Araya, Samuel Simon; Grigoras, Ionela; Zhou, Fan

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyzes the effects of methanol and water vapor on the performance of a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) at varying temperatures, ranging from 140 °C to 180 °C. For the study, a H3PO4 – doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) – based membrane electrode assembly (MEA......) of 45 cm2 active surface area from BASF was employed. The study showed overall negligible effects of methanol-water vapor mixture slips on performance, even at relatively low simulated steam methanol reforming conversion of 90%, which corresponds to 3% methanol vapor by volume in the anode gas feed....... Temperature on the other hand has significant impact on the performance of an HT-PEMFC. To assess the effects of methanol-water vapor mixture alone, CO2 and CO are not considered in these tests. The analysis is based on polarization curves and impedance spectra registered for all the test points. After...

  9. Investigation of sulfur interactions on a conventional nickel-based solid oxide fuel cell anode during methane steam and dry reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jablonski, Whitney S.

    Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are an attractive energy source because they do not have undesirable emissions, are scalable, and are feedstock flexible, which means they can operate using a variety of fuel mixtures containing H2 and hydrocarbons. In terms of fuel flexibility, most potential fuel sources contain sulfur species, which severely poison the nickel-based anode. The main objective of this thesis is to systematically evaluate sulfur interactions on a conventional Ni/YSZ anode and compare sulfur poisoning during methane steam and dry reforming (SMR and DMR) to a conventional catalyst (Sud Chemie, Ni/K2O-CaAl2O4). Reforming experiments (SMR and DMR) were carried out in a packed bed reactor (PBR), and it was demonstrated that Ni/YSZ is much more sensitive to sulfur poisoning than Ni/K2O-CaAl2O4 as evidenced by the decline in activity to zero in under an hour for both SMR and DMR. Adsorption and desorption of H2S and SO2 on both catalysts was evaluated, and despite the low amount of accessible nickel on Ni/YSZ (14 times lower than Ni/K2O-CaAl2O4), it adsorbs 20 times more H2S and 50 times more SO2 than Ni/K 2O-CaAl2O4. A one-dimensional, steady state PBR model (DetchemPBED) was used to evaluate SMR and DMR under poisoning conditions using the Deutschmann mechanism and a recently published sulfur sub-mechanism. To fit the observed deactivation in the presence of 1 ppm H2S, the adsorption/desorption equilibrium constant was increased by a factor 16,000 for Ni/YSZ and 96 for Ni/K2O-CaAl2O4. A tubular SAE reactor was designed and fabricated for evaluating DMR in a reactor that mimics an SOFC. Evidence of hydrogen diffusion through a supposedly impermeable layer indicated that the tubular SAE reactor has a major flaw in which gases diffuse to unintended parts of the tube. It was also found to be extremely susceptible to coking which leads to cell failure even in operating regions that mimic real biogas. These problems made it impossible to validate the tubular SAE

  10. Methanol Reformer System Modeling and Control using an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Ehmsen, Mikkel Præstholm; Andersen, John

    2012-01-01

    This work presents the experimental study and modelling of a methanol reformer system for a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell stack. The analyzed system is a fully integrated HTPEM fuel cell system with a DC/DC control output able to be used as e.g. a mobile battery...... charger. The advantages of using a HTPEM methanol reformer is that the high quality waste heat can be used as a system heat input to heat and evaporate the input methanol/water mixture which afterwards is catalytically converted into a hydrogen rich gas usable in the high CO tolerant HTPEM fuel cells....... Creating a fuel cell system able to use a well known and easily distributable liquid fuel such as methanol is a good choice in some applications such as range extenders for electric vehicles as an alternative to compressed hydrogen. This work presents a control strategy called Current Correction...

  11. Projected hydrogen cost from methane reforming for North America 2015-2050

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanderveen, K.; Lutz, A.; Klebanoff, L.; Drennen, T.; Keller, J.; Drennen, T.; Kamery, W.

    2006-01-01

    The Hydrogen Futures Simulation Model (H 2 Sim) was used to project the cost for hydrogen at the point of sale to light duty vehicles for distributed, small-scale steam methane reforming. Projections cover the period from 2010-2050 in North America, and take into account assumptions about the quantity of recoverable natural gas remaining in North America. We conclude that there is a window for distributed reforming to play a positive role in supplying a H 2 fuel infrastructure, but this window is closing rapidly. The analysis assumes that production from natural gas reserves in North America will peak sometime before 2050 and demand will cause the price to rise after the peak of production in a manner consistent with Hotelling's model. We consider three scenarios for when the peak occurs, and evaluate the impact on the cost of hydrogen fuel produced via distributed small scale reforming in these three scenarios. (authors)

  12. Co-flow anode/cathode supply heat exchanger for a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haltiner, Jr., Karl J.; Kelly, Sean M.

    2005-11-22

    In a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly, a co-flow heat exchanger is provided in the flow paths of the reformate gas and the cathode air ahead of the fuel cell stack, the reformate gas being on one side of the exchanger and the cathode air being on the other. The reformate gas is at a substantially higher temperature than is desired in the stack, and the cathode gas is substantially cooler than desired. In the co-flow heat exchanger, the temperatures of the reformate and cathode streams converge to nearly the same temperature at the outlet of the exchanger. Preferably, the heat exchanger is formed within an integrated component manifold (ICM) for a solid-oxide fuel cell assembly.

  13. Modeling and simulation of graphene/palladium catalyst reformer for hydrogen generation from waste of IC engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, A.; Aung, K. M.

    2018-01-01

    A small amount of hydrogen made by on-board reformer is added to the normal intake air and gasoline mixture in the vehicle’s engine could improves overall combustion quality by allowing nearly twice as much air for a given amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber. This can be justified based on the calorific value of Hydrogen (H2) 141.9 MJ/kg while the gasoline (C6.4H11.8) is 47MJ/kg. Different weight % of Pd and GO uses for the reformer model and has conducted simulation by COMSOL software. The best result found for the composition of catalyst (palladium 30% and graphene 70%). The study shows that reformer yield hydrogen 23% for the exhaust temperature of 600-900°C and 20% for 80-90°C. Pumping hydrogen may boost the fuel atomization and vaporization at engine idle condition, which could enhances the fuel combustion efficiency. Thus, this innovative technology would be able to save fuel about 12% and reduce the emission about 35%.

  14. 21st Century Renewable Fuels, Energy, and Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berry, K. Joel [Kettering Univ., Flint, MI (United States); Das, Susanta K. [Kettering Univ., Flint, MI (United States)

    2012-11-29

    The objectives of this project were multi-fold: (i) conduct fundamental studies to develop a new class of high temperature PEM fuel cell material capable of conducting protons at elevated temperature (180°C), (ii) develop and fabricate a 5k We novel catalytic flat plate steam reforming process for extracting hydrogen from multi-fuels and integrate with high-temperature PEM fuel cell systems, (iii) research and develop improved oxygen permeable membranes for high power density lithium air battery with simple control systems and reduced cost, (iv) research on high energy yield agriculture bio-crop (Miscanthus) suitable for reformate fuel/alternative fuel with minimum impact on human food chain and develop a cost analysis and production model, and (v) develop math and science alternative energy educator program to include bio-energy and power.

  15. The impact of tax reform on new car purchases in Ireland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hennessy, Hugh; Tol, Richard S.J.

    2011-01-01

    We examine the impact of recent tax reforms in Ireland on private car transport and its greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon tax was introduced on fuels, and purchase (vehicle registration) and ownership (motor) taxes were switched from engine size to potential emissions. We use a demographic model of the car stock (by age, size, and fuel) and a car purchase model that reflects the heterogeneous distribution of mileage and usage costs across various engine sizes. The model shows a dramatic shift from petrol to diesel cars, particularly for large engines. The same pattern is observed in the latest data on car sales. This has a substantial impact on tax revenue as car owners shift to the lower tax rates. The tax burden has shifted from car ownership to car use, and that the overall tax burden on private car transport falls. As diesel engines are more fuel efficient than petrol engines, carbon dioxide emissions fall modestly or, if we consider the rebound effect of travel costs on mileage, minimally. From the perspective of the revenue, the costs per tonne of carbon dioxide avoided are (very) high. - Highlights: → Ireland has reform fuel and car taxes to inventivize emission reduction. → These tax reforms are likely to cause a large shift from petrol to diesel cars. → Carbon dioxide emissions will fall as a result. → Tax revenues will fall too. → The exchequer cost per tonne of CO 2 avoided is very high.

  16. Modeling efficiency and water balance in PEM fuel cell systems with liquid fuel processing and hydrogen membranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearlman, Joshua B.; Bhargav, Atul; Shields, Eric B.; Jackson, Gregory S.; Hearn, Patrick L.

    Integrating PEM fuel cells effectively with liquid hydrocarbon reforming requires careful system analysis to assess trade-offs associated with H 2 production, purification, and overall water balance. To this end, a model of a PEM fuel cell system integrated with an autothermal reformer for liquid hydrocarbon fuels (modeled as C 12H 23) and with H 2 purification in a water-gas-shift/membrane reactor is developed to do iterative calculations for mass, species, and energy balances at a component and system level. The model evaluates system efficiency with parasitic loads (from compressors, pumps, and cooling fans), system water balance, and component operating temperatures/pressures. Model results for a 5-kW fuel cell generator show that with state-of-the-art PEM fuel cell polarization curves, thermal efficiencies >30% can be achieved when power densities are low enough for operating voltages >0.72 V per cell. Efficiency can be increased by operating the reformer at steam-to-carbon ratios as high as constraints related to stable reactor temperatures allow. Decreasing ambient temperature improves system water balance and increases efficiency through parasitic load reduction. The baseline configuration studied herein sustained water balance for ambient temperatures ≤35 °C at full power and ≤44 °C at half power with efficiencies approaching ∼27 and ∼30%, respectively.

  17. The role of various fuels on microwave-enhanced combustion synthesis of CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 nanocatalyst used in hydrogen production via methanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ajamein, Hossein; Haghighi, Mohammad; Alaei, Shervin

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalysts were synthesized by the fast and simple microwave enhanced combustion method. Considering that the fuel type is one of the effective parameters on quality of the prepared nanocatalysts, different fuels such as sorbitol, propylene glycol, glycerol, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol were used. XRD, FESEM, FTIR, EDX, and BET analyses were applied to determine the physicochemical properties of fabricated nanocatalysts. The catalytic experiments were performed in a fixed bed reactor in the temperature range of 160–300 °C. The characteristic and reactivity properties of fabricated nanocatalysts proved that ethylene glycol is the suitable fuel for preparation of CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalysts via microwave enhanced combustion method. - Highlights: • Microwave combustion synthesis of CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalysts by different fuels. • Enhancement of methanol conversion at low temperatures by selecting proper fuel. • Providing a large number of combustion pores by application of ethylene glycol as fuel. • Increase of CO selectivity in steam methanol reforming by Zn(0 0 2) crystallite facet. - Abstract: A series of CuO/ZnO/Al 2 O 3 nanocatalysts were synthesized by the microwave enhanced combustion method to evaluate the influence of fuel type. Sorbitol, propylene glycol, glycerol, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol were used as fuel. XRD results revealed that application of ethylene glycol led to highly dispersed CuO and ZnO crystals. It was more highlighted about Cu(1 1 1) crystallite facet which known as the main active site of methanol steam reforming. Moreover, using ethylene glycol resulted homogeneous morphology and narrow particles size distribution (average surface particle size is about 265 nm). Due to the significant physicochemical properties, the catalytic experiments showed that the sample prepared by ethylene glycol achieved total conversion of methanol at 260 °C. Its carbon monoxide

  18. 35-We polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system for notebook computer using a compact fuel processor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Son, In-Hyuk; Shin, Woo-Cheol; Lee, Sung-Chul; Ahn, Jin-Gu; Han, Sang-Il; kweon, Ho-Jin; Kim, Ju-Yong; Park, Jun-Yong [Energy 1 Group, Energy Laboratory at Corporate R and D Center in Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., 575, Shin-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 443-731 (Korea); Lee, Yong-Kul [Department of Chemical Engineering, Dankook University, Youngin 448-701 (Korea); Kim, Moon-Chan [Department of Environmental Engineering, Chongju University, Chongju 360-764 (Korea)

    2008-10-15

    A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system is developed to power a notebook computer. The system consists of a compact methanol-reforming system with a CO preferential oxidation unit, a 16-cell PEMFC stack, and a control unit for the management of the system with a d.c.-d.c. converter. The compact fuel-processor system (260 cm{sup 3}) generates about 1.2 L min{sup -1} of reformate, which corresponds to 35 We, with a low CO concentration (<30 ppm, typically 0 ppm), and is thus proven to be capable of being targetted at notebook computers. (author)

  19. A Novel Cyclic Catalytic Reformer for Hydrocarbon Fuels, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This proposed Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I addresses development of a compact reformer system based on a cyclic partial oxidation (POx)...

  20. CO tolerance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gubler, L; Scherer, G G; Wokaun, A [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

    1999-08-01

    Reformed methanol can be used as a fuel for polymer electrolyte fuel cells instead of pure hydrogen. The reformate gas contains mainly H{sub 2}, CO{sub 2} in the order of 20% and low levels of CO in the order of 100 ppm. CO causes severe voltage losses due to poisoning of the anode catalyst. The effect of CO on cell performance was investigated at different CO levels up to 100 ppm. Various options to improve the CO tolerance of the fuel cell were assessed thereafter, of which the injection of a few percents of oxygen into the fuel feed stream proved to be most effective. By mixing 1% of oxygen with hydrogen containing 100 ppm CO, complete recovery of the cell performance could be attained. (author) 2 figs., 2 tabs., 3 refs.

  1. Various Transport Phenomena and Modeling in a Methane Reformer Duct for PEMFCs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jinliang Yuan; Fuan Ren; Jinliang Yuan; Bengt Sunden

    2006-01-01

    There are various physical processes (such as mass, heat and momentum transport) integrated with catalytic chemical reactions in a methane steam reforming duct. It is often found that endothermic and exothermic reactions in the ducts are strongly coupled by heat transfer from adjacent catalytic combustion ducts. In this paper, a three-dimensional calculation method is developed to simulate and analyze steam reforming of methane, and the effects on various transport processes in a steam reforming duct. The reformer conditions such as mass balances associated with the reforming reactions and gas permeation to/from the porous catalyst layer are applied in the analysis. The predicted results are presented and discussed for a composite duct consisting of a porous catalyst reaction area, the gas flow duct and solid layers. Parametric studies are conducted and the results show that the variables, such as fuel reformer temperatures and catalyst loadings, have significant effects on the transport processes and reformer performance. (authors)

  2. Molten carbonate fuel cell system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ito, Yasuhiko; Kinoshita, Mamoru; Murakami, Shuzo; Furukawa, Nobuhiro

    1987-09-26

    Reformed gas or coal gasification gas, etc. is used as the fuel gas for fused carbonate fuel cells, however sulfuric compounds are contained in these gases and even after these gases have been treated beforehand through a desulfurizer, a trace quantity of H/sub 2/S is sent to a fuel electrode. Sulfur oxide which is formed at the time of burning and oxidating the exhaust gas from the fuel electrode is supplied together with the air to an oxygen electrode and becomes sulfate after substituting carbonate, which is the electrolyte of the electrode, causing deterioration of the cell characteristics and durability. With regard to a system that hydrogen rich gas which was reformed from the raw fuel is supplied to a fuel electrode, and its exhaust gas is oxidated through a burner to form carbon dioxide which is supplied together with the air to an oxygen electrode, this invention proposes the prevention of the aforementioned defects by providing at the down stream of the above burner a remover to trap with fused carbonate such sulfur compounds as SO/sub 2/ and SO/sub 3/ in the gas after being oxidated as above. (3 figs)

  3. Comparison of ammonia and methanol applied indirectly in a hydrogen fuel cell

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metkemeijer, R.; Achard, P.

    1993-01-01

    A comparison is presented between ammonia and methanol, applied indirectly in a hydrogen/air fuel cell. The calculations concentrate on specific energy of the fuels (amount of electricity produced per mass of fuel), specific energy of the fuels corrected for the mass and volume of the tank, and the overall energy efficiency (amount of electricity produced by one kg of fuel divided by the amount of energy needed for the production of one kg of this fuel). Taking into consideration the differences in efficiencies between the acid fuel cell and the alkaline fuel cells, the reformer temperatures, the reforming efficiencies, and some ecological and economical considerations, it appears that ammonia is a more interesting fuel than methanol for certain applications. 6 figs., 2 tabs

  4. Hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tasnadi-Asztalos, Zs., E-mail: tazsolt@chem.ubbcluj.ro; Cormos, C. C., E-mail: cormos@chem.ubbcluj.ro; Agachi, P. S. [Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 11 Arany Janos, Postal code: 400028, Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

    2015-12-23

    This paper is evaluating two power generation concepts based on hydrogen produced from bioethanol steam reforming at industrial scale without and with carbon capture. The power generation from bioethanol conversion is based on two important steps: hydrogen production from bioethanol catalytic steam reforming and electricity generation using a hydrogen-fuelled gas turbine. As carbon capture method to be assessed in hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming, the gas-liquid absorption using methyl-di-ethanol-amine (MDEA) was used. Bioethanol is a renewable energy carrier mainly produced from biomass fermentation. Steam reforming of bioethanol (SRE) provides a promising method for hydrogen and power production from renewable resources. SRE is performed at high temperatures (e.g. 800-900°C) to reduce the reforming by-products (e.g. ethane, ethene). The power generation from hydrogen was done with M701G2 gas turbine (334 MW net power output). Hydrogen was obtained through catalytic steam reforming of bioethanol without and with carbon capture. For the evaluated plant concepts the following key performance indicators were assessed: fuel consumption, gross and net power outputs, net electrical efficiency, ancillary consumptions, carbon capture rate, specific CO{sub 2} emission etc. As the results show, the power generation based on bioethanol conversion has high energy efficiency and low carbon footprint.

  5. Hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tasnadi-Asztalos, Zs.; Cormos, C. C.; Agachi, P. S.

    2015-01-01

    This paper is evaluating two power generation concepts based on hydrogen produced from bioethanol steam reforming at industrial scale without and with carbon capture. The power generation from bioethanol conversion is based on two important steps: hydrogen production from bioethanol catalytic steam reforming and electricity generation using a hydrogen-fuelled gas turbine. As carbon capture method to be assessed in hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming, the gas-liquid absorption using methyl-di-ethanol-amine (MDEA) was used. Bioethanol is a renewable energy carrier mainly produced from biomass fermentation. Steam reforming of bioethanol (SRE) provides a promising method for hydrogen and power production from renewable resources. SRE is performed at high temperatures (e.g. 800-900°C) to reduce the reforming by-products (e.g. ethane, ethene). The power generation from hydrogen was done with M701G2 gas turbine (334 MW net power output). Hydrogen was obtained through catalytic steam reforming of bioethanol without and with carbon capture. For the evaluated plant concepts the following key performance indicators were assessed: fuel consumption, gross and net power outputs, net electrical efficiency, ancillary consumptions, carbon capture rate, specific CO 2 emission etc. As the results show, the power generation based on bioethanol conversion has high energy efficiency and low carbon footprint

  6. Hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tasnadi-Asztalos, Zs.; Cormos, C. C.; Agachi, P. S.

    2015-12-01

    This paper is evaluating two power generation concepts based on hydrogen produced from bioethanol steam reforming at industrial scale without and with carbon capture. The power generation from bioethanol conversion is based on two important steps: hydrogen production from bioethanol catalytic steam reforming and electricity generation using a hydrogen-fuelled gas turbine. As carbon capture method to be assessed in hydrogen-based power generation from bioethanol steam reforming, the gas-liquid absorption using methyl-di-ethanol-amine (MDEA) was used. Bioethanol is a renewable energy carrier mainly produced from biomass fermentation. Steam reforming of bioethanol (SRE) provides a promising method for hydrogen and power production from renewable resources. SRE is performed at high temperatures (e.g. 800-900°C) to reduce the reforming by-products (e.g. ethane, ethene). The power generation from hydrogen was done with M701G2 gas turbine (334 MW net power output). Hydrogen was obtained through catalytic steam reforming of bioethanol without and with carbon capture. For the evaluated plant concepts the following key performance indicators were assessed: fuel consumption, gross and net power outputs, net electrical efficiency, ancillary consumptions, carbon capture rate, specific CO2 emission etc. As the results show, the power generation based on bioethanol conversion has high energy efficiency and low carbon footprint.

  7. Fuel processing for PEM fuel cells: transport and kinetic issues of system design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalc, J. M.; Löffler, D. G.

    In light of the distribution and storage issues associated with hydrogen, efficient on-board fuel processing will be a significant factor in the implementation of PEM fuel cells for automotive applications. Here, we apply basic chemical engineering principles to gain insight into the factors that limit performance in each component of a fuel processor. A system consisting of a plate reactor steam reformer, water-gas shift unit, and preferential oxidation reactor is used as a case study. It is found that for a steam reformer based on catalyst-coated foils, mass transfer from the bulk gas to the catalyst surface is the limiting process. The water-gas shift reactor is expected to be the largest component of the fuel processor and is limited by intrinsic catalyst activity, while a successful preferential oxidation unit depends on strict temperature control in order to minimize parasitic hydrogen oxidation. This stepwise approach of sequentially eliminating rate-limiting processes can be used to identify possible means of performance enhancement in a broad range of applications.

  8. Towards H2-rich gas production from unmixed steam reforming of methane: Thermodynamic modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lima da Silva, Aline; Müller, Iduvirges Lourdes

    2011-10-01

    In this work, the Gibbs energy minimization method is applied to investigate the unmixed steam reforming (USR) of methane to generate hydrogen for fuel cell application. The USR process is an advanced reforming technology that relies on the use of separate air and fuel/steam feeds to create a cyclic process. Under air flow (first half of the cycle), a bed of Ni-based material is oxidized, providing the heat necessary for the steam reforming that occurs subsequently during fuel/steam feed stage (second half of the cycle). In the presence of CaO sorbent, high purity hydrogen can be produced in a single reactor. In the first part of this work, it is demonstrated that thermodynamic predictions are consistent with experimental results from USR isothermal tests under fuel/steam feed. From this, it is also verified that the reacted NiO to CH4 (NiOreacted/CH4) molar ratio is a very important parameter that affects the product gas composition and decreases with time. At the end of fuel/steam flow, the reforming reaction is the most important chemical mechanism, with H2 production reaching ∼75 mol%. On the other hand, at the beginning of fuel/steam feed stage, NiO reduction reactions dominate the equilibrium system, resulting in high CO2 selectivity, negative steam conversion and low concentrations of H2. In the second part of this paper, the effect of NiOreacted/CH4 molar ratio on the product gas composition and enthalpy change during fuel flow is investigated at different temperatures for inlet H2O/CH4 molar ratios in the range of 1.2-4, considering the USR process operated with and without CaO sorbent. During fuel/steam feed stage, the energy demand increases as time passes, because endothermic reforming reaction becomes increasingly important as this stage nears its end. Thus, the duration of the second half of the cycle is limited by the conditions under which auto-thermal operation can be achieved. In absence of CaO, H2 at concentrations of approximately 73 mol% can

  9. Hydrogen system (hydrogen fuels feasibility)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guarna, S.

    1991-07-01

    This feasibility study on the production and use of hydrogen fuels for industry and domestic purposes includes the following aspects: physical and chemical properties of hydrogen; production methods steam reforming of natural gas, hydrolysis of water; liquid and gaseous hydrogen transportation and storage (hydrogen-hydride technology); environmental impacts, safety and economics of hydrogen fuel cells for power generation and hydrogen automotive fuels; relevant international research programs

  10. Thermodynamic analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell cycle with a rankine cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rokni, Masoud

    2010-01-01

    Hybrid systems consisting of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) on the top of a steam turbine (ST) are investigated. The plants are fired by natural gas (NG). A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel while a pre-reformer breaks down the heavier hydro-carbons. The pre-treated fuel enters then into the anode side of the SOFC. The remaining fuels after the SOFC stacks enter a burner for further burning. The off-gases are then used to produce steam for a Rankine cycle in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Different system setups are suggested. Cyclic efficiencies up to 67% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional combined cycles (CC). Both adiabatic steam reformer (ASR) and catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) fuel pre-reformer reactors are considered in this investigation.

  11. Microplasma reforming of hydrocarbons for fuel cell power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besser, R. S.; Lindner, P. J.

    The implementation of a microplasma approach for small scale reforming processes is explored as an alternative to more standard catalyst-based processes. Plasmas are a known approach to activating a chemical reaction in place of catalysts, and microplasmas are particularly attractive owing to their extremely high electron and power densities. Their inherent compactness gives them appeal for portable applications, but their modularity leads to scalability for higher capacity. We describe the realization of experimental microplasma reactors based on the microhollow cathode discharge (MHCD) structure by silicon micromachining for device fabrication. Experiments were carried out with model hydrocarbons methane and butane in the reactors within a microfluidic flow and analytical setup. We observe several key phenomena, including the ability to liberate hydrogen from the hydrocarbons at temperatures near ambient and sub-Watt input power levels, the tendency toward hydrocarbon decomposition rather than oxidation even in the presence of oxygen, and the need for a neutral carrier to obtain conversion. Mass and energy balances on these experiments revealed conversions up to nearly 50%, but the conversion of electrical power input to chemical reaction enthalpy was only on the order of 1%. These initial, exploratory results were recorded with devices and at process settings without optimization, and are hence promising for an emerging, catalyst-free reforming approach.

  12. Catalytic reforming of methane to syngas in an oxygen-permeative membrane reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Urano, Takeshi; Kubo, Keiko; Saito, Tomoyuki; Hitomi, Atsushi, E-mail: turano@jp.tdk.com [Materials and Process Development Center, TDK Corporation 570-2, Matsugashita, Minamihatori, Narita, Chiba 286-8588 (Japan)

    2011-05-15

    For fuel cell applications, partial oxidative reforming of methane to syngas, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, was performed via a dense oxygen-permeative ceramic membrane composed by both ionic and electronic conductive materials. The modification of Ni-based catalyst by noble metals was investigated to increase oxygen permeation flux and decrease carbon deposition during reforming reaction. The role of each component in catalyst was also discussed.

  13. A comparison of hydrogen, methanol and gasoline as fuels for fuel cell vehicles: implications for vehicle design and infrastructure development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogden, Joan M.; Steinbugler, Margaret M.; Kreutz, Thomas G.

    All fuel cells currently being developed for near term use in electric vehicles require hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen can be stored directly or produced onboard the vehicle by reforming methanol, or hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil (e.g., gasoline, diesel, or middle distillates). The vehicle design is simpler with direct hydrogen storage, but requires developing a more complex refueling infrastructure. In this paper, we present modeling results comparing three leading options for fuel storage onboard fuel cell vehicles: (a) compressed gas hydrogen storage, (b) onboard steam reforming of methanol, (c) onboard partial oxidation (POX) of hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil. We have developed a fuel cell vehicle model, including detailed models of onboard fuel processors. This allows us to compare the vehicle performance, fuel economy, weight, and cost for various vehicle parameters, fuel storage choices and driving cycles. The infrastructure requirements are also compared for gaseous hydrogen, methanol and gasoline, including the added costs of fuel production, storage, distribution and refueling stations. The delivered fuel cost, total lifecycle cost of transportation, and capital cost of infrastructure development are estimated for each alternative. Considering both vehicle and infrastructure issues, possible fuel strategies leading to the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles are discussed.

  14. Review of Fuel Cell Technologies for Military Land Vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-01

    2 3. FUELLING FUEL CELLS ...OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer PEM Proton Exchange Membrane PEMFC Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell SOFC Solid Oxide Fuel Cell TRL Technical...UNCLASSIFIED DSTO-TN-1360 UNCLASSIFIED 4 3. Fuelling Fuel Cells 3.1 Hydrogen Hydrogen, either in its pure form or as reformate from another fuel is

  15. CHARM COST-EFFECTIVE HIGH-EFFICIENCY ADVANCED REFORMING MODULE FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollica, Darryl; Cross, James C; Sharma, Atul; Shi, Yanlong; Clawson, Lawrence; O' Brien, Chris; Gilhooly, Kara; Kim, Changsik; Quet, Pierre-Francois

    2009-09-02

    Background Creation of a hydrogen infrastructure is an important prerequisite of widespread fuel cell commercialization, especially for the automotive market. Hydrogen is an attractive fuel since it offers an opportunity to replace petroleum-based fuels, but hydrogen occurs naturally only in chemical compounds like water or hydrocarbons that must be chemically converted to produce it. While an ultimate goal is to produce hydrogen through renewable energy sources, steam methane reforming (SMR) of natural gas is currently the most economical solution to initiate the transition to a hydrogen economy. Centralized hydrogen generation using large industrial SMR plants is already in place to serve customers. Yet, because of the weight and size of cylinders needed to contain hydrogen gas or liquid, transportation of hydrogen may only be economical for short distances. Consequently, distributed natural gas reforming, which trades off the economies of scale of large plants for simplified delivery logistics, is an attractive alternative that could address immediate problems with the lack of hydrogen infrastructure.

  16. Nano-structured noble metal catalysts based on hexametallate architecture for the reforming of hydrocarbon fuels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Todd H.

    2015-09-15

    Nano-structured noble metal catalysts based on hexametallate lattices, of a spinel block type, and which are resistant to carbon deposition and metal sulfide formation are provided. The catalysts are designed for the reforming of hydrocarbon fuels to synthesis gas. The hexametallate lattices are doped with noble metals (Au, Pt, Rh, Ru) which are atomically dispersed as isolated sites throughout the lattice and take the place of hexametallate metal ions such as Cr, Ga, In, and/or Nb. Mirror cations in the crystal lattice are selected from alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and the lanthanide metals, so as to reduce the acidity of the catalyst crystal lattice and enhance the desorption of carbon deposit forming moieties such as aromatics. The catalysts can be used at temperatures as high as 1000.degree. C. and pressures up to 30 atmospheres. A method for producing these catalysts and applications of their use also is provided.

  17. System modeling of an air-independent solid oxide fuel cell system for unmanned undersea vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, A. Alan; Carreiro, Louis G.

    To examine the feasibility of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)-powered unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV), a system level analysis is presented that projects a possible integration of the SOFC stack, fuel steam reformer, fuel/oxidant storage and balance of plant components into a 21-in. diameter UUV platform. Heavy hydrocarbon fuel (dodecane) and liquid oxygen (LOX) are chosen as the preferred reactants. A maximum efficiency of 45% based on the lower heating value of dodecane was calculated for a system that provides 2.5 kW for 40 h. Heat sources and sinks have been coupled to show viable means of thermal management. The critical design issues involve proper recycling of exhaust steam from the fuel cell back into the reformer and effective use of the SOFC stack radiant heat for steam reformation of the hydrocarbon fuel.

  18. Hydrocarbon bio-jet fuel from bioconversion of poplar biomass: life cycle assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budsberg, Erik; Crawford, Jordan T; Morgan, Hannah; Chin, Wei Shan; Bura, Renata; Gustafson, Rick

    2016-01-01

    Bio-jet fuels compatible with current aviation infrastructure are needed as an alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Cradle to grave life cycle analysis is used to investigate the global warming potential and fossil fuel use of converting poplar biomass to drop-in bio-jet fuel via a novel bioconversion platform. Unique to the biorefinery designs in this research is an acetogen fermentation step. Following dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, poplar biomass is fermented to acetic acid and then distilled, hydroprocessed, and oligomerized to jet fuel. Natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification are proposed to meet hydrogen demands at the biorefineries. Separate well to wake simulations are performed using the hydrogen production processes to obtain life cycle data. Both biorefinery designs are assessed using natural gas and hog fuel to meet excess heat demands. Global warming potential of the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet fuel scenarios range from CO2 equivalences of 60 to 66 and 32 to 73 g MJ(-1), respectively. Fossil fuel usage of the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet fuel scenarios range from 0.78 to 0.84 and 0.71 to 1.0 MJ MJ(-1), respectively. Lower values for each impact category result from using hog fuel to meet excess heat/steam demands. Higher values result from using natural gas to meet the excess heat demands. Bio-jet fuels produced from the bioconversion of poplar biomass reduce the global warming potential and fossil fuel use compared with petroleum-based jet fuel. Production of hydrogen is identified as a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use in both the natural gas steam reforming and lignin gasification bio-jet simulations. Using hog fuel instead of natural gas to meet heat demands can help lower the global warming potential and fossil fuel use at the biorefineries.

  19. Upgrading of reformate gas for different applications with focus on small-scale hydrogen production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jannasch, Anna-Karin; Silversand, Fredrik [CATATOR AB, Lund (Sweden)

    2004-12-01

    Hydrogen gas or hydrogen rich gas is today used in many different applications, i.e. as fuel in fuel cells or additive in vehicle fuel (i.e. hythane) and as reagent or reducing agent in different industrial product lines. The majority of the hydrogen is produced either via electrolysis or reformation, where this work has entirely been focused on the latter alternative. The overarching aims of this project have been to demonstrate the need for reformate purification for different applications, and then, to investigate different available methods that can be used in order to enable the requested gas clean-up. The different purification methods have been examined with respect to parameters such as operating conditions (temperature, pressure), impurity tolerance, size, weight and cost. Another goal of the project has been to investigate how the reformer fuel type used influences the reformate gas quality and hence, the need for gas purification before the reformate can be fed to e.g. a low temperature polymer membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). For this reason, some experimental work has been performed. First, analysis of the reformate gas composition when natural gas, LPG, gasoline, diesel, kerosene (low and high S-concentration (i.e. JP8)) and ethanol have been processed. The reformation tests were carried out in a small scale reformer unit ({approx} 1 kW H{sub 2}) including Catator's catalyst formulations developed for the steam reforming, the water gas shift and the preferential oxidation reaction, respectively. Verification tests, with synthetic gas blends, including different potential reformate impurities, and with real reformate gas were thereafter performed with a commercial 4-cell PEMFC stack (3-5 W). Finally, some examination and also to some extent further development of Catator's existing gas purification units were made, i.e. chemical (WGS, PROX) and physical (regenerative adsorption). The Pd-alloy membrane seems to be the obvious choice of purification

  20. Effect of Feed Composition Changing at Naphtha Catalytic Reforming Unit Due to Involvement of Gasoline Fraction Obtained by Diesel Fuels Hydrodewaxing into the Processing

    OpenAIRE

    Belinskaya, Natalia Sergeevna; Ivanchina, Emilia Dmitrievna; Ivashkina, Elena Nikolaevna; Frantsina, Evgeniya Vladimirovna; Silko, Galina Yurievna

    2014-01-01

    One of the primary products of hydrodewaxing process is stable gasoline, which is characterized by low octane number on the one hand. On the other hand, it contains a significant amount of iso-paraffins (on average 45% wt.) and naphthenes (on average 25% wt.), which are reagents in the naphtha catalytic reforming process primary reactions. Feasibility of stable gasoline obtained by means of diesel fuel catalytic hydrodewaxing process involving into the processing at the naphtha catalytic refo...

  1. Natural gas pricing reform in China: Getting closer to a market system?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paltsev, Sergey; Zhang, Danwei

    2015-01-01

    Recent policy in China targets an increase in the contribution of natural gas to the nation's energy supply. Historically, China's natural gas prices have been highly regulated with a goal to protect consumers. The old pricing regime failed to provide enough incentives for natural gas suppliers, which often resulted in natural gas shortage. A new gas pricing reform was tested in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in 2011, and introduced nationwide in 2013. The reform is aimed at creating a more market-based pricing mechanism. We show that a substantial progress toward a better predictability and transparency of prices has been made. The prices are now more connected with the international fuel oil and liquid petroleum gas prices. The government's approach for a temporary two-tier pricing when some volumes are still traded at old prices reduced a potential opposition during the new regime implementation. Some limitations of the natural gas pricing remain as it created biased incentives for producers and favors large natural gas suppliers. The pricing reform at its current stage falls short of establishing a complete market mechanism driven by an interaction of supply and demand of natural gas in China. - Highlights: • China's reform of natural gas pricing is in effect nationwide from 2013. • Prices are now connected to international fuel oil and liquid petroleum gas prices. • The reform benefits domestic producers and importers of natural gas. • There are still price distortions between industrial and residential sector. • The reform needs to create a system where both supply and demand are considered.

  2. Methodology and estimation of the welfare impact of energy reforms on households in Azerbaijan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klytchnikova, Irina

    This dissertation develops a new approach that enables policy-makers to analyze welfare gains from improvements in the quality of infrastructure services in developing countries where data are limited and supply is subject to interruptions. An application of the proposed model in the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan demonstrates how this approach can be used in welfare assessment of energy sector reforms. The planned reforms in Azerbaijan include a set of measures that will result in a significant improvement in supply reliability, accompanied by a significant increase in the prices of energy services so that they reach the cost recovery level. Currently, households in rural areas receive electricity and gas for only a few hours a day because of a severe deterioration of the energy infrastructure following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The reforms that have recently been initiated will have far-reaching poverty and distributional consequences for the country as they result in an improvement in supply reliability and an increase in energy prices. The new model of intermittent supply developed in this dissertation is based on the household production function approach and draws on previous research in the energy reliability literature. Since modern energy sources (network gas and electricity) in Azerbaijan are cleaner and cheaper than the traditional fuels (fuel wood, etc.), households choose modern fuels whenever they are available. During outages, they rely on traditional fuels. Theoretical welfare measures are derived from a system of fuel demands that takes into account the intermittent availability of energy sources. The model is estimated with the data from the Azerbaijan Household Energy Survey, implemented by the World Bank in December 2003/January 2004. This survey includes an innovative contingent behavior module in which the respondents were asked about their energy consumption patterns in specified reform scenarios. Estimation results strongly

  3. Numerical simulation of effect of catalyst wire-mesh pressure drop characteristics on flow distribution in catalytic parallel plate steam reformer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sigurdsson, Haftor Örn; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2012-01-01

    Steam reforming of hydrocarbons using a catalytic plate-type-heat-exchanger (CPHE) reformer is an attractive method of producing hydrogen for a fuel cell-based micro combined-heat-and-power system. In this study the flow distribution in a CPHE reformer, which uses a coated wire-mesh catalyst...

  4. Development of OTM Syngas Process and Testing of Syngas Derived Ultra-clean Fuels in Diesel Engines and Fuel Cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    E.T. Robinson; John Sirman; Prasad Apte; Xingun Gui; Tytus R. Bulicz; Dan Corgard; John Hemmings

    2005-05-01

    This final report summarizes work accomplished in the Program from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2004. Most of the key technical objectives for this program were achieved. A breakthrough material system has lead to the development of an OTM (oxygen transport membrane) compact planar reactor design capable of producing either syngas or hydrogen. The planar reactor shows significant advantages in thermal efficiency and a step change reduction in costs compared to either autothermal reforming or steam methane reforming with CO{sub 2} recovery. Syngas derived ultra-clean transportation fuels were tested in the Nuvera fuel cell modular pressurized reactor and in International Truck and Engine single cylinder test engines. The studies compared emission and engine performance of conventional base fuels to various formulations of ultra-clean gasoline or diesel fuels. A proprietary BP oxygenate showed significant advantage in both applications for reducing emissions with minimal impact on performance. In addition, a study to evaluate new fuel formulations for an HCCI engine was completed.

  5. Progress in fuel processing for PEMFC systems for transport applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dams, A J; Hayter, P R; Moore, S C

    1998-07-01

    Wellman CJB Limited has been developing fuel processors for PEMFC systems for transport applications using a range of feedstocks. Feedstocks that can be processed to produce a hydrogen-rich gas stream suitable for use with a PEMFC include methanol, gasoline, diesel, LPG, dimethylether, marine diesel and aviation fuel. The basic fuel processor is a steam reformer combined with a selective carbon monoxide oxidation stage. Depending on the nature of the liquid feedstock, other process steps will be required such as vaporizer, desulfurizer, pre-reformer and high and low temperature shift reactors. Work on methanol reforming has been specifically targeted at a PEMFC driven passenger car as part of a multinational European Community JOULE programme called MERCATOX. The objective is to develop and test a compact and fast response methanol reformer and gas clean-up unit to meet a car manufacturer's specification. The method of construction is to coat a methanol reforming catalyst onto one side of a metal corrugated plate. On the other side is a coated combustion catalyst which burns fuel cell off-gas to provide the endothermic heat for the methanol reforming reaction. A number of these plates are assembled in a compact unit ensuring good heat transfer. The gas clean-up unit is similarly constructed with a selective oxidation catalyst on one side and a thermal fluid on the other. Initial tests have indicated a superior performance to conventional packed bed reformers in terms of response and start-up time. Steam reforming of gasoline, diesel, LPG, dimethylether, marine diesel and aviation fuel has been demonstrated on a bench scale (0.5kW). The process steps commence with vaporization (except for LPG), desulfurization (except for dimethylether), prereforming, reforming, low and high temperature shift and selective oxidation. A simple technology demonstrator has shown that a hydrogen-rich mixture (75% hydrogen, 25% carbon dioxide) with less than 2ppm carbon monoxide can be

  6. Jet Fuel Based High Pressure Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gummalla, Mallika (Inventor); Yamanis, Jean (Inventor); Olsommer, Benoit (Inventor); Dardas, Zissis (Inventor); Bayt, Robert (Inventor); Srinivasan, Hari (Inventor); Dasgupta, Arindam (Inventor); Hardin, Larry (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    A power system for an aircraft includes a solid oxide fuel cell system which generates electric power for the aircraft and an exhaust stream; and a heat exchanger for transferring heat from the exhaust stream of the solid oxide fuel cell to a heat requiring system or component of the aircraft. The heat can be transferred to fuel for the primary engine of the aircraft. Further, the same fuel can be used to power both the primary engine and the SOFC. A heat exchanger is positioned to cool reformate before feeding to the fuel cell. SOFC exhaust is treated and used as inerting gas. Finally, oxidant to the SOFC can be obtained from the aircraft cabin, or exterior, or both.

  7. Production of hydrogen from biomass by catalytic steam reforming of fast pyrolysis oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Czernik, S.; Wang, D.; Chornet, E. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States). Center for Renewable Chemical Technologies and Materials

    1998-08-01

    Hydrogen is the prototype of the environmentally cleanest fuel of interest for power generation using fuel cells and for transportation. The thermochemical conversion of biomass to hydrogen can be carried out through two distinct strategies: (a) gasification followed by water-gas shift conversion, and (b) catalytic steam reforming of specific fractions derived from fast pyrolysis and aqueous/steam processes of biomass. This paper presents the latter route that begins with fast pyrolysis of biomass to produce bio-oil. This oil (as a whole or its selected fractions) can be converted to hydrogen via catalytic steam reforming followed by a water-gas shift conversion step. Such a process has been demonstrated at the bench scale using model compounds, poplar oil aqueous fraction, and the whole pyrolysis oil with commercial Ni-based steam reforming catalysts. Hydrogen yields as high as 85% have been obtained. Catalyst initial activity can be recovered through regeneration cycles by steam or CO{sub 2} gasification of carbonaceous deposits.

  8. H_2 production by the steam reforming of excess boil off gas on LNG vessels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernández, Ignacio Arias; Gómez, Manuel Romero; Gómez, Javier Romero; López-González, Luis M.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • BOG excess in LNG vessels is burned in the GCU without energy use. • The gas management plants need to be improved to increase efficiency. • BOG excess in LNG vessels is used for H_2 production by steam reforming. • The availability of different fuels increases the versatility of the ship. - Abstract: The gas management system onboard LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) vessels is crucial, since the exploitation of the BOG (Boil Off Gas) produced is of utmost importance for the overall efficiency of the plant. At present, LNG ships with no reliquefaction plant consume the BOG generated in the engines, and the excess is burned in the GCU (Gas Combustion Unit) without any energy use. The need to improve the gas management system, therefore, is evident. This paper proposes hydrogen production through a steam reforming plant, using the excess BOG as raw material and thus avoiding it being burned in the GCU. To test the feasibility of integrating the plant, an actual study of the gas management process on an LNG vessel with 4SDF (4 Stroke Dual Fuel) propulsion and with no reliquefaction plant was conducted, along with a thermodynamic simulation of the reforming plant. With the proposed gas management system, the vessel disposes of different fuels, including H_2, a clean fuel with zero ozone-depleting emissions. The availability of H_2 on board in areas with strict anti-pollution regulations, such as ECAs (Emission Control Area), means that the vessel may be navigated without using fossil fuels which generate CO_2 and SO_X emissions. Moreover, while at port, Cold Ironing is avoided, which entails high costs. Thus it is demonstrated that the installation of a reforming plant is both energetically viable and provides greater versatility to the ship.

  9. The Fiscal and Macroeconomic Impacts of Reforming Energy Subsidy Policy in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Nora Yusma Bte Mohamed Yusoff; Hussain Ali Bekhet

    2017-01-01

    The rationalization of a gradual subsidies reforms plan has been set out by the Malaysian government to achieve the high-income nation target. This paper attempts to analyze the impacts of energy subsidy reform policy on fiscal deficit and macroeconomics variables in Malaysia. The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model is employed. Three simulations based on different groups of scenarios have been developed. Importantly, the overall results indicate that removal of fuel subsidy has signif...

  10. Autothermal reforming of liquid hydrocarbons for H{sub 2} production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palm, C.; Montel, S.; Cremer, P.; Peters, R.; Stolten, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany). Inst. for Materials and Processes in Energy Systems IWV-3: Process Engineering

    2001-07-01

    The process of autothermal reforming of hydrocarbons can be used for the production of hydrogen within a fuel cell system. The application of three precious metal catalysts for the autothermal reforming of alkane mixtures with boiling ranges between 235 and 325 C was examined. The experiments were carried out at n(O{sub 2})/n(C) = 0.40, n(H{sub 2}O)/n(C) = 2.20, a catalyst bed temperature between 730 and 570 C and a hydrocarbon feed of 30 g/h. The catalysts yielded different hydrocarbon conversions, which can be explained by differences in the activity for the steam reforming reaction. The most active catalyst was also successfully utilized in the conversion of 400 g/h hydrocarbon feed. (orig.)

  11. Simulation study of a PEM fuel cell system fed by hydrogen produced by partial oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ozdogan, S [Marmara University, Faculty of Engineering, Istanbul (Turkey); Ersoz, A; Olgun, H [TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Energy Systems and Environmental Research Institute, Kocaeli (Turkey)

    2003-09-01

    Within the frame of sustainable development, efficient and clean, if possible zero emission energy production technologies are of utmost importance in various sectors such as utilities, industry, households and transportation. Low-temperature fuel cell systems are suitable for powering transportation systems such as automobiles and trucks in an efficient and low-emitting manner. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems constitute the most promising low temperature fuel cell option being developed globally. PEM fuel cells generate electric power from air and hydrogen or from a hydrogen rich gas via electrochemical reactions. Water and waste heat are the only by-products of PEM fuel cells. There is great interest in converting current hydrocarbon based common transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel into hydrogen rich gases acceptable by PEM fuel cells. Hydrogen rich gases can be produced from conventional transportation fuels via various reforming technologies. Steam reforming, partial oxidation and auto-thermal reforming are the three major reforming technologies. In this paper, we discuss the results of a simulation study for a PEM fuel cell with partial oxidation. The Aspen HYSYS 3.1 code has been used for simulation purposes. Two liquid hydrocarbon fuels have been selected to investigate the effect of average molecular weights of hydrocarbons, on the fuel processing efficiency. The overall system efficiency depends on the fuel preparation and fuel cell efficiencies as well as on the heat integration within the system. It is desired to investigate the overall system efficiencies for net electrical power production at 100 kW considering bigger scale transport applications. Results indicate that fuel properties, fuel preparation system operating parameters and PEM fuel cell polarization curve characteristics all affect the overall system efficiency. (authors)

  12. Simulating and Optimizing Hydrogen Production by Low-pressure Autothermal Reforming of Natural Gas using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II

    OpenAIRE

    Azarhoosh, M. J.; Ale Ebrahim, H.; Pourtarah, S. H.

    2016-01-01

    Conventional hydrogen production plants consist of natural gas steam reforming to CO+3H2 on Ni catalysts in a furnace, water-gas shift reaction for converting CO into CO2 and CO2 absorption. A new alternative method for highly endothermic steam reforming is autothermal reforming (steam reforming with air input to the reactor) without the need for external heating. In this study, hydrogen production by autothermal reforming for fuel cells (base case) was simulated based on a heterogeneous and ...

  13. The effect of reformer gas mixture on the performance and emissions of an HSDI diesel engine

    OpenAIRE

    Christodoulou, Fanos; Megaritis, Athanasios

    2014-01-01

    This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Exhaust gas assisted fuel reforming is an attractive on-board hydrogen production method, which can open new frontiers in diesel engines. Apart from hydrogen, and depending on the reactions promoted, the reformate typically contains a significant amount of carbon monoxide, which is produced as a by-product. Moreover, admission of reformed gas into the engine, through the inlet pipe, leads to an increase of...

  14. Designing and optimization of a micro CHP system based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with different fuel processing technologies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liso, Vincenzo; Nielsen, Mads Pagh; Kær, Søren Knudsen

    2009-01-01

    are the possibility to partially reform hydrocarbon in the fuel cell anode compartment and the possibility to use high quality heat for cogeneration. In this work, different configurations of solid oxide fuel cell system for decentralized electricity production are examined. The Balance of Plant (BoP) components...

  15. Policy Reform Impact on Food Manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    Celikkol, Pinar; Dunn, James W.; Stefanou, Spiro E.

    2003-01-01

    The impact of agricultural policies and their reform is of major concern when addressing issues of growth, innovation and consolidation in the food manufacturing sector. Growth is one of the forces fueling the globalization of food manufacturing activities. Market- and policy-driven forces present a myriad of opportunities to influence growth and reorientation of patterns at the nexus where food manufacturing links the food system. The productivity and international competitiveness of the foo...

  16. Cost analysis of electrical power from an ethanol reformer and the fuel cell in the development of productive activities in the community Pico do Amor, MT, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopes, Davi Gabriel; Teixeira, Andre Frazao; Lopes, Daniel Gabriel; Cavaliero, Carla Kazue Nakao

    2010-01-01

    This work has the objective to analyze the impact of the cost of from an ethane reformer / fuel cell in the family income considering the development of two productive activities selected by the community itself: the production and marketing of cassava flour and 'rapadura', a typical brazilian candy. The community energy demand was analyzed to achieve the results; estimated the energy cost from the implemented system and the money from the selling of the cassava flour and 'rapadura' produced with this electricity; the study of sensibility of the ethanol price in the electrical energy cost was done too, and the cassava flour and 'rapadura' in the family funds. From the results, it was verified that the electrical energy cost has a 16,4% impact in the family gross income and a net value around R$ 260,85/family, indicating that the community will have enough funds to pay for the energy and also will rise the amount of money for each family. Besides, the comparative analyze of the cost of the electricity from the ethanol/fuel cell reformer and photovoltaic systems shows that, considering only the maintenance and operation costs, the first one should be more attractive than the second one. (author)

  17. Will a radical transport pricing reform jeopardize the ambitious EU climate change objectives?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Proost, Stef; Delhaye, Eef; Nijs, Wouter; Van Regemorter, Denise

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines the effects of replacing current fuel taxes by a system of taxes that account better for all the different external costs of the different transport modes. One of the important implications of this reform is that current fuel taxes are decreased to a level of 80 euro/ton of CO 2 but that the mileage related taxes on car and truck use increase. Using the TREMOVE model for the transport sector of 31 European countries, one finds that the volume of transport will decrease because current taxes on transport are too low compared to overall external costs. Overall CO 2 emissions will decrease slightly. Using the MARKAL-TIMES model for the Belgian energy sector, putting all sectors and technologies on equal footing shows that a fuel tax reform makes that it is not cost efficient to require large CO 2 emission reductions in the transport sector and that traditional car technologies will continue to dominate the car market in 2020-2030.

  18. Plasma processing methods for hydrogen production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mizeraczyk, J.; Jasinski, M.

    2016-01-01

    In the future a transfer from the fossil fuel-based economy to hydrogen-based economy is expected. Therefore the development of systems for efficient H_2 production becomes important. The several conventional methods of mass-scale (or central) H_2 production (methane, natural gas and higher hydrocarbons reforming, coal gasification reforming) are well developed and their costs of H_2 production are acceptable. However, due to the H_2 transport and storage problems the small-scale (distributed) technologies for H_2 production are demanded. However, these new technologies have to meet the requirement of producing H_2 at a production cost of $(1-2)/kg(H_2) (or 60 g(H_2)/kWh) by 2020 (the U.S. Department of Energy's target). Recently several plasma methods have been proposed for the small-scale H_2 production. The most promising plasmas for this purpose seems to be those generated by gliding, plasmatron and nozzle arcs, and microwave discharges. In this paper plasma methods proposed for H_2 production are briefly described and critically evaluated from the view point of H_2 production efficiency. The paper is aiming at answering a question if any plasma method for the small-scale H_2 production approaches such challenges as the production energy yield of 60 g(H_2)/kWh, high production rate, high reliability and low investment cost. (authors)

  19. H2 as source of renewable energy: production through catalytic methods by means of the reforming of methanol

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez H, R.; Lopez, P.; Gutierrez M, A.; Gutierrez W, C.; Mondragon G, G.; Mendoza A, D.; Angeles Ch, C.; Arenas A, J.

    2010-01-01

    The fuel cells transform the chemical energy stored in the connection H-H of the H 2 molecule in electric energy and water vapor when is combines with the oxygen. Even when the hydrogen has a high potential as energy source, its handling is difficult (storage and transport). This has motivated the search of hydrogen production methods in situ starting from liquid fuels like the methanol or ethanol through the reaction of reforming. The methanol is a fuel of easy availability for fuel cells with electronic applications and of transport. Although the methanol energy density is approximately half of the gasoline and diesel, it is more reagent and can be used directly in fuel cells or can also be reformed to low temperatures for the hydrogen obtaining to be used in fuel cells of proton exchange. In this article the results obtained of the systems, Cu-Ni/ZrO 2 and Ag-Au(1-D)-CeO 2 are presented and can be competitive to generate H 2 and being used in the fuel cells to generate energy. (Author)

  20. Fossil fuel subsidies in Latin America: the challenge of a perverse incentives structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlino, Hernan; Carlino, Micaela

    2015-11-01

    Fossil fuel subsidies have considerable negative, environmental, economic, and social effects. The reform of the fossil fuel subsidy regime in Latin America and the Caribbean allows us to benefit from the favourable economic, fiscal, social and environmental impacts resulting from the removal of the existing subsidies. The change in the incentives structure for the energy system also facilitates the development of renewable energy, contributing to removing the investment barriers put in place by the current incentives and freeing up fiscal resources that can be re-routed into social policies and help fulfil sustainable development objectives. Despite the benefits of removing the subsidies, experiences in LAC demonstrate that there are substantial barriers standing in the way of subsidy reform, from a wide-reaching social base, that limit the room for the reforms, often causing delays or neutralising them completely. Although the drive for reform has gained impetus both in the region and on a global scale, it is necessary to define a careful reform strategy that protects the most vulnerable groups from potential negative impacts, and which clearly communicates the favourable effects of the various stages of the reforms, eliminating the price distortions that result from wasteful consumption and the inefficient allocation of resources. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to the removal of fossil fuel subsidies is considerable, according to global and regional estimates. The 2015 agreement should promote and facilitate the reforms by recognising their importance, providing technical support for quantifying the impacts, and supplying funding for the transformation processes implied by these reforms. Implementing a work program on the reform of the subsidy regime within the framework of the Convention, with technical and methodological components, should facilitate reforms on a global scale

  1. Tri-reforming and combined reforming of methane for producing syngas with desired hydrogen/carbon monoxide ratios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei

    This dissertation is an exploratory study of a new process concept for direct production of synthesis gas (CO + H2) with desired H 2/CO ratios (1.5--2.0) for methanol synthesis and F-T synthesis, using CO2 together with steam and unconverted O2 in flue gas from fossil fuel-fired electric power plants to react with methane or natural gas. This new process is called tri-reforming, referring to simultaneous CO2-steam-O2 reforming of methane or natural gas. This study included (1) The investigation of carbon formation in the tri-reforming process. For comparison, carbon formation in the combined reforming and CO2 reforming reaction was studied as well. (2) The effect of reaction conditions and feed compositions on equilibrium composition (e.g. H2/CO ratio) and equilibrium conversions in the tri-reforming process. (3) The role of catalysts in the tri-reforming process, especially the effect of catalysts on CO2 conversion in the presence of H 2O and O2. It was clearly evidenced from this study that CO in the product stream is probably the major source of carbon over Ni/Al2O3 in the equimolar CO2-CH4 reforming at 650°C and 1 atm. Addition of either O2 or H2O into the CO 2 reforming reaction system can suppress carbon formation. It was demonstrated that carbon-free operation can be achieved in the tri-reforming process. A thermodynamic comparison of tri-reforming with feed compositions of (H2O+CO2+0.5O2)/CH4 (mol ratio) = 1 showed that O2 improves equilibrium CH4 conversion, yet greatly decreases equilibrium CO2 conversion. H2O in tri-reforming has a significant effect on the H2/CO ratio in the products, while O2 has a minor effect. A kinetic study and catalytic performance tests indicated that the support in a supported catalyst has a significant role in enhancing CO2 conversion to CO in the presence of H2O and O2 in tri-reforming. The Ni/MgO catalyst showed superior performance with close to equilibrium CH4 and CO2 conversions at 850°C, 1 atm, and 32,000 ml

  2. Parametric study of hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming in a membrane microreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. de-Souza

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Microreactors are miniaturized chemical reaction systems, which contain reaction channels with characteristic dimensions in the range of 10-500 µm. One possible application for microreactors is the conversion of ethanol to hydrogen used in fuel cells to generate electricity. In this paper a rigorous isothermal, steady-state two-dimensional model was developed to simulate the behavior of a membrane microreactor based on the hydrogen yield from ethanol steam reforming. Furthermore, this membrane microreactor is compared to a membraneless microreactor. A potential advantage of the membrane microreactor is the fact that both ethanol steam reforming and the separation of hydrogen by a permselective membrane occur in one single microdevice. The simulation results for steam reforming yields are in agreement with experimental data found in the literature. The results show that the membrane microreactorpermits a hydrogen yield of up to 0.833 which is more than twice that generated by the membraneless reactor. More than 80% of the generated hydrogen permeates through the membrane and, due to its high selectivity, the membrane microreactor delivers high-purity hydrogen to the fuel cell.

  3. Goldwater-Nichols at 30: Defense Reform and Issues for Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-02

    aborted . As the helicopters departed, one crashed into a C-130 aircraft carrying fuel and other servicemembers. All told, the United States lost...democratic, free-market economy . You may not realize that the second most difficult problem I can possibly envision is that of reforming the Defense

  4. Iran, reform, revolution or resignation?; Iran: reforme, revolution ou resignation?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2005-07-01

    This document is an information report made by the French commission of economic affairs after a visit of a delegation of members of the French parliament in Iran in April 15-18, 2003. The report describes: 1 - the international political situation of Iran; 2 - the domestic political situation of Iran: political institutions, yearn of change; 3 - the economic trades that would be possible to develop: economic and financial situation of Iran, fossil fuel resources, economic reforms to be implemented; 4 - the French-Iranian economical cooperation to be strengthened: French companies in Iran, towards a new era in bilateral economic relations, the challenge of the adhesion to the world trade organization (WTO). (J.S.)

  5. Fuel economy and range estimates for fuel cell powered automobiles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinbugler, M.; Ogden, J. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

    1996-12-31

    While a number of automotive fuel cell applications have been demonstrated, including a golf cart, buses, and a van, these systems and others that have been proposed have utilized differing configurations ranging from direct hydrogen fuel cell-only power plants to fuel cell/battery hybrids operating on reformed methanol. To date there is no clear consensus on which configuration, from among the possible combinations of fuel cell, peaking device, and fuel type, is the most likely to be successfully commercialized. System simplicity favors direct hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, but infrastructure is lacking. Infrastructure favors a system using a liquid fuel with a fuel processor, but system integration and performance issues remain. A number of studies have analyzed particular configurations on either a system or vehicle scale. The objective of this work is to estimate, within a consistent framework, fuel economies and ranges for a variety of configurations using flexible models with the goal of identifying the most promising configurations and the most important areas for further research and development.

  6. Power and hydrogen production from ammonia in a micro-thermophotovoltaic device integrated with a micro-reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Um, Dong Hyun; Kim, Tae Young; Kwon, Oh Chae

    2014-01-01

    Power and hydrogen (H 2 ) production by burning and reforming ammonia (NH 3 ) in a micro-TPV (microscale-thermophotovoltaic) device integrated with a micro-reformer is studied experimentally. A heat-recirculating micro-emitter with the cyclone and helical adapters that enhance the residence time of fed fuel-air mixtures and uniform burning burns H 2 -added NH 3 -air mixtures. A micro-reformer that converts NH 3 to H 2 using ruthenium as a catalyst surrounds the micro-emitter as a heat source. The micro-reformer is surrounded by a chamber, the inner and outer walls of which have installations of gallium antimonide photovoltaic cells and cooling fins. For the micro-reformer-integrated micro-TPV device the maximum overall efficiency of 8.1% with electrical power of 4.5 W and the maximum NH 3 conversion rate of 96.0% with the H 2 production rate of 22.6 W (based on lower heating value) are obtained, indicating that the overall efficiency is remarkably enhanced compared with 2.0% when the micro-TPV device operates alone. This supports the potential of improving the overall efficiency of a micro-TPV device through integrating it with a micro-reformer. Also, the feasibility of using NH 3 as a carbon-free fuel for both burning and reforming in practical micro power and H 2 generation devices has been demonstrated. - Highlights: • Performance of micro-TPV device integrated with micro-reformer is evaluated. • Feasibility of using NH 3 –H 2 blends in integrated system has been demonstrated. • Integration with micro-reformer improves performance of micro-TPV device. • Maximum overall efficiency of 8.1% is found compared with 2.0% without integration

  7. Advanced design of fast reactor-membrane reformer (FR-MR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tashimo, M.; Hori, I.; Yasuda, I.; Shirasaki, Y.; Kobayashi, K.

    2004-01-01

    A new plant concept of nuclear-produced hydrogen is being studied using a Fast Reactor-Membrane Reformer (FR-MR). The conventional steam methane reforming (SMR) system is a three-stage process. The first stage includes the reforming, the second contains a shift reaction and the third is the separation process. The reforming process requires high temperatures of 800 ∼ 900 deg C. The shift process generates heat and is performed at around 200 deg C. The membrane reforming has only one process stage under a nonequilibrium condition by removing H2 selectively through a membrane tube. The steam reforming temperature can be decreased from 800 deg C to 550 deg C, which is a remarkable benefit offered by the non-equilibrium condition. With this new technology, the reactor type can be changed from a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) to a Fast Reactor (FR). A Fast Reactor-Membrane Reformer (FR-MR) is composed of a nuclear plant and a hydrogen plant. The nuclear plant is a sodium-cooled Fast Reactor with mixed oxide fuel and with a power of 240 MWt. The heat transport system contains two circuits, the primary circuit and the secondary circuit. The membrane reformer units are set in the secondary circuit. The heat, supplied by the sodium, can produce 200 000 Nm 3 /h by 2 units. There are two types of membranes. One is made of Pd another one (advanced) is made of, for example V, or Nb. The technology for the Pd membrane is already established in a small scale. The non-Pd type is expected to improve the performance. (author)

  8. Integral reactor system and method for fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Neil Edward; Brown, Michael S; Cheekatamarla, Praveen; Deng, Thomas; Dimitrakopoulos, James; Litka, Anthony F

    2013-11-19

    A reactor system is integrated internally within an anode-side cavity of a fuel cell. The reactor system is configured to convert hydrocarbons to smaller species while mitigating the lower production of solid carbon. The reactor system may incorporate one or more of a pre-reforming section, an anode exhaust gas recirculation device, and a reforming section.

  9. Diesel fuel to dc power: Navy & Marine Corps Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bloomfield, D.P. [Analytic Power Corp., Boston, MA (United States)

    1996-12-31

    During the past year Analytic Power has tested fuel cell stacks and diesel fuel processors for US Navy and Marine Corps applications. The units are 10 kW demonstration power plants. The USN power plant was built to demonstrate the feasibility of diesel fueled PEM fuel cell power plants for 250 kW and 2.5 MW shipboard power systems. We designed and tested a ten cell, 1 kW USMC substack and fuel processor. The complete 10 kW prototype power plant, which has application to both power and hydrogen generation, is now under construction. The USN and USMC fuel cell stacks have been tested on both actual and simulated reformate. Analytic Power has accumulated operating experience with autothermal reforming based fuel processors operating on sulfur bearing diesel fuel, jet fuel, propane and natural gas. We have also completed the design and fabrication of an advanced regenerative ATR for the USMC. One of the significant problems with small fuel processors is heat loss which limits its ability to operate with the high steam to carbon ratios required for coke free high efficiency operation. The new USMC unit specifically addresses these heat transfer issues. The advances in the mill programs have been incorporated into Analytic Power`s commercial units which are now under test.

  10. Reviews on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apinan Soottitantawat

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC is one type of high temperature fuel cell that appears to be one of the most promising technology to provide the efficient and clean energy production for wide range of applications (from small units to large scale power plants. This paper reviews the current status and related researches on SOFC technologies. In details, the research trend for the development of SOFC components(i.e. anode, electrolyte, cathode, and interconnect are presented. Later, the current important designs of SOFC (i.e. Seal-less Tubular Design, Segmented Cell in Series Design, Monolithic Design and Flat Plate Design are exampled. In addition, the possible operations of SOFC (i.e. external reforming, indirect internal reforming, and direct internal reforming are discussed. Lastly, the research studies on applications of SOFCs with co-generation (i.e. SOFC with Combined Heat and Power (SOFC-CHP, SOFC with Gas Turbine (SOFC-GT and SOFC with chemical production are given.

  11. Design and development of a diesel and JP-8 logistic fuel processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roychoudhury, Subir; Lyubovsky, Maxim; Walsh, D.; Chu, Deryn; Kallio, Erik

    The paper describes the design and performance of a breadboard prototype for a 5 kW fuel-processor for powering a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack. The system was based on a small, modular catalytic Microlith auto-thermal (ATR) reactor with the versatility of operating on diesel, Jet-A or JP-8 fuels. The reforming reactor utilized Microlith substrates and catalyst technology (patented and trademarked). These reactors have demonstrated the capability of efficiently reforming liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuels at exceptionally high power densities. The performance characteristics of the auto-thermal reactor (ATR) have been presented along with durability data. The fuel processor integrates fuel preparation, steam generation, sulfur removal, pumps, blowers and controls. The system design was developed via ASPEN ® Engineering Suite process simulation software and was analyzed with reference to system balance requirements. Since the fuel processor has not been integrated with a fuel cell, aspects of thermal integration with the stack have not been specifically addressed.

  12. Actuation method of molten carbonate fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ito, Yasuhiko; Kimoto, Mamoru; Murakami, Shuzo; Furukawa, Nobuhiro

    1987-10-17

    A molten carbonate fuel cell uses reformed gas of crude fuel as fuel gas, but in this gas, CO/sub 2/ is contained in addition to H/sub 2/ and CO which participate the reaction in its fuel electrode. In order to make the reaction of the cell by these gases smoothly, CO/sub 2/ in the exhaust gas from the fuel electrode must be introduced efficiently to its oxygen electrode, however since unreacted H/sub 2/ and CO are contained in the above exhaust gas, they are oxidated and burned once in a boiler and transformed into H/sub 2/O (steam) and CO/sub 2/, then CO/sub 2/ generated in the fuel electrode is added thereto, and afterwards these gases with the air are introduced into the oxygen electrode. However, since this method hinders the high power generation efficiency, in this invention, the exhaust gas from the fuel electrode which burns the reformed gas is introduced into separation chambers separated with CO/sub 2/ permselective membranes, and the mixture of CO/sub 2/ in the above exhaust gas separated with the aforementioned permeable membranes and the air is supplied to the oxygen electrode. At the same time, H/sub 2/ and CO in the above exhaust gas which were not separated with the above permeable membranes are recirculated to the above fuel electrode. (3 figs)

  13. Evaluation of Partial Oxidation Reformer Emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Unnasch, Stefan; Fable, Scott; Waterland, Larry

    2006-01-06

    In this study, a gasoline fuel processor and an ethanol fuel processor were operated under conditions simulating both startup and normal operation. Emissions were measured before and after the AGB in order to quantify the effectiveness of the burner catalyst in controlling emissions. The emissions sampling system includes CEM for O2, CO2, CO, NOx, and THC. Also, integrated gas samples are collected in evacuated canisters for hydrocarbon speciation analysis via GC. This analysis yields the concentrations of the hydrocarbon species required for the California NMOG calculation. The PM concentration in the anode burner exhaust was measured through the placement of a filter in the exhaust stream. The emissions from vehicles with fully developed on board reformer systems were estimated.

  14. Numerical 3D Model for Thermal Integration of 20W Methanol Reformer

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Blackwell, N. E; Palo, D. R

    2006-01-01

    ....8 cm 20W methanol reformer for Future Force Warrior and Future Combat Systems. Fuel cell technology development is being pursued around the world to provide electric power in many potential applications in the military and commercial sector...

  15. Diesel autothermal reforming with hydrogen peroxide for low-oxygen environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Gwangwoo; Lee, Sangho; Bae, Joongmyeon

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The concept of diesel reforming using hydrogen peroxide was newly proposed. • Characteristics of hydrogen peroxide was experimentally investigated. • Thermodynamically possible operating conditions were analyzed. • Catalytic performance of Ni–Ru/CGO for various diesel compounds was evaluated. • Long-term testing was successfully conducted using Korean commercial diesel. - Abstract: To operate fuel cells effectively in low-oxygen environments, such as in submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles, a hydrogen source with high hydrogen storage density is required. In this paper, diesel autothermal reforming (ATR) with hydrogen peroxide as an alternative oxidant is proposed as a hydrogen production method. Diesel fuel has higher hydrogen density than metal hydrides or other hydrocarbons. In addition, hydrogen peroxide can decompose into steam and oxygen, which are required for diesel ATR. Moreover, both diesel fuel and hydrogen peroxide are liquid states, enabling easy storage for submarine applications. Hydrogen peroxide exhibited the same characteristics as steam and oxygen when used as an oxidant in diesel reforming when pre-decomposition method was used. The thermodynamically calculated operating conditions were a steam-to-carbon ratio (SCR) of 3.0, an oxygen-to-carbon ratio (OCR) of 0.5, and temperatures below 700 °C to account for safety issues associated with hydrogen peroxide use and exothermic reactions. Catalytic activity and stability tests over Ni–Ru (19.5–0.5 wt.%)/Ce 0.9 Gd 0.1 O 2−x were conducted using various diesel compounds. Furthermore, long-term diesel ATR tests were conducted for 200 h using Korean commercial diesel. The degradation rate was 3.67%/100 h without the production of ethylene

  16. SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE DELPHI SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steven Shaffer; Sean Kelly; Subhasish Mukerjee; David Schumann; Gail Geiger; Kevin Keegan; John Noetzel; Larry Chick

    2003-12-08

    The objective of Phase I under this project is to develop a 5 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell power system for a range of fuels and applications. During Phase I, the following will be accomplished: Develop and demonstrate technology transfer efforts on a 5 kW stationary distributed power generation system that incorporates steam reforming of natural gas with the option of piped-in water (Demonstration System A). Initiate development of a 5 kW system for later mass-market automotive auxiliary power unit application, which will incorporate Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPO) reforming of gasoline, with anode exhaust gas injected into an ultra-lean burn internal combustion engine. This technical progress report covers work performed by Delphi from January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003, under Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FC-02NT41246. This report highlights technical results of the work performed under the following tasks: Task 1 System Design and Integration; Task 2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack Developments; Task 3 Reformer Developments; Task 4 Development of Balance of Plant (BOP) Components; Task 5 Manufacturing Development (Privately Funded); Task 6 System Fabrication; Task 7 System Testing; Task 8 Program Management; and Task 9 Stack Testing with Coal-Based Reformate.

  17. Conversion of hydrocarbons and alcohols for fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joensen, Finn; Rostrup-Nielsen, Jens R.

    The growing demand for clean and efficient energy systems is the driving force in the development of fuel processing technology for providing hydrogen or hydrogen-containing gaseous fuels for power generation in fuel cells. Successful development of low cost, efficient fuel processing systems will be critical to the commercialisation of this technology. This article reviews various reforming technologies available for the generation of such fuels from hydrocarbons and alcohols. It also briefly addresses the issue of carbon monoxide clean-up and the question of selecting the appropriate fuel(s) for small/medium scale fuel processors for stationary and automotive applications.

  18. Dynamic simulation of pure hydrogen production via ethanol steam reforming in a catalytic membrane reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hedayati, Ali; Le Corre, Olivier; Lacarrière, Bruno; Llorca, Jordi

    2016-01-01

    Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) was performed over Pd-Rh/CeO 2 catalyst in a catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) as a reformer unit for production of fuel cell grade pure hydrogen. Experiments were performed at 923 K, 6–10 bar, and fuel flow rates of 50–200 μl/min using a mixture of ethanol and distilled water with steam to carbon ratio of 3. A static model for the catalytic zone was derived from the Arrhenius law to calculate the total molar production rates of ESR products, i.e. CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , H 2 , and H 2 O in the catalytic zone of the CMR (coefficient of determination R 2  = 0.993). The pure hydrogen production rate at steady state conditions was modeled by means of a static model based on the Sieverts' law. Finally, a dynamic model was developed under ideal gas law assumptions to simulate the dynamics of pure hydrogen production rate in the case of the fuel flow rate or the operating pressure set point adjustment (transient state) at isothermal conditions. The simulation of fuel flow rate change dynamics was more essential compared to the pressure change one, as the system responded much faster to such an adjustment. The results of the dynamic simulation fitted very well to the experimental values at P = 7–10 bar, which proved the robustness of the simulation based on the Sieverts' law. The simulation presented in this work is similar to the hydrogen flow rate adjustments needed to set the electrical load of a fuel cell, when fed online by the pure hydrogen generating reformer studied. - Highlights: • Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) experiments were performed in a Pd-Ag membrane reactor. • The model of the catalytic zone of the reactor was derived from the Arrhenius law. • The permeation zone (membrane) was modeled based on the Sieverts' law. • The Sieverts' law model showed good results for the range of P = 7–10 bar. • Pressure and fuel flow rate adjustments were considered for dynamic simulation.

  19. Solid oxide fuel cell technology coupled with methane dry reforming: A viable option for high efficiency plant with reduced CO2 emissions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barelli, L.; Ottaviano, A.

    2014-01-01

    Nowadays the control of greenhouse gas is probably the most challenging environmental policy issue. Since CO 2 is considered the major greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to the global warming, enforcing technological strategies aiming to avoid or reuse CO 2 emissions becomes crucial, in order to mitigate GHG environmental impact. Currently, solutions conventionally adopted to this purpose are carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. In this context, instead, the followed strategy aims to further improvements in energetic conversion efficiency with related reduced specific CO 2 emissions (per produced kWh e ). Therefore, with particular reference to the electric power generation, this paper proposes an innovative energy conversion system, based on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), characterized by higher efficiency and reduced CO 2 emission factor respect to an analogous conventional energy plant. In particular, the innovative solution consists of combining SOFC to methane dry reforming technology, while the conventional system refers to steam methane reforming-SOFC coupling. The innovative system performance up to 65% electric efficiency as cited in the paper, was validated through simulations carried out in Aspen Plus environment. - Highlights: • An innovative high efficiency plant with low CO 2 emissions is presented. • The new solution combined SOFC to methane dry reforming technology (CDR–SOFC). • A comparison between CDR–SOFC and SMR–SOFC system was carried out in Aspen Plus. • CDR–SOFC efficiency is greater of 6.4% percentage points respect to SMR–SOFC. • A CO 2 emission factor reduction of about 10% was achieved by CDR–SOFC plant

  20. Hydrogen production from bio-fuels using precious metal catalysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasel, Joachim; Wohlrab, Sebastian; Rotov, Mikhail; Löhken, Katrin; Peters, Ralf; Stolten, Detlef

    2017-11-01

    Fuel cell systems with integrated autothermal reforming unit require active and robust catalysts for H2 production. Thus, an experimental screening of catalysts for autothermal reforming of commercial biodiesel fuel was performed. Catalysts consisted of a monolithic cordierite substrate, an oxide support (γ-Al2O3) and Pt, Ru, Ni, PtRh and PtRu as active phase. Experiments were run by widely varying the O2/C and H2O/C molar ratios at different gas hourly space velocities. Fresh and aged catalysts were characterized by temperature programmed methods and thermogravimetry to find correlations with catalytic activity and stability.

  1. Configuring a fuel cell based residential combined heat and power system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Shabbir; Papadias, Dionissios D.; Ahluwalia, Rajesh K.

    2013-11-01

    The design and performance of a fuel cell based residential combined heat and power (CHP) system operating on natural gas has been analyzed. The natural gas is first converted to a hydrogen-rich reformate in a steam reformer based fuel processor, and the hydrogen is then electrochemically oxidized in a low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell to generate electric power. The heat generated in the fuel cell and the available heat in the exhaust gas is recovered to meet residential needs for hot water and space heating. Two fuel processor configurations have been studied. One of the configurations was explored to quantify the effects of design and operating parameters, which include pressure, temperature, and steam-to-carbon ratio in the fuel processor, and fuel utilization in the fuel cell. The second configuration applied the lessons from the study of the first configuration to increase the CHP efficiency. Results from the two configurations allow a quantitative comparison of the design alternatives. The analyses showed that these systems can operate at electrical efficiencies of ∼46% and combined heat and power efficiencies of ∼90%.

  2. Hydrogen from catalytic reforming of biomass-derived hydrocarbons in liquid water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortright, R. D.; Davda, R. R.; Dumesic, J. A.

    2002-08-01

    Concerns about the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the pollution caused by continuously increasing energy demands make hydrogen an attractive alternative energy source. Hydrogen is currently derived from nonrenewable natural gas and petroleum, but could in principle be generated from renewable resources such as biomass or water. However, efficient hydrogen production from water remains difficult and technologies for generating hydrogen from biomass, such as enzymatic decomposition of sugars, steam-reforming of bio-oils and gasification, suffer from low hydrogen production rates and/or complex processing requirements. Here we demonstrate that hydrogen can be produced from sugars and alcohols at temperatures near 500K in a single-reactor aqueous-phase reforming process using a platinum-based catalyst. We are able to convert glucose-which makes up the major energy reserves in plants and animals-to hydrogen and gaseous alkanes, with hydrogen constituting 50% of the products. We find that the selectivity for hydrogen production increases when we use molecules that are more reduced than sugars, with ethylene glycol and methanol being almost completely converted into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. These findings suggest that catalytic aqueous-phase reforming might prove useful for the generation of hydrogen-rich fuel gas from carbohydrates extracted from renewable biomass and biomass waste streams.

  3. The economic cost of fuel price subsidies in Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofori, Roland Oduro

    I adapt the Harberger formula for deadweight loss to develop approximations for the deadweight loss created by multiple fuel price subsidies. I also estimate the own-price, cross-price, and income elasticities of demand for gasoline and diesel in Africa. I use data on fuel prices and sales in combination with my formulas and elasticity estimates to calculate the deadweight loss of fuel price subsidies in Ghana from 2009 to 2014. I show that the average efficiency cost of the gasoline and diesel price subsidies in Ghana is 0.8% of fuel price subsidy transfers. This result stresses the futility of basing subsidy reforms on economic efficiency losses, which are relatively small due to very inelastic energy demand, and the need for such reforms to be motivated by the poor-targeting of subsidies to low-income households and the impact of subsidies on government debt-financing.

  4. Numerical simulation of ion transport membrane reactors: Oxygen permeation and transport and fuel conversion

    KAUST Repository

    Hong, Jongsup; Kirchen, Patrick; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

    2012-01-01

    Ion transport membrane (ITM) based reactors have been suggested as a novel technology for several applications including fuel reforming and oxy-fuel combustion, which integrates air separation and fuel conversion while reducing complexity

  5. JP-8 Reformation for Fuel Cell Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Lee, Ivan C; Schmidt, Lanny D

    2004-01-01

    ... (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) selectivity with a rhodium-based catalyst. Time-on-stream experiment indicates that the catalysts remains stable and active for at least 4 hours using a jet fuel (310 ppm sulfur...

  6. Development of Ni-Based Catalysts Derived from Hydrotalcite-Like Compounds Precursors for Synthesis Gas Production via Methane or Ethanol Reforming

    OpenAIRE

    Ya-Li Du; Xu Wu; Qiang Cheng; Yan-Li Huang; Wei Huang

    2017-01-01

    As a favorably clean fuel, syngas (synthesis gas) production has been the focus of concern in past decades. Substantial literatures reported the syngas production by various catalytic reforming reactions particularly in methane or ethanol reforming. Among the developed catalysts in these reforming processes, Ni-based catalysts from hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTLcs) precursors have drawn considerable attention for their preferable structural traits. This review covers the recent literature r...

  7. Trigeneration integrated with absorption enhanced reforming of lignite and biomass

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yaodong Wang; Ye Huang; Anthony P. Roskilly [Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne (United Kingdom). Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research

    2009-10-15

    A technical investigation of an innovative trigeneration integrated with absorption enhanced reforming (AER) of lignite and biomass is carried out using the ECLIPSE process simulator. The system includes an internal combustion engine, an AER gasifier, a waste heat recovery and storage unit and an absorption refrigerator. The whole system is operated in the following sequence: The AER gasifier is used to generate hydrogen using lignite and biomass; the hydrogen generated is used to run the engine which drives a generator to produce electricity. Additionally, the heat recovery unit collects waste heat from the engine and is used to supply hot water and space heating. Furthermore, the waste heat is used to operate the absorption refrigerator. The electricity, heat and cooling can be used to meet the energy requirements for the households in a village, a resident building or a commercial building, or a supermarket. Within the study, the effects of lignite mixed with three different types of biomass (straw, willow and switch grass) on the system performance are investigated and the results are compared. The results show that it is feasible to use an AER system to reform the low quality fuels lignite and biomass to generate a cleaner fuel - hydrogen to replace fossil fuels (diesel or natural gas) and to fuel an engine based trigeneration system; the system works with high efficiencies and with a potential of carbon capture from the sorbent-regeneration process that would benefit the environment. 25 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

  8. Possibility of hydrogen supply by shared residential fuel cell systems for fuel cell vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ono Yusuke

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Residential polymer electrolyte fuel cells cogeneration systems (residential PEFC systems produce hydrogen from city gas by internal gas-reformer, and generate electricity, the hot water at the same time. From the viewpoint of the operation, it is known that residential PEFC systems do not continuously work but stop for long time, because the systems generate enough hot water for short operation time. In other words, currently residential PEFC systems are dominated by the amount of hot water demand. This study focuses on the idle time of residential PEFC systems. Since their gas-reformers are free, the systems have potential to produce hydrogen during the partial load operations. The authors expect that residential PEFC systems can take a role to supply hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles (FCVs before hydrogen fueling stations are distributed enough. From this perspective, the objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrogen production potential of residential PEFC systems. A residential PEFC system was modeled by the mixed integer linear programming to optimize the operation including hydrogen supply for FCV. The objective function represents annual system cost to be minimized with the constraints of energy balance. It should be noted that the partial load characteristics of the gas-reformer and the fuel cell stack are taken into account to derive the optimal operation. The model was employed to estimate the possible amount of hydrogen supply by a residential PEFC system. The results indicated that the system could satisfy at least hydrogen demand for transportation of 8000 km which is as far as the average annual mileage of a passenger car in Japan. Furthermore, hydrogen production by sharing a residential PEFC system with two households is more effective to reduce primary energy consumption with hydrogen supply for FCV than the case of introducing PEFC in each household.

  9. Techno-economic analysis of sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming in a fixed bed reactor network integrated with fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diglio, Giuseppe; Hanak, Dawid P.; Bareschino, Piero; Mancusi, Erasmo; Pepe, Francesco; Montagnaro, Fabio; Manovic, Vasilije

    2017-10-01

    Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) is a promising alternative for H2 production with inherent CO2 capture. This study evaluates the techno-economic performance of SE-SMR in a network of fixed beds and its integration with a solid oxide fuel cell (SE-SMR-SOFC) for power generation. The analysis revealed that both proposed systems are characterised by better economic performance than the reference systems. In particular, for SE-SMR the levelised cost of hydrogen is 1.6 €ṡkg-1 and the cost of CO2 avoided is 29.9 €ṡtCO2-1 (2.4 €ṡkg-1 and 50 €ṡtCO2-1, respectively, for SMR with CO2 capture) while for SE-SMR-SOFC the levelised cost of electricity is 0.078 €ṡkWh-1 and the cost of CO2 avoided is 36.9 €ṡtCO2-1 (0.080 €ṡkWh-1 and 80 €ṡtCO2-1, respectively, for natural gas-fired power plant with carbon capture). The sensitivity analysis showed that the specific cost of fuel and the capital cost of fuel cell mainly affect the economic performance of SE-SMR and SE-SMR-SOFC, respectively. The daily revenue of the SE-SMR-SOFC system is higher than that of the natural gas-fired power plant if the difference between the carbon tax and the CO2 transport and storage cost is > 6 €ṡtCO2-1.

  10. Hydrocarbon reforming catalysts and new reactor designs for compact hydrogen generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaefer, A.; Schwab, E.; Urtel, H. [BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Germany); Farrauto, R. [BASF Catalysts LLC, Iselin, NJ (United States)

    2010-12-30

    A hydrogen based future energy scenario will use fuel cells for the conversion of chemically stored energy into electricity. Depending upon the type of fuel cell, different specifications will apply for the feedstock which is converted in the cell, ranging from very clean hydrogen for PEM-FC's to desulfurized methane for SOFC and MCFC technology. For the foreseeable future, hydrogen will be supplied by conventional reforming, however operated in compact and dynamic reformer designs. This requires that known catalyst formulations are offered in specific geometries, giving flexibility for novel reactor design options. These specific geometries can be special tablet shapes as well as monolith structures. Finally, also nonhydrocarbon feedstock might be used in special applications, e.g. bio-based methanol and ethanol. BASF offers catalysts for the full process chain starting from feedstock desulfurization via reforming, high temperature shift, low temperature shift to CO fine polishing either via selective oxidation or selective methanation. Depending upon the customer's design, most stages can be served either with precious metal based monolith solutions or base metal tablet solutions. For the former, we have taken the automobile catalyst monolith support and extended its application to the fuel cell hydrogen generation. Washcoats of precious metal supported catalysts can for example be deposited on ceramic monoliths and/or metal heat exchangers for efficient generation of hydrogen. Major advantages are high through puts due to more efficient heat transfer for catalysts on metal heat exchangers, lower pressure drop with greater catalyst mechanical and thermal stability compared to particulate catalysts. Base metal tablet catalysts on the other hand can have intrinsic cost advantages, larger fractions of the reactor can be filled with active mass, and if produced in unconventional shape, again novel reactor designs are made possible. Finally, if it comes to

  11. Dry reforming of methane with CO{sub 2} at elevated pressures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milanov, A.; Schwab, E.; Wasserschaff, G. [BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Germany); Schunk, S. [hte AG, Heidelberg (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    The indirect conversion of natural gas into higher value chemicals and fuels via syngas is superior with regard to efficiency compared to the currently available direct conversion technologies and remains the industrially preferred route. Typically the syngas production route is generally dictated by the H{sub 2}/CO ratio requirements of the downstream synthesis process. Processes such as direct DME synthesis, high-temperature Fischer-Tropsch and acetic acid synthesis require CO rich syngas that is not readily accessible by established technologies like steam methane reforming (SMR) and autothermal reforming of methane (ATR). The CO{sub 2} reforming of methane, also known as dry reforming (DRM), is an attractive alternative technology for the production of CO-rich syngas. This paper gives an overview of the current joint research activities at BASF and hte AG aiming to develop suitable catalysts for CO{sub 2} reforming of methane at elevated pressures with minimized input of process steam. The performance profiles of two newly developed base metal catalysts are presented and discussed. The catalysts exhibit high degrees of methane and CO{sub 2} conversion in combination with an extraordinary coking resistance under high severity process conditions. (orig.)

  12. Electricity market reform failures: UK, Norway, Alberta and California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chikeung Woo; Lloyd, Debra; Tishler, Asher

    2003-01-01

    An analysis of electricity market reforms already taken place in the UK, Norway, Alberta (Canada) and California (USA) leads to our overall conclusion that the introduction of a competitive generation market, of itself, has failed to deliver reliable service at low and stable prices. The market reform failures are attributed to market power abuse by few dominant sellers (especially at times of transmission congestion), poor market design that invites strategic bidding by suppliers, the lack of customer response to price spikes, capacity shortage caused by demand growth not matched by new capacity, and thin trading of forward and futures contracts that are critical for price discovery and risk management. The paper then explains why an electricity market reform can easily fail to deliver the promised gains of better service at lower and more stable prices. The policy implication is that an electric market reform can be extremely risky, and may lead to a disastrous outcome. Thus, it is imprudent to implement such a reform in countries with limited sites for new generation and no indigenous fuels (e.g., Israel and Hong Kong). These countries should therefore consider introducing performance-based regulation that can immediately benefit electricity consumers in terms of lower prices, more stable prices, improved reliability, more choices, while encouraging the electric sector to pursue efficient operation and investment. (Author)

  13. Electricity market reform failures: UK, Norway, Alberta and California

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, C.-K.; Lloyd, Debra; Tishler, Asher

    2003-01-01

    An analysis of electricity market reforms already taken place in the UK, Norway, Alberta (Canada) and California (USA) leads to our overall conclusion that the introduction of a competitive generation market, of itself, has failed to deliver reliable service at low and stable prices. The market reform failures are attributed to market power abuse by few dominant sellers (especially at times of transmission congestion), poor market design that invites strategic bidding by suppliers, the lack of customer response to price spikes, capacity shortage caused by demand growth not matched by new capacity, and thin trading of forward and futures contracts that are critical for price discovery and risk management. The paper then explains why an electricity market reform can easily fail to deliver the promised gains of better service at lower and more stable prices. The policy implication is that an electric market reform can be extremely risky, and may lead to a disastrous outcome. Thus, it is imprudent to implement such a reform in countries with limited sites for new generation and no indigenous fuels (e.g., Israel and Hong Kong). These countries should therefore consider introducing performance-based regulation that can immediately benefit electricity consumers in terms of lower prices, more stable prices, improved reliability, more choices, while encouraging the electric sector to pursue efficient operation and investment

  14. Increasing the electric efficiency of a fuel cell system by recirculating the anodic offgas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinzel, A.; Roes, J.; Brandt, H.

    The University of Duisburg-Essen and the Center for Fuel Cell Technology (ZBT Duisburg GmbH) have developed a compact multi-fuel steam reformer suitable for natural gas, propane and butane. Fuel processor prototypes based on this concept were built up in the power range from 2.5 to 12.5 kW thermal hydrogen power for different applications and different industrial partners. The fuel processor concept contains all the necessary elements, a prereformer step, a primary reformer, water gas shift reactors, a steam generator, internal heat exchangers, in order to achieve an optimised heat integration and an external burner for heat supply as well as a preferential oxidation step (PrOx) as CO purification. One of the built fuel processors is designed to deliver a thermal hydrogen power output of 2.5 kW according to a PEM fuel cell stack providing about 1 kW electrical power and achieves a thermal efficiency of about 75% (LHV basis after PrOx), while the CO content of the product gas is below 20 ppm. This steam reformer has been combined with a 1 kW PEM fuel cell. Recirculating the anodic offgas results in a significant efficiency increase for the fuel processor. The gross efficiency of the combined system was already clearly above 30% during the first tests. Further improvements are currently investigated and developed at the ZBT.

  15. R&D on fuel cells in Japan and possible contributions of fuel cells to the Global Reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takenaka, Hiroyasu [Government Industrial Research Inst., Osaka (Japan)

    1993-12-31

    Fuel cells can generate electricity equivalent to 40-60% of the energy contained In the fuel consumed, and an overall efficiency as high as 80% is not impossible to achieve through utilization of the exhaust heat. In addition, emissions of pollutants such as NOx and SOx from fuel cells are low. Since various reformed gases derived from natural gas, methanol and coal can be used as fuel for fuel cells, the wide range of applications for fuel cells is expected to contribute to the reduction of petroleum dependence in Japan.

  16. Roadmap of retail electricity market reform in China: assisting in mitigating wind energy curtailment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dezhao; Qiu, Huadong; Yuan, Xiang; Li, Yuan; Shao, Changzheng; Lin, You; Ding, Yi

    2017-01-01

    Among the renewable energies, wind energy has gained the rapidest development in China. Moreover wind power generation has been penetrated into power system in a large scale. However, the high level wind curtailment also indicates a low efficiency of wind energy utilization over the last decade in China. One of the primary constraints on the utilization of wind energy is the lack of an electricity market, in which renewable energies can compete equally with traditional fossil fuel generation. Thus the new round electric power industry reform is essential in China. The reform involves implementing new pricing mechanism, introducing retail-side competition, promoting the consumption of renewable energy. The new round reform can be a promising solution for promoting the development and consumption of wind energy generation in China. Based on proposed reform policies of electric power industry, this paper suggests a roadmap for retail electricity market reform of China, which consists of three stages. Barriers to the efficient utilization of wind energy are also analysed. Finally, this paper introduces several efficient measures for mitigating wind curtailment in each stage of reform.

  17. Diesel fueled ship propulsion fuel cell demonstration project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kumm, W.H. [Arctic Energies Ltd., Severna Park, MD (United States)

    1996-12-31

    The paper describes the work underway to adapt a former US Navy diesel electric drive ship as a 2.4 Megawatt fuel cell powered, US Coast Guard operated, demonstrator. The Project will design the new configuration, and then remove the four 600 kW diesel electric generators and auxiliaries. It will design, build and install fourteen or more nominal 180 kW diesel fueled molten carbonate internal reforming direct fuel cells (DFCs). The USCG cutter VINDICATOR has been chosen. The adaptation will be carried out at the USCG shipyard at Curtis Bay, MD. A multi-agency (state and federal) cooperative project is now underway. The USCG prime contractor, AEL, is performing the work under a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award. This follows their successful completion of Phases I and II under contract to the US Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) from 1989 through 1993 which successfully demonstrated the feasibility of diesel fueled DFCs. The demonstrated marine propulsion of a USCG cutter will lead to commercial, naval ship and submarine applications as well as on-land applications such as diesel fueled locomotives.

  18. Synthesis and Activity Test of Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 for the Methanol Steam Reforming as a Fuel Cell’s Hydrogen Supplier

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IGBN Makertihartha

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of hydrogen from hydrocarbons through the steam reforming of methanol on Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst has been investigated. This process is assigned to be one of the promising alternatives for fuel cell hydrogen process source. Hydrogen synthesis from methanol can be carried out by means of methanol steam reforming which is a gas phase catalytic reaction between methanol and water. In this research, the Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by the dry impregnation was used. The specific surface area of catalyst was 194.69 m2/gram.The methanol steam reforming (SRM reaction was carried out by means of the injection of gas mixture containing methanol and water with 1:1.2 mol ratio and 20-90 mL/minute feed flow rate to a fixed bed reactor loaded by 1 g of catalyst. The reaction temperature was 200-300 °C, and the reactor pressure was 1 atm. Preceding the reaction, catalyst was reduced in the H2/N2 mixture at 160 °C. This study shows that at 300 °C reaction temperature, methanol conversion reached 100% at 28 mL/minute gas flow rate. This conversion decreased significantly with the increase of gas flow rate. Meanwhile, the catalyst prepared for SRM was stable in 36 hours of operation at 260 °C. The catalyst exhibited a good stability although the reaction condition was shifted to a higher gas flow rate.

  19. Degradation of solid oxide fuel cell metallic interconnects in fuels containing sulfur

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ziomek-Moroz, M.; Hawk, Jeffrey A.

    2005-01-01

    Hydrogen is the main fuel for all types of fuel cells except direct methanol fuel cells. Hydrogen can be generated from all manner of fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, diesel, gasoline, other hydrocarbons, and oxygenates (e.g., methanol, ethanol, butanol, etc.). Impurities in the fuel can cause significant performance problems and sulfur, in particular, can decrease the cell performance of fuel cells, including solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). In the SOFC, the high (800-1000°C) operating temperature yields advantages (e.g., internal fuel reforming) and disadvantages (e.g., material selection and degradation problems). Significant progress in reducing the operating temperature of the SOFC from ~1000 ºC to ~750 ºC may allow less expensive metallic materials to be used for interconnects and as balance of plant (BOP) materials. This paper provides insight on the material performance of nickel, ferritic steels, and nickel-based alloys in fuels containing sulfur, primarily in the form of H2S, and seeks to quantify the extent of possible degradation due to sulfur in the gas stream.

  20. The Impact of Tax Reform on New Car Purchases in Ireland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hennessy, H.; Tol, R.S.J.

    2011-01-01

    We examine the impact of recent tax reforms in Ireland on private car transport and its greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon tax was introduced on fuels, and purchase (vehicle registration) and ownership (motor) taxes were switched from engine size to potential emissions. We use a demographic model of

  1. Summary of the financial and ratepayer impacts of nuclear power plant regulatory reform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turpin, A.Y.

    1985-05-01

    This report estimates the financial impact on utilities and ratepayers of nuclear power plant regulatory reforms. Three situations are investigated: (1) no reform, (2) combined early-site-permit and preapproval-of-design reforms, and (3) total reform. Also, two types of capacity additions are evaluated using two utility companies as case studies: (1) nuclear plus generic capacity, and (2) all-nuclear capacity. Results indicate that both the shorter construction lead-time afforded by nuclear regulatory reform and the timing of new capacity additions are extremely important in enabling a utility to remain in a healthy financial position while adding capacity to meet future demand and at the same time reducing the price of electricity to the ratepayers. The lower added capital costs and fuel cost savings obtained from reformed nuclear units allow a utility dependent on oil and gas steam generation to experience price decreases as these new units begin commercial operation. The study also points out that in simulations excluding the shorter lead-time generic capacity, price increases were greater and financial performance was worse for both utilities. These facts indicate the importance of shortening the construction lead-time through nuclear regulatory reform so that nuclear power will be more competitive with coal. 19 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

  2. Deep desulfurization of jet fuel for applications in mobile fuel cell systems; Tiefentschwefelung von Flugturbinenkraftstoffen fuer die Anwendung in mobilen Brennstoffzellensystemen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Yong

    2012-07-01

    Fuel cell powered APUs are promising for the on-board electricity supply in heavy vehicles, aircraft and ships because of their high efficiency and low emission of pollutants. The catalytical reforming with subsequent gas processing units is applied to operate the fuel cell system with onboard available fuels. Within the reformer the liquid fuel is converted into a hydrogen-rich synthesis gas in the presence of metal catalysts. However, an on-board desulfurization of fuels is required to avoid the deactivation of catalysts in the fuel processing unit as well as in the fuel cell. The present work aims at developing a technically feasible deep desulfurization process for fuel cell powered APUs with theoretical and experimental study as well as procedural analysis. The focus of the work is on the desulfurization of jet fuels in liquid phase, since the reformer currently developed in IEK-3 is designed for aviation applications of fuel cell APUs and it can only be operated by liquid jet fuels. In addition, the desulfurization of marine gas oil was investigated to fulfill the sulfur requirement of the fuels for the application of fuel cell A PUs for inland navigation. In the petroleum industry, low-sulfur fuels are often obtained by hydrodesulfurization and the S-Zorb Process. However, these conventional methods are highly inconvenient for reducing sulfur compounds to the desired level in a mobile fuel cell system, since improvements of the desulfurization efficiency are limited by increasingly severe operating conditions and escalating costs. Moreover, the hydrodesulfurization and the S-Zorb Process are not suitable for mobile applications, since hydrogen recycling is required, which is not possible with H{sub 2} syngas. To this end, a large number of processes discussed in the literature were assessed with regard to their application in fuel cell APUs. Three potentially suitable processes were selected: pervaporation, adsorption, and hydrodesulfurization with pre

  3. Thermal modeling of radiation and convection sections of primary reformer of ammonia plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanaye, Sepehr; Baheri, Ehsan

    2007-01-01

    The primary reformer is basically a furnace containing burners and tubes packed with supported nickel catalyst. Due to the strongly endothermic nature of the process, a large amount of heat is supplied by fuel burning (commonly natural gas) in the furnace chamber. Accordingly, selection of primary reformer operating parameters has an important influence on reduction of operating costs and increasing the reactor performance (conversion efficiency). In this paper, the radiation and convection sections of primary reformer are investigated. The effects of key parameters on reformer performance are studied and the related developed software program is presented. The stirred-reactor furnace model which was used to simulate the radiation section of primary reformer was found to make substantially correct predictions of the overall heat transfer process in the furnace. Comparison of the numerical data obtained from the simulation program with the measured data collected from primary reformer of Razi petrochemical plant showed a mean difference of 0.23% in estimating produced hydrogen mole fraction, as well as 1.7% and 7.25% in computing the outlet temperature of process fluids and induced draft fan (ID) speed, respectively

  4. Hydrogen production from bio-fuels using precious metal catalysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pasel Joachim

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Fuel cell systems with integrated autothermal reforming unit require active and robust catalysts for H2 production. Thus, an experimental screening of catalysts for autothermal reforming of commercial biodiesel fuel was performed. Catalysts consisted of a monolithic cordierite substrate, an oxide support (γ-Al2O3 and Pt, Ru, Ni, PtRh and PtRu as active phase. Experiments were run by widely varying the O2/C and H2O/C molar ratios at different gas hourly space velocities. Fresh and aged catalysts were characterized by temperature programmed methods and thermogravimetry to find correlations with catalytic activity and stability.

  5. Efficiency gain of solid oxide fuel cell systems by using anode offgas recycle - Results for a small scale propane driven unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Ralph-Uwe; Oelze, Jana; Lindermeir, Andreas; Spitta, Christian; Steffen, Michael; Küster, Torben; Chen, Shaofei; Schlitzberger, Christian; Leithner, Reinhard

    The transfer of high electrical efficiencies of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) into praxis requires appropriate system concepts. One option is the anode-offgas recycling (AOGR) approach, which is based on the integration of waste heat using the principle of a chemical heat pump. The AOGR concept allows a combined steam- and dry-reforming of hydrocarbon fuel using the fuel cell products steam and carbon dioxide. SOFC fuel gas of higher quantity and quality results. In combination with internal reuse of waste heat the system efficiency increases compared to the usual path of partial oxidation (POX). The demonstration of the AOGR concept with a 300 Wel-SOFC stack running on propane required: a combined reformer/burner-reactor operating in POX (start-up) and AOGR modus; a hotgas-injector for anode-offgas recycling to the reformer; a dynamic process model; a multi-variable process controller; full system operation for experimental proof of the efficiency gain. Experimental results proof an efficiency gain of 18 percentage points (η·POX = 23%, η·AOGR = 41%) under idealized lab conditions. Nevertheless, further improvements of injector performance, stack fuel utilization and additional reduction of reformer reformer O/C ratio and system pressure drop are required to bring this approach into self-sustaining operation.

  6. Steam and partial oxidation reforming options for hydrogen production from fossil fuels for PEM fuel cells

    OpenAIRE

    Yousri M.A. Welaya; Mohamed M. El Gohary; Nader R. Ammar

    2012-01-01

    Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM) generates electrical power from air and from hydrogen or hydrogen rich gas mixtures. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in converting current hydrocarbon based marine fuels such as natural gas, gasoline, and diesel into hydrogen rich gases acceptable to the PEM fuel cells on board ships. Using chemical flow sheeting software, the total system efficiency has been calculated. Natural gas appears to be the best fuel for hydrogen rich gas productio...

  7. High Temperature PEM Fuel Cells and Organic Fuels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vassiliev, Anton

    of the products. The observation of internal reforming was indirectly confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, where the best fits were obtained when a Gerischer element describing preceding chemical reaction and diffusion was included in the equivalent circuit of a methanol/air operated cell...... evaporated liquid stream supply to either of the electrodes. A large number of MEAs with different component compositions have been prepared and tested in different conditions using the constructed setups to obtain a basic understanding of the nature of direct DME HT-PEM FC, to map the processes occurring...... inside the cells and to determine the lifetime. Additionally, comparison was made with methanol as fuel, which is the main competitor to DME in direct oxidation of organic fuels in fuel cells. For the reference, measurements have also been done with conventional hydrogen/air operation. All...

  8. Hydrogen Generation from Sugars via Aqueous-Phase Reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Randy D Cortright

    2006-01-01

    Virent Energy Systems, Inc. is commercializing the Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) process that allows the generation of hydrogen-rich gas streams from biomass-derived compounds such as glycerol, sugars, and sugar alcohols. The APR process is a unique method that generates hydrogen from aqueous solutions of these oxygenated compounds in a single step reactor process compared to the three or more reaction steps required for hydrogen generation via conventional processes that utilize non-renewable fossil fuels. The key breakthrough of the APR process is that the reforming of these aqueous solutions is done in the liquid phase. The patented APR process occurs at temperatures (150 C to 270 C) where the water-gas shift reaction is favorable, making it possible to generate hydrogen with low amounts of CO in a single chemical reactor. Furthermore, the APR process occurs at pressures (typically 15 to 50 bar) where the hydrogen-rich effluent can be effectively purified using either membrane technology or pressure swing adsorption technology. The utilization of biomass-based compounds allows the APR process to be a carbon neutral method to generate hydrogen. In the near term, the feed-stock of interest is waste glycerol that is being generated in large quantities as a byproduct in the production of bio-diesel. Virent has developed the APR system for on-demand generation of hydrogen-rich fuel gas from either glycerol or sorbitol (the sugar alcohol formed by hydrogenation of glucose) to fuel a stationary internal combustion engine driven generator (10 kW). Under a USDOE funded project, Virent is currently developing the APR process to generate high yields of hydrogen from corn-derived glucose. This project objective is to achieve the DOE 2010 cost target for distributed production from renewable liquid fuels of 3.60 dollars/gge (gasoline gallon equivalent) delivered. (authors)

  9. Kicking the habit[Hydrogen fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jones, N.; Lawton, G.; Pearce, F.

    2000-11-25

    This article focuses on the use of clean non-polluting hydrogen fuel as opposed to the use of fossil fuels which ties western nations to the Middle East. Details are given of Iceland's plans to use hydrogen fuelled buses, cars, trucks and trawlers, car manufacturers' options of using internal combustion engines burning hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells, and the production of hydrogen using electrolysis of water and steam reforming of hydrocarbons. The 'Green Dream' of pollution-free hydrogen production, the use of solar energy for renewable hydrogen production in California, and problems associated with hydrogen storage are discussed.

  10. Energy efficiency of a direct-injection internal combustion engine with high-pressure methanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poran, Arnon; Tartakovsky, Leonid

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses the concept of a direct-injection ICE (internal combustion engine) with thermo-chemical recuperation realized through SRM (steam reforming of methanol). It is shown that the energy required to compress the reformate gas prior to its injection into the cylinder is substantial and has to be accounted for. Results of the analysis prove that the method of reformate direct-injection is unviable when the reforming is carried-out under atmospheric pressure. To reduce the energy penalty resulted from the gas compression, it is suggested to implement a high-pressure reforming process. Effects of the injection timing and the injector's flow area on the ICE-SRM system's fuel conversion efficiency are studied. The significance of cooling the reforming products prior to their injection into the engine-cylinder is demonstrated. We show that a direct-injection ICE with high-pressure SRM is feasible and provides a potential for significant efficiency improvement. Development of injectors with greater flow area shall contribute to further efficiency improvements. - Highlights: • Energy needed to compress the reformate is substantial and has to be accounted for. • Reformate direct-injection is unviable if reforming is done at atmospheric pressure. • Direct-injection engine with high-pressure methanol reforming is feasible. • Efficiency improvement by 12–14% compared with a gasoline-fed engine was shown

  11. Hydrogen production through allothermal ethanol reforming for fuel cells application: first generation prototype; Producao de hidrogenio atraves da reforma-vapor do etanol para aplicacoes em celulas a combustivel: prototipo de primeira geracao

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marin Neto, Antonio Jose; Silva, Ennio Peres da; Camargo, Joao Carlos; Neves Junior, Newton Pimenta; Pinto, Cristiano da Silva [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Lab. de Hidrogenio; Pinto, Cristiano da Silva [Centro Nacional de Referencia em Energia do Hidrogenio, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    This paper describes preliminary results obtained with the allothermal ethanol reforming system for synthesis gas (syn-gas) production and hydrogen upgrading and purification for fuel cell applications. The system was designed to supply hydrogen to a 500 W PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell, with an electrical efficiency of 45%, which requires approximately 0.45 m3.h-1 of hydrogen, with a maximum carbon monoxide concentration of 20 {mu}mol.mol-1 (ppm). The study was performed changing the operation temperature and analyzing the resulting syn-gas through gas chromatography for a specific catalyst. This catalyst was tested up to 700 deg C, 1 bar and fixed stoichiometric steam to carbon ratio. The syn-gas, before carbon monoxide shift reactor implementation, was submitted to a two-bed-three-segments purification step composed of chemical and physical molecular sieves for hydrogen purification. The carbon monoxide shift reactor (water gas shift reactor) is under development to improve the efficiency-to-hydrogen and maximize the life of the purification bed. The final results also include a discussion about possible reactions involved in ethanol steam-reforming for such catalyst. (author)

  12. Investigating the Plasma-Assisted and Thermal Catalytic Dry Methane Reforming for Syngas Production: Process Design, Simulation and Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evangelos Delikonstantis

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The growing surplus of green electricity generated by renewable energy technologies has fueled research towards chemical industry electrification. By adapting power-to-chemical concepts, such as plasma-assisted processes, cheap resources could be converted into fuels and base chemicals. However, the feasibility of those electrified processes at large scale has not been investigated yet. Thus, the current work strives to compare, for first time in the literature, plasma-assisted production of syngas, from CH4 and CO2 (dry methane reforming, with thermal catalytic dry methane reforming. Specifically, both processes are conceptually designed to deliver syngas suitable for methanol synthesis (H2/CO ≥ 2 in mole. The processes are simulated in the Aspen Plus process simulator where different process steps are investigated. Heat integration and equipment cost estimation are performed for the most promising process flow diagrams. Collectively, plasma-assisted dry methane reforming integrated with combined steam/CO2 methane reforming is an effective way to deliver syngas for methanol production. It is more sustainable than combined thermal catalytic dry methane reforming with steam methane reforming, which has also been proposed for syngas production of H2/CO ≥ 2; in the former process, 40% more CO2 is captured, while 38% less H2O is consumed per mol of syngas. Furthermore, the plasma-assisted process is less complex than the thermal catalytic one; it requires higher amount of utilities, but comparable capital investment.

  13. Non-catalytic plasma-arc reforming of natural gas with carbon dioxide as the oxidizing agent for the production of synthesis gas or hydrogen

    OpenAIRE

    Blom, P.W.E.; Basson, G.W.

    2013-01-01

    The world’s energy consumption is increasing constantly due to the growing population of the world. The increasing energy consumption has a negative effect on the fossil fuel reserves of the world. Hydrogen has the potential to provide energy for all our needs by making use of fossil fuel such as natural gas and nuclear-based electricity. Hydrogen can be produced by reforming methane with carbon dioxide as the oxidizing agent. Hydrogen can be produced in a Plasma-arc reforming ...

  14. Experimental Characterization of the Poisoning Effects of Methanol-Based Reformate Impurities on a PBI-Based High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Simon Araya

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available In this work the effects of reformate gas impurities on a H3PO4-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI membrane-based high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC are studied. A unit cell assembly with a BASF Celtec®-P2100 high temperature membrane electrode assembly (MEA of 45 cm2 active surface area is investigated by means of impedance spectroscopy. The concentrations in the anode feed gas of all impurities, unconverted methanol-water vapor mixture, CO and CO2 were varied along with current density according to a multilevel factorial design of experiments. Results show that all the impurities degrade the performance, with CO being the most degrading agent and CO2 the least. The factorial analysis shows that there is interdependence among the effects of the different factors considered. This interdependence suggests, for example, that tolerances to concentrations of CO above 2% may be compromised by the presence in the anode feed of CO2. Methanol has a poisoning effect on the fuel cell at all the tested feed ratios, and the performance drop is found to be proportional to the amount of methanol in feed gas. The effects are more pronounced when other impurities are also present in the feed gas, especially at higher methanol concentrations.

  15. Conceptual Design Tool for Fuel-Cell Powered Micro Air Vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    Electrolyte Membrane PEMFC PEM Fuel Cell RAM Rapid Aircraft Modeler R/C Radio Controlled RMFC Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell SBIR Small Business...of rechargeable batteries, the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell ( PEMFC ) is only limited by the amount of hydrogen it can store, and can be...of fuel cells within MAVs through the creation of the Hornet. This slightly heavier, 380 g MAV integrated a 10 W PEMFC into the wing surface for a

  16. Development of CH{sub 3}OH fueled PEMFC power plants for hybrid transit buses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baumert, R; Cooper, R; Feasey, G [DBB Fuel Cell Engines Corp., Poway, CA (United States)

    1999-12-31

    An overview of the methanol fuel cell power system was provided, identifying improved efficiency and reduced emissions as the principal advantages. Four critical tasks regarding on-board fuel processing were described: (1) efficient methanol conversion (steam reforming), (2) effective reformate purification (selective catalytic oxidation), (3) optimized heat integration, and (4) rapid response to transients. A description of a 100 kW PEM fuel cell bus engine package was also presented. As far as a development time table is concerned, the DBB Fuel Cell Engines Corp. of Poway California has completed two methanol fueled PEMFC power plants, fabrication of the initial 100 kW PEMFC engine is in progress and scheduled for delivery by 1998. The two methanol fueled commercial products which are in the planning stages are the 100 and 200 kW class FCPS for hybrid and non-hybrid buses and other applications. tabs., figs.

  17. hydrogel membrane as electrolyte for direct borohydride fuel cells

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    and hence attractive energy sources for future gene- ration. Among the various types of fuel cells, poly- mer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are especially promising due to their quick start-up capabilities under ambient conditions. But PEFCs suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning of platinum anode. 1–3 while using reformer ...

  18. SOLID STATE ENERGY CONVERSION ALLIANCE DELPHI SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steven Shaffer; Sean Kelly; Subhasish Mukerjee; David Schumann; Gail Geiger; Kevin Keegan; Larry Chick

    2004-05-07

    The objective of this project is to develop a 5 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell power system for a range of fuels and applications. During Phase I, the following will be accomplished: Develop and demonstrate technology transfer efforts on a 5 kW stationary distributed power generation system that incorporates steam reforming of natural gas with the option of piped-in water (Demonstration System A). Initiate development of a 5 kW system for later mass-market automotive auxiliary power unit application, which will incorporate Catalytic Partial Oxidation (CPO) reforming of gasoline, with anode exhaust gas injected into an ultra-lean burn internal combustion engine. This technical progress report covers work performed by Delphi from July 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, under Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FC-02NT41246. This report highlights technical results of the work performed under the following tasks: Task 1 System Design and Integration; Task 2 Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack Developments; Task 3 Reformer Developments; Task 4 Development of Balance of Plant (BOP) Components; Task 5 Manufacturing Development (Privately Funded); Task 6 System Fabrication; Task 7 System Testing; Task 8 Program Management; Task 9 Stack Testing with Coal-Based Reformate; and Task 10 Technology Transfer from SECA CORE Technology Program. In this reporting period, unless otherwise noted Task 6--System Fabrication and Task 7--System Testing will be reported within Task 1 System Design and Integration. Task 8--Program Management, Task 9--Stack Testing with Coal Based Reformate, and Task 10--Technology Transfer from SECA CORE Technology Program will be reported on in the Executive Summary section of this report.

  19. Alkali resistant Ni-loaded yolk-shell catalysts for direct internal reforming in molten carbonate fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Won-Jun; Hong, Young Jun; Kim, Hak-Min; Shim, Jae-Oh; Roh, Hyun-Seog; Kang, Yun Chan

    2017-06-01

    A facile and scalable spray pyrolysis process is applied to synthesize multi-shelled Ni-loaded yolk-shell catalysts on various supports (Al2O3, CeO2, ZrO2, and La(OH)3). The prepared catalysts are applied to direct internal reforming (DIR) in a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). Even on exposure to alkali hydroxide vapors, the Ni-loaded yolk-shell catalysts remain highly active for DIR-MCFCs. The Ni@Al2O3 microspheres show the highest conversion (92%) of CH4 and the best stability among the prepared Ni-loaded yolk-shell catalysts. Although the initial CH4 conversion of the Ni@ZrO2 microspheres is higher than that of the Ni@CeO2 microspheres, the Ni@CeO2 microspheres are more stable. The catalytic performance is strongly dependent on the surface area and acidity and also partly dependent on the reducibility. The acidic nature of Al2O3 combined with its high surface area and yolk-shell structure enhances the adsorption of CH4 and resistance against alkali poisoning, resulting in efficient DIR-MCFC reactions.

  20. Reforming fossil fuel prices in India: Dilemma of a developing economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anand, Mukesh Kumar

    2016-01-01

    Over the period between 1990–1 and 2012–3, fossil fuel use on farms has risen and its indirect use in farming, particularly for non-energy purposes, is also growing. Consequently, both energy intensity and fossil fuel intensity are rising for Indian agriculture. But, these are declining for the aggregate Indian economy. Thus, revision of fossil fuel prices acquires greater significance for Indian agriculture than for rest of the economy. There are significant differences across crops. The crop-level analysis is supplemented by an alternative approach that utilizes a three-sector input–output (I–O) model for the Indian economy representing farming, fossil fuels, and rest of economy. Fossil fuels sector is assessed to portray, in general, strong forward linkages. The increase in total cost of farming, for a given change in fossil fuel prices, is estimated as a multiple of increase in direct input cost of fossil fuels in farming. From the three-sector aggregated economy this multiple was estimated at 3.99 for 1998–9. But it grew to 6.7 in 2007–8. The findings have stronger ramifications than commonly recognized, for inflation and cost of implementing the policy on food security. - Highlights: •Fossil fuels’ contribution in primary energy supply has risen from 55 to 75 per cent. •Energy intensity halved for aggregate GDP, but doubled for agricultural GDP. •Impact of fossil fuel price increase on farming costs mimics a widening spiral. •Total cost of farming may increase 6.7 times the increase in direct fuel input cost.

  1. Process Intensification in Fuel Cell CHP Systems, the ReforCELL Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luis Viviente

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the findings of a FP7/FCH JU project (ReforCELL that developed materials (catalysts and membranes and an advance autothermal membrane reformer for a micro Combined Heat and Power (CHP system of 5 kWel based on a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC. In this project, an active, stable and selective catalyst was developed for the reactions of interest and its production was scaled up to kg scale (TRL5 (TRL: Technology Readiness Level. Simultaneously, new membranes for gas separation were developed. In particular, dense supported thin palladium-based membranes were developed for hydrogen separation from reactive mixtures. These membranes were successfully scaled up to TRL4 and used in lab-scale reactors for fluidized bed steam methane reforming (SMR and autothermal reforming (ATR and in a prototype reactor for ATR. Suitable sealing techniques able to integrate the different membranes in lab-scale and prototype reactors were also developed. The project also addressed the design and optimization of the subcomponents (BoP for the integration of the membrane reformer to the fuel cell system.

  2. Feasibility of Fuel Cell APUs for Automotive Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-12-05

    CELL DELPHI SOFC APU w/ REFORMER FREIGHTLINER TRACTOR WITH BALLARD PEM APU AND METHANOL REFORMER SUNLINE TRACTOR WITH HYDROGEN- FuELLED HYDROGENICS...NRF.L. ADVISOR model , t"’mparing the idling of a main diesei engine to this APU c~ntigur,uion. SUNLINE TRACTOR WITH HYDROGEN- FUELLED HYDROGENICS PEM ...the biggest hurdles to having a successful JP-8- fuelled fuel cell was preventing the sulfur-laden JP-8 from poisoning the catalyst.[9] Specifically

  3. Influence of Ce-precursor and fuel on structure and catalytic activity of combustion synthesized Ni/CeO2 catalysts for biogas oxidative steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vita, Antonio; Italiano, Cristina; Fabiano, Concetto; Laganà, Massimo; Pino, Lidia

    2015-01-01

    A series of nanosized Ni/CeO 2 catalysts were prepared by Solution Combustion Synthesis (SCS) varying the fuel (oxalyldihydrazide, urea, carbohydrazide and glycerol), the cerium precursor (cerium nitrate and cerium ammonium nitrate) and the nickel loading (ranging between 3.1 and 15.6 wt%). The obtained powders were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), N 2 -physisorption, CO-chemisorption, Temperature Programmed Reduction (H 2 -TPR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The catalytic activity towards the Oxy Steam Reforming (OSR) of biogas was assessed. The selected operating variables have a strong influence on the nature of combustion and, in turn, on the morphological and structural properties of the synthesized catalysts. Particularly, the use of urea allows to improve nickel dispersion, surface area, particle size and reducibility of the catalysts, affecting positively the biogas OSR performances. - Highlights: • Synthesis of Ni/CeO 2 nanopowders by quick and easy solution combustion synthesis. • The fuel and precursor drive the structural and morphological properties of the catalysts. • The use of urea as fuel allows to improve nickel dispersion, surface area and particle size. • Ni/CeO 2 (7.8 wt% of Ni loading) powders synthesized by urea route exhibits high performances for the biogas OSR process

  4. Short Review: Cu Catalyst for Autothermal Reforming Methanol for Hydrogen Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ho-Shing Wu

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen is a promising alternative energy sources, hydrogen can be used in fuel cell applications to pro-ducing electrical energy and water as byproduct. Therefore, fuel cell is a simple application and environ-mentally friendly oriented technology. Recent years various methods have been conducted to produce hy-drogen. Those methods are derived from various sources such as methanol, ethanol, gasoline, hydrocarbons. This article presents a brief review a parameter process of that affects in autothermal reforming methanol use Cu-based catalysts for production of hydrogen. Copyright © 2012 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved.Received: 3rd January 2012; Revised: 23rd February 2012; Accepted: 28th February 2012[How to Cite: H.S. Wu, and D. Lesmana. (2012. Short Review: Cu Catalyst for Autothermal Reforming Methanol for Hydrogen Production. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 7 (1: 27-42. doi:10.9767/bcrec.7.1.1284.27-42][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.7.1.1284.27-42 ] | View in 

  5. Reviewing tax system and its reform plan for the fuel market in South Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, M.-K.

    2005-01-01

    After a long period of government intervention in the energy market, the Korean government has realized that the costs of its intervention are greater than the benefit as the economy got more complicated and more integrated into the world economy. The objective of the energy tax reform is to establish a transparent set of taxing principles, in order to internalize externalities from energy consumption. The expected effects of the reform is to motivate energy conservation and to promote R and D on energy conservation technologies which will ultimately result in the strengthening of industrial competitiveness and the reduction of urban air pollution

  6. Reviewing tax system and its reform plan for the fuel market in South Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myung-Kyoon Lee

    2005-01-01

    After a long period of government intervention in the energy market, the Korean government has realized that the costs of its intervention are greater than the benefit as the economy got more complicated and more integrated into the world economy. The objective of the energy tax reform is to establish a transparent set of taxing principles, in order to internalize externalities from energy consumption. The expected effects of the reform is to motivate energy conservation and to promote R and D on energy conservation technologies which will ultimately result in the strengthening of industrial competitiveness and the reduction of urban air pollution. (author)

  7. Optimisation of the process of fuel gas production for fuel cells in motor vehicles; Verfahrenstechnische Optimierung der Brenngaserzeugung fuer Brennstoffzellen in Kraftfahrzeugen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colsman, G

    1995-10-01

    There are advanced development programs and demonstration projects worldwide concerning the use of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) in passenger cars. The on-board production of a hydrogen-rich fuel gas in particular requires research and development. Based on a comparison of different energy carriers and hydrogen production processes, the methanol steam-reforming system is optimized with respect to criteria such as power density and fuel gas quality. The specific hydrogen production is thereby raised to 10 m{sup 3} (STP) per hour and litre of catalyst at 99.5% methanol conversion rate and 280 C reformer wall temperature. Due to the fact, that the maximum CO concentration in the fuel gas, which is tolerable by the PEMFC with platinum catalyst, is 10 ppm, a separate gas cleaning is necessary after the steam reforming process. Different gas treatment processes are discussed and investigated theoretically as well as experimentally. Pore-free metal membranes allow the separation of ultra pure (>99.9999 vol.-%) hydrogen from the reformer gas while the technical criteria for the use in passenger cars are fulfilled. The investigations are completed by mathematical models of the optimized methanol reformer as well as the gas separation by membranes. The results of this work concerning the optimization of the fuel processing from methanol have made possible the building and testing of a fuel gas production unit on a passenger car scale. Volume and weight of the total unit allow already today the installation in a vehicle without any restrictions. (orig.) [Deutsch] Der Einsatz von PEMFC (Brennstoffzellen mit Protonenaustauschmembran) in Kraftfahrzeugen wird weltweit erforscht und in zahlreichen Prototypen demonstriert. Insbesondere auf dem Gebiet der Erzeugung eines wasserstoffreichen Brenngases im Kraftfahrzeug besteht ein erheblicher Entwicklungsbedarf. Auf der Basis eines Vergleichs verschiedener Energietraeger und Verfahren der Wasserstoffgewinnung wird das

  8. Cost reductions of fuel cells for transport applications: fuel processing options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teagan, W P; Bentley, J; Barnett, B [Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA (United States)

    1998-03-15

    The highly favorable efficiency/environmental characteristics of fuel cell technologies have now been verified by virtue of recent and ongoing field experience. The key issue regarding the timing and extent of fuel cell commercialization is the ability to reduce costs to acceptable levels in both stationary and transport applications. It is increasingly recognized that the fuel processing subsystem can have a major impact on overall system costs, particularly as ongoing R and D efforts result in reduction of the basic cost structure of stacks which currently dominate system costs. The fuel processing subsystem for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, which is the focus of transport applications, includes the reformer, shift reactors, and means for CO reduction. In addition to low cost, transport applications require a fuel processor that is compact and can start rapidly. This paper describes the impact of factors such as fuel choice operating temperature, material selection, catalyst requirements, and controls on the cost of fuel processing systems. There are fuel processor technology paths which manufacturing cost analyses indicate are consistent with fuel processor subsystem costs of under $150/kW in stationary applications and $30/kW in transport applications. As such, the costs of mature fuel processing subsystem technologies should be consistent with their use in commercially viable fuel cell systems in both application categories. (orig.)

  9. Commercializing fuel cells: managing risks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Peter B.

    separation of functions between stack convention and fuel processing, i.e. external reforming using low-cost, non-catalytic under-oxidized burners. Even for fuel cell technologies capable of internal reforming, the separation of functions offers the advantage of separate optimization of the fuel cell stack and fuel processor, leading to fuel flexibility and lower systems costs. The combination of small size fuel cells, high market values, low development and demonstration costs, low market entry costs, and availability of off-the-shelf balance-of-system components, provides a low financial and technical risk scenario for fuel cell commercialization.

  10. Utilization of methanol for polymer electrolyte fuel cells in mobile systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmidt, V M [Research Centre Juelich (KFA), Inst. of Energy Process Engineering (Germany); Broeckerhoff, P [Research Centre Juelich (KFA), Inst. of Energy Process Engineering (Germany); Hoehlein, B [Research Centre Juelich (KFA), Inst. of Energy Process Engineering (Germany); Menzer, R [Research Centre Juelich (KFA), Inst. of Energy Process Engineering (Germany); Stimming, U [Research Centre Juelich (KFA), Inst. of Energy Process Engineering (Germany)

    1994-04-01

    The constantly growing volume of road traffic requires the introduction of new vehicle propulsion systems with higher efficiency and drastically reduced emission rates. As part of the fuel cell programme of the Research Centre Juelich a vehicle propulsion system with methanol as secondary energy carrier and a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) as the main component for energy conversion is developed. The fuel gas is produced by a heterogeneously catalyzed steam reforming reaction in which methanol is converted to H[sub 2], CO and CO[sub 2]. The required energy is provided by the catalytic conversion of methanol for both heating up the system and reforming methanol. The high CO content of the fuel gas requires further processing of the gas or the development of new electrocatalysts for the anode. Various Pt-Ru alloys show promising behaviour as CO-tolerant anodes. The entire fuel cell system is discussed in terms of energy and emission balances. The development of important components is described and experimental results are discussed. (orig.)

  11. Biomass gasification and fuel cells: system with PEM fuel cell; Gaseificacao de biomassa e celula a combustivel: sistema com celula tipo PEMFC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sordi, Alexandre; Lobkov, Dmitri D.; Lopes, Daniel Gabriel; Rodrigues, Jean Robert Pereira [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Engenharia Mecanica], e-mail: asordi@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: lobkov@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: danielg@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: jrobert@fem.unicamp.br; Silva, Ennio Peres da [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica Gleb Wataghin], e-mail: Lh2ennio@ifi.unicamp.br

    2006-07-01

    The objective of this paper is to present the operation flow diagram of an electricity generation system based on the biomass integrated gasification fuel cell of the type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell). The integration between the gasification and a fuel cell of this type consists of the gas methane (CH4) reforming contained in the synthesis gas, the conversion of the carbon monoxide (CO), and the cleaning of the gaseous flow through a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) system. A preliminary analysis was carried out to estimate the efficiency of the system with and without methane gas reforming. The performance was also analyzed for different gasification gas compositions, for larger molar fractions of hydrogen and methane. The system electrical efficiency was 29% respective to the lower heating value of the gasification gas. The larger the molar fraction of hydrogen at the shift reactor exit, the better the PSA exergetic performance. Comparative analysis with small gas turbines exhibited the superiority of the PEMFC system. (author)

  12. Telecom Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Telecom Reform: Principles, Policies and Regulatory Practices, provides a comprehensive and definitive review and assessment of the unfolding telecom reform process, and its implications for information society development. It is an invaluable resource and authoritative reference on telecom reform...... and information infrastructure issues - for people in government, academia, industry and the consulting community. This book addresses the process of policy and regulatory reform in telecom that is now in its formative stage. It draws on detailed knowledge of industry development and regulatory experience......, as well as expertise in the new technologies, industries, economics, policy development, and law to present and critique the principles, policies and regulatory practices associated with telecom reform. Twenty six international experts address thirty two topics that are essential to successful telecom...

  13. Fuel cell-based cogeneration system covering data centers’ energy needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guizzi, Giuseppe Leo; Manno, Michele

    2012-01-01

    The Information and Communication Technology industry has gone in the recent years through a dramatic expansion, driven by many new online (local and remote) applications and services. Such growth has obviously triggered an equally remarkable growth in energy consumption by data centers, which require huge amounts of power not only for IT devices, but also for power distribution units and for air-conditioning systems needed to cool the IT equipment. This paper is dedicated to the economic and energy performance assessment of a cogeneration system based on a natural gas membrane steam reformer producing a pure hydrogen flow for electric power generation in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Heat is recovered from both the reforming unit and the fuel cell in order to supply the needs of an office building located near the data center. In this case, the cooling energy needs of the data center are covered by means of a vapor-compression chiller equipped with a free-cooling unit. Since the fuel cell’s output is direct current rather than alternate current, the possibility of further improving data centers’ energy efficiency adopting DC-powered data center equipment is also discussed. -- Highlights: ► Data centers' energy needs are discussed and possible savings from advanced energy management techniques are estimated. ► The thermal energy requirements of an office building close to the data center are added to the energy scenario. ► Significant energy and cost savings can be obtained by means of free-cooling, high-voltage direct current, and a cogeneration facility. ► The cogeneration system is based on a natural gas membrane reformer and a PEM fuel cell. ► Energy flows in the membrane reformer are analyzed and an optimal value of steam-to-carbon ratio is found in order to minimize the required membrane area.

  14. Dynamic modeling and experimental investigation of a high temperature PEM fuel cell stack

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, Gia; Sahlin, Simon Lennart; Andreasen, Søren Juhl

    2016-01-01

    High temperature polymer fuel cells operating at 100 to 200◦C require simple fuel processing and produce high quality heat that can integrate well with domestic heating systems. Because the transportation of hydrogen is challenging, an alternative option is to reform natural gas on site....... This article presents the development of a dynamic model and the comparison with experimental data from a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack operating on hydrogen with carbon monoxide concentrations up to 0.8%, and temperatures from 155 to 175◦C. The dynamic response of the fuel cell...... is investigated with simulated reformate gas. The dynamic response of the fuel cell stack was compared with a step change in current from 0.09 to 0.18 and back to 0.09 A/cm2 . This article shows that the dynamic model calculates the voltage at steady state well. The dynamic response for a change in current shows...

  15. Mixture preparation by cool flames for diesel-reforming technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, L.; Lucka, K.; Köhne, H.

    The separation of the evaporation from the high-temperature reaction zone is crucial for the reforming process. Unfavorable mixtures of liquid fuels, water and air lead to degradation by local hot spots in the sensitive catalysts and formation of unwanted by-products in the reformer. Furthermore, the evaporator has to work with dynamic changes in the heat transfer, residence times and educt compositions. By using exothermal pre-reactions in the form of cool flames it is possible to realize a complete and residue-free evaporation of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures. The conditions whether cool flames can be stabilised or not is related to the heat release of the pre-reactions in comparison to the heat losses of the system. Examinations were conducted in a flow reactor at atmospheric pressure and changing residence times to investigate the conditions under which stable cool flame operation is possible and auto-ignition or quenching occurs. An energy balance of the evaporator should deliver the values of heat release by cool flames in comparison to the heat losses of the system. The cool flame evaporation is applied in the design of several diesel-reforming processes (thermal and catalytic partial oxidation, autothermal reforming) with different demands in the heat management and operation range (air ratio λ, steam-to-carbon ratio, SCR). The results are discussed at the end of this paper.

  16. Steepest Ascent Tariff Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Woodland, Alan

    2014-01-01

    . In undertaking this task, and by focusing on tariff reforms, we introduce the concept of a steepest ascent policy reform, which is a locally optimal reform in the sense that it achieves the highest marginal gain in utility of any feasible local reform. We argue that this reform presents itself as a natural......The policy reform literature is primarily concerned with the construction of reforms that yield welfare gains. By contrast, this paper’s contribution is to develop a theoretical concept for which the focus is upon the sizes of welfare gains accruing from policy reforms rather than upon their signs...... benchmark for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other popular tariff reforms such as the proportional tariff reduction and the concertina rules, since it provides the maximal welfare gain of all possible local reforms. We derive properties of the steepest ascent tariff reform, construct...

  17. Session 4: On-board exhaust gas reforming for improved performance of natural gas HCCI engines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amieiro, A.; Golunski, S.; James, D. [Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Sonning Common, Reading (United Kingdom); Miroslaw, Wyszynski; Athanasios, Megaritis; Peucheret, S. [Birmingham Univ., School of Engineering, Future Power Systems Research Group (United Kingdom); Hongming, Xu [Jaguar Cars Ltd, W/2/021 Engineering Centre, Whitley, Coventry (United Kingdom)

    2004-07-01

    Although natural gas (NG) is a non-renewable energy source, it is still a very attractive alternative fuel for transportation - it is inexpensive, abundant, and easier to refine than petroleum. Unfortunately the minimum spark energy required for NG ignition is higher than for liquid fuels, and engine performance is reduced since the higher volume of NG limits the air breathing capacity of the cylinders. On the other hand, the flammability range of NG is wider than for other hydrocarbons, so the engine can operate under leaner conditions. Environmentally, the use of NG is particularly attractive since it has a low flame temperature (resulting in reduced NO{sub x} emissions) and a low carbon content compared to diesel or gasoline (resulting in less CO, CO{sub 2} and particulate). In addition, NG is easily made sulphur-free, and has a high octane rating (RON = 110-130) which makes it suitable for high compression engine applications. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) into an engine is known to reduce both flame temperature and speed, and therefore produce lower NO{sub x} emissions. In general, a given volume of exhaust gas has a greater effect on flame speed and NO{sub x} emissions than the same quantity of excess air, although there is a limit to the amount of exhaust gas recirculation that can be used without inhibiting combustion. However, hydrogen addition to exhaust gas recirculation has been proved to reduce emissions while increasing flame speed, so improving both the emissions and the thermal efficiency of the engine. On-board reforming of some of the fuel, by reaction with exhaust gas during EGR, is a novel way of adding hydrogen to an engine. We have carried out reforming tests on mixtures of natural gas and exhaust gas at relatively low temperatures (400-600 C), to mimic the low availability of external heat within the integrated system. The reforming catalyst is a nickel-free formulation, containing precious metals promoted by metal oxides. The roles of

  18. Thematic outlook: the technical survey for the fuel cell research network (PACO). January 28, 2004 update no. 20; Veille thematique. La veille technique pour le reseau PACO. Actualisation du 15 janvier 2004, no. 20

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    Summaries of several recent articles are gathered here. They deal with fuel cells, means of transport, hydrogen production and storage. Their different titles are given below: 1)the characteristics of PEMFC running at negative exterior temperatures 2)the effects of CO poisoning on PEMFC at temperatures until 200 C 3)the mechanical properties of tubular SOFC 4)fuel cells fed with coal 5)analysis of cogeneration system: planar SOFC/gas turbine 6)modelling of fuel cells for transport, according to the neuronal networks method 7)design of hybrid fuel cell systems 8)a comparative study of direct methanol fuel cells for vehicles 9)desulfurization by adsorption and catalytic steam reforming of gas oil for applications in fuel cells 10)feasibility study of hydrogen production for fuel cell vehicles by naphtha on-board steam reforming 11)reforming catalyst of kerosene for fuel cell, kinetics and modelling of steam reforming 12)reforming by partial oxidation of low lubricant power gas oil, of dimethyl ether and methane for SOFC 13)conversion of solar heat in fuels by solar thermochemistry 14)hydrogen purification for fuel cells: selective oxidation of CO on Pt-Fe / zeolite catalysts 15)hydrogen photo-production from cellulose derived compound, with a system: chlorophyll / platinum nano-particles 16)hydrogen storage in commercial activated carbon. The references of these articles are detailed. (O.M.)

  19. Influence of Ce-precursor and fuel on structure and catalytic activity of combustion synthesized Ni/CeO{sub 2} catalysts for biogas oxidative steam reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vita, Antonio, E-mail: antonio.vita@itae.cnr.it; Italiano, Cristina; Fabiano, Concetto; Laganà, Massimo; Pino, Lidia

    2015-08-01

    A series of nanosized Ni/CeO{sub 2} catalysts were prepared by Solution Combustion Synthesis (SCS) varying the fuel (oxalyldihydrazide, urea, carbohydrazide and glycerol), the cerium precursor (cerium nitrate and cerium ammonium nitrate) and the nickel loading (ranging between 3.1 and 15.6 wt%). The obtained powders were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), N{sub 2}-physisorption, CO-chemisorption, Temperature Programmed Reduction (H{sub 2}-TPR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The catalytic activity towards the Oxy Steam Reforming (OSR) of biogas was assessed. The selected operating variables have a strong influence on the nature of combustion and, in turn, on the morphological and structural properties of the synthesized catalysts. Particularly, the use of urea allows to improve nickel dispersion, surface area, particle size and reducibility of the catalysts, affecting positively the biogas OSR performances. - Highlights: • Synthesis of Ni/CeO{sub 2} nanopowders by quick and easy solution combustion synthesis. • The fuel and precursor drive the structural and morphological properties of the catalysts. • The use of urea as fuel allows to improve nickel dispersion, surface area and particle size. • Ni/CeO{sub 2} (7.8 wt% of Ni loading) powders synthesized by urea route exhibits high performances for the biogas OSR process.

  20. Catalytic steam reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production: Brief status

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bineli Aulus R.R.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen represents a promising fuel since it is considered as a cleanest energy carrier and also because during its combustion only water is emitted. It can be produced from different kinds of renewable feedstocks, such as ethanol, in this sense hydrogen could be treated as biofuel. Three chemical reactions can be used to achieve this purpose: the steam reforming (SR, the partial oxidation (POX and the autothermal reforming (ATR. In this study, the catalysts implemented in steam reforming of ethanol were reviewed. A wide variety of elements can be used as catalysts for this reaction, such as base metals (Ni, Cu and Co or noble metals (Rh, Pt and Ru usually deposited on a support material that increases surface area and improves catalytic function. The use of Rh, Ni and Pt supported or promoted with CeO2, and/or La2O3 shows excellent performance in ethanol SR catalytic process. The ratio of water to ethanol, reaction temperatures, catalysts loadings, selectivity and activity are also discussed as they are extremely important for high hydrogen yields.

  1. Organic-inorganic hybrid nanostructured materials for photovoltaics and solar fuels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lai, Lai-Hung

    2016-01-01

    The hydrogen economy aiming to use hydrogen as a new potential fuel for motive power has been proposed as a promising model for this century. However, until now most of the H2 in use still comes from steam reforming which produces H2 via steam reaction at high temperature with fossil fuel. Solar

  2. Development of fuel cell systems for aircraft applications based on synthetic fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pasel, J.; Samsun, R.C.; Doell, C.; Peters, R.; Stolten, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    At present, in the aviation sector considerable scientific project work deals with the development of fuel cell systems based on synthetic fuels to be integrated in future aircraft. The benefits of fuel cell systems in aircraft are various. They offer the possibility to simplify the aircraft layout. Important systems, i.e. the gas turbine powered auxiliary power unit (APU) for electricity supply, the fuel tank inserting system and the water tank, can be substituted by one single system, the fuel cell system. Additionally, the energy demand for ice protection can be covered assisted by fuel cell systems. These measures reduce the consumption of jet fuel, increase aircraft efficiency and allow the operation at low emissions. Additionally, the costs for aircraft related investments, for aircraft maintenance and operation can be reduced. On the background of regular discussions about environmental concerns (global warming) of kerosene Jet A-1 and its availability, which might be restricted in a few years, the aircraft industry is keen to employ synthetic, sulfur-free fuels such as Fischer-Tropsch fuels. These comprise Bio-To-Liquid and Gas-To-Liquid fuels. Within this field of research the Institute of Energy Research (IEF-3) in Juelich develops complete and compact fuel cell systems based on the autothermal reforming of these kinds of fuels in cooperation with industry. This paper reports about this work. (orig.)

  3. Performance Degradation Tests of Phosphoric Acid Doped PBI Membrane Based High Temperature PEM Fuel Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Fan; Araya, Samuel Simon; Grigoras, Ionela

    2014-01-01

    Degradation tests of two phosphoric acid (PA) doped PBI membrane based HT-PEM fuel cells were reported in this paper to investigate the effects of start/stop and the presence of methanol in the fuel to the performance degradation. Continuous tests with H2 and simulated reformate which was composed...... of H2, water steam and methanol as the fuel were performed on both single cells. 12-h-startup/12-h-shutdown dynamic tests were performed on the first single cell with pure dry H2 as the fuel and on the second single cell with simulated reformate as the fuel. Along with the tests electrochemical...... techniques such as polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were employed to study the degradation mechanisms of the fuel cells. Both single cells showed an increase in the performance in the H2 continuous tests, because of a decrease in the ORR kinetic resistance probably due...

  4. Aircraft Fuel Cell Power Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Needham, Robert

    2004-01-01

    In recent years, fuel cells have been explored for use in aircraft. While the weight and size of fuel cells allows only the smallest of aircraft to use fuel cells for their primary engines, fuel cells have showed promise for use as auxiliary power units (APUs), which power aircraft accessories and serve as an electrical backup in case of an engine failure. Fuel cell MUS are both more efficient and emit fewer pollutants. However, sea-level fuel cells need modifications to be properly used in aircraft applications. At high altitudes, the ambient air has a much lower pressure than at sea level, which makes it much more difficult to get air into the fuel cell to react and produce electricity. Compressors can be used to pressurize the air, but this leads to added weight, volume, and power usage, all of which are undesirable things. Another problem is that fuel cells require hydrogen to create electricity, and ever since the Hindenburg burst into flames, aircraft carrying large quantities of hydrogen have not been in high demand. However, jet fuel is a hydrocarbon, so it is possible to reform it into hydrogen. Since jet fuel is already used to power conventional APUs, it is very convenient to use this to generate the hydrogen for fuel-cell-based APUs. Fuel cells also tend to get large and heavy when used for applications that require a large amount of power. Reducing the size and weight becomes especially beneficial when it comes to fuel cells for aircraft. My goal this summer is to work on several aspects of Aircraft Fuel Cell Power System project. My first goal is to perform checks on a newly built injector rig designed to test different catalysts to determine the best setup for reforming Jet-A fuel into hydrogen. These checks include testing various thermocouples, transmitters, and transducers, as well making sure that the rig was actually built to the design specifications. These checks will help to ensure that the rig will operate properly and give correct results

  5. Fuel-cycle analysis of early market applications of fuel cells: Forklift propulsion systems and distributed power generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elgowainy, Amgad; Gaines, Linda; Wang, Michael [Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Ave, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

    2009-05-15

    Forklift propulsion systems and distributed power generation are identified as potential fuel cell applications for near-term markets. This analysis examines fuel cell forklifts and distributed power generators, and addresses the potential energy and environmental implications of substituting fuel-cell systems for existing technologies based on fossil fuels and grid electricity. Performance data and the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model are used to estimate full fuel-cycle emissions and use of primary energy sources. The greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of fuel-cell forklifts using hydrogen from steam reforming of natural gas are considerably lower than those using electricity from the average U.S. grid. Fuel cell generators produce lower GHG emissions than those associated with the U.S. grid electricity and alternative distributed combustion technologies. If fuel-cell generation technologies approach or exceed the target efficiency of 40%, they offer significant reduction in energy use and GHG emissions compared to alternative combustion technologies. (author)

  6. Pretreated Landfill Gas Conversion Process via a Catalytic Membrane Reactor for Renewable Combined Fuel Cell-Power Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoe Ziaka

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A new landfill gas-based reforming catalytic processing system for the conversion of gaseous hydrocarbons, such as incoming methane to hydrogen and carbon oxide mixtures, is described and analyzed. The exit synthesis gas (syn-gas is fed to power effectively high-temperature fuel cells such as SOFC types for combined efficient electricity generation. The current research work is also referred on the description and design aspects of permreactors (permeable reformers carrying the same type of landfill gas-reforming reactions. Membrane reactors is a new technology that can be applied efficiently in such systems. Membrane reactors seem to perform better than the nonmembrane traditional reactors. The aim of this research includes turnkey system and process development for the landfill-based power generation and fuel cell industries. Also, a discussion of the efficient utilization of landfill and waste type resources for combined green-type/renewable power generation with increased processing capacity and efficiency via fuel cell systems is taking place. Moreover, pollution reduction is an additional design consideration in the current catalytic processors fuel cell cycles.

  7. Strategies for improving the performance and stability of Ni-based catalysts for reforming reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuirong; Gong, Jinlong

    2014-11-07

    Owing to the considerable publicity that has been given to petroleum related economic, environmental, and political problems, renewed attention has been focused on the development of highly efficient and stable catalytic materials for the production of chemical/fuel from renewable resources. Supported nickel nanoclusters are widely used for catalytic reforming reactions, which are key processes for generating synthetic gas and/or hydrogen. New challenges were brought out by the extension of feedstock from hydrocarbons to oxygenates derivable from biomass, which could minimize the environmental impact of carbonaceous fuels and allow a smooth transition from fossil fuels to a sustainable energy economy. This tutorial review describes the recent efforts made toward the development of nickel-based catalysts for the production of hydrogen from oxygenated hydrocarbons via steam reforming reactions. In general, three challenges facing the design of Ni catalysts should be addressed. Nickel nanoclusters are apt to sinter under catalytic reforming conditions of high temperatures and in the presence of steam. Severe carbon deposition could also be observed on the catalyst if the surface carbon species adsorbed on metal surface are not removed in time. Additionally, the production of hydrogen rich gas with a low concentration of CO is a challenge using nickel catalysts, which are not so active in the water gas shift reaction. Accordingly, three strategies were presented to address these challenges. First, the methodologies for the preparation of highly dispersed nickel catalysts with strong metal-support interaction were discussed. A second approach-the promotion in the mobility of the surface oxygen-is favored for the yield of desired products while promoting the removal of surface carbon deposition. Finally, the process intensification via the in situ absorption of CO2 could produce a hydrogen rich gas with low CO concentration. These approaches could also guide the design

  8. Hydrogen Through Water Electrolysis and Biomass Gasification for Application in Fuel Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Kirosa

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Hydrogen is considered to be one of the most promising green energy carrier in the energy storage and conversion scenario. Although it is abundant on Earth in the form of compounds, its occurrence in free form is extremely low. Thus, it has to be produced by reforming processes, steam reforming (SR, partial oxidation (POX and auto-thermal reforming (ATR mainly from fossil fuels for high throughput with high energy requirements, pyrolysis of biomass and electrolysis. Electrolysis is brought about by passing electric current though two electrodes to evolve water into its constituent parts, viz. hydrogen and oxygen, respectively. Hydrogen produced by non-noble metal catalysts for both anode and cathode is therefore cost-effective and can be integrated into fuel cells for direct chemical energy conversion into electrical energy electricity, thus meeting the sustainable and renewable use with low carbon footprint.

  9. Developing a Steady-state Kinetic Model for Industrial Scale Semi-Regenerative Catalytic Naphtha Reforming Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seif Mohaddecy, R.

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Due to the demand for high octane gasoline as a transportation fuel, the catalytic naphtha reformer has become one of the most important processes in petroleum refineries. In this research, the steady-state modelling of a catalytic fixed-bed naphtha reforming process to predict the momentous output variables was studied. These variables were octane number, yield, hydrogen purity, and temperature of all reforming reactors. To do such a task, an industrial scale semi-regenerative catalytic naphtha reforming unit was studied and modelled. In addition, to evaluate the developed model, the predicted variables i.e. outlet temperatures of reactors, research octane number, yield of gasoline and hydrogen purity were compared against actual data. The results showed that there is a close mapping between the actual and predicted variables, and the mean relative absolute deviation of the mentioned process variables were 0.38 %, 0.52 %, 0.54 %, 0.32 %, 4.8 % and 3.2 %, respectively.

  10. Characteristics of hydrogen produced by partial oxidation and auto-thermal reforming in a small methanol reformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horng, Rong-Fang; Chou, Huann-Ming; Lee, Chiou-Hwang; Tsai, Hsien-Te

    This paper investigates experimentally, the transient characteristics of a small methanol reformer using partial oxidation (POX) and auto-thermal reforming (ATR) for fuel cell applications. The parameters varied were heating temperature, methanol supply rate, steady mode shifting temperature, O 2/C (O 2/CH 3OH) and S/C (H 2O/CH 3OH) molar ratios with the main aim of promoting a rapid response and a high flow rate of hydrogen. The experiments showed that a high steady mode shifting temperature resulted in a faster temperature rise at the catalyst outlet and vice versa and that a low steady mode shifting temperature resulted in a lower final hydrogen concentration. However, when the mode shifting temperature was too high, the hydrogen production response was not necessarily improved. It was subsequently shown that the optimum steady mode shifting temperature for this experimental set-up was approximately 75 °C. Further, the hydrogen concentration produced by the auto-thermal process was as high as 49.12% and the volume flow rate up to 23.0 L min -1 compared to 40.0% and 20.5 L min -1 produced by partial oxidation.

  11. A Numerical Study on Mass Transfer and Methanol Conversion Efficiency According to Porosity and Temperature Change of Curved Channel Methanol-Steam Reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seong, Hong Seok; Lee, Chung Ho; Suh, Jeong Se [Gyeongsang Nat’l Univ., Jinju (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    Micro methanol-steam reformer for fuel cell can effectively produce hydrogen as reforming response to steam takes place in low temperature (less than 250℃). This study conducted numerical research on this reformer. First, study set wall temperature of the reformer at 100, 140, 180 and 220℃ while methanol conversion efficiency was set in 0, 0.072, 3.83 and 46.51% respectively. Then, porosity of catalyst was set in 0.1, 0.35, 0.6 and 0.85 and although there was no significant difference in methanol conversion efficiency, values of pressure drop were 4645.97, 59.50, 5.12 and 0.45 kPa respectively. This study verified that methanol-steam reformer rarely responds under the temperature of 180℃ and porosity does not have much effect on methanol conversion efficiency if the fluid flowing through reformer lowers activation energy by sufficiently contacting reformer.

  12. A Numerical Study on Mass Transfer and Methanol Conversion Efficiency According to Porosity and Temperature Change of Curved Channel Methanol-Steam Reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seong, Hong Seok; Lee, Chung Ho; Suh, Jeong Se

    2016-01-01

    Micro methanol-steam reformer for fuel cell can effectively produce hydrogen as reforming response to steam takes place in low temperature (less than 250℃). This study conducted numerical research on this reformer. First, study set wall temperature of the reformer at 100, 140, 180 and 220℃ while methanol conversion efficiency was set in 0, 0.072, 3.83 and 46.51% respectively. Then, porosity of catalyst was set in 0.1, 0.35, 0.6 and 0.85 and although there was no significant difference in methanol conversion efficiency, values of pressure drop were 4645.97, 59.50, 5.12 and 0.45 kPa respectively. This study verified that methanol-steam reformer rarely responds under the temperature of 180℃ and porosity does not have much effect on methanol conversion efficiency if the fluid flowing through reformer lowers activation energy by sufficiently contacting reformer.

  13. Iran, reform, revolution or resignation?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    This document is an information report made by the French commission of economic affairs after a visit of a delegation of members of the French parliament in Iran in April 15-18, 2003. The report describes: 1 - the international political situation of Iran; 2 - the domestic political situation of Iran: political institutions, yearn of change; 3 - the economic trades that would be possible to develop: economic and financial situation of Iran, fossil fuel resources, economic reforms to be implemented; 4 - the French-Iranian economical cooperation to be strengthened: French companies in Iran, towards a new era in bilateral economic relations, the challenge of the adhesion to the world trade organization (WTO). (J.S.)

  14. Reforming Organizational Structures

    OpenAIRE

    Van de Walle, Steven

    2016-01-01

    textabstractPublic sectors have undergone major transformations. Public sector reform touches upon the core building blocks of the public sector: organizational structures, people and finances. These are objects of reform. This chapter presents and discusses a set of major transformations with regard to organizational structures. It provides readers a fairly comprehensive overview of the key reforms that have taken place in Western public sectors. Structural reforms in the public sector show ...

  15. Plant characteristics of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell cycle and a steam cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rokni, Masoud

    2010-01-01

    Plant characteristics of a system containing a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cycle on the top of a Rankine cycle were investigated. A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel, while a pre-reformer broke down the heavier hydrocarbons in an adiabatic steam reformer (ASR). The pre-treated fuel then entered to the anode side of the SOFC. The remaining fuels after the SOFC stacks entered a catalytic burner for further combusting. The burned gases from the burner were then used to produce steam for the Rankine cycle in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The remaining energy of the off-gases was recycled back to the topping cycle for further utilization. Several parameter studies were carried out to investigate the sensitivity of the suggested plant. It was shown that the operation temperature of the desulfurization and the pre-reformer had no effect on the plant efficiency, which was also true when decreasing the anode temperature. However, increasing the cathode temperature had a significant effect on the plant efficiency. In addition, decreasing the SOFC utilization factor from 0.8 to 0.7, increases the plant efficiency by about 6%. An optimal plant efficiency of about 71% was achieved by optimizing the plant.

  16. Plant characteristics of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell cycle and a steam cycle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rokni, Masoud [Technical University of Denmark, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Thermal Energy System, Building 402, 2800 Kgs, Lyngby (Denmark)

    2010-12-15

    Plant characteristics of a system containing a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cycle on the top of a Rankine cycle were investigated. A desulfurization reactor removes the sulfur content in the fuel, while a pre-reformer broke down the heavier hydrocarbons in an adiabatic steam reformer (ASR). The pre-treated fuel then entered to the anode side of the SOFC. The remaining fuels after the SOFC stacks entered a catalytic burner for further combusting. The burned gases from the burner were then used to produce steam for the Rankine cycle in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The remaining energy of the off-gases was recycled back to the topping cycle for further utilization. Several parameter studies were carried out to investigate the sensitivity of the suggested plant. It was shown that the operation temperature of the desulfurization and the pre-reformer had no effect on the plant efficiency, which was also true when decreasing the anode temperature. However, increasing the cathode temperature had a significant effect on the plant efficiency. In addition, decreasing the SOFC utilization factor from 0.8 to 0.7, increases the plant efficiency by about 6%. An optimal plant efficiency of about 71% was achieved by optimizing the plant. (author)

  17. Fuel cells for naval aviation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satzberg, S.; Field, S.; Abu-Ali, M.

    2003-01-01

    Recent advances in fuel cell technology have occurred which make fuel cells increasingly attractive for electric power generation on future naval and commercial aircraft applications. These advances include significant increases in power density, the development of compact fuel reformers, and cost reductions due to commercialization efforts. The Navy's interest in aircraft fuel cells stems from their high energy efficiency (up to 40-60% for simple cycle; 60-70% for combined gas turbine/fuel cell hybrid cycles), and their negligible NOx and hydrocarbon emissions compared to conventional generators. While the U.S. Navy has been involved with fuel cell research and development as early as the 1960s, many of the early programs were for special warfare or undersea applications. In 1997, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) initiated a program to marinize commercial fuel cell technology for future Navy shipboard applications. The power density of fuel cell power systems is approaching the levels necessary for serious consideration for aircraft suitability. ONR and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) are initiating a program to develop a fuel cell power system suitable for future Navy aircraft applications, utilizing as much commercially-available technology as possible. (author)

  18. Effects of consumer subsidy on household fuel switching from coal to cleaner fuels: A case study for anthracites in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hojeong; Kwon, Hyucksoo

    2011-01-01

    The Korean coal industry is in a transition under low carbon policy through the steady reduction of coal production. Since consumer subsidy for the consumption of anthracites briquette in low-income households caused a distortion in domestic coal market, the so-called coupon program will be the first target in energy reform policy in order to induce fuel switching from anthracites to alternative clean energy. This paper tries to identify various factors that influence households' fuel switching decision. Disutility from briquette consumption is also considered as an important factor. Using the 2007 census data on briquette-consuming households, it is found that the coupon program provides an adverse effect to switching fuels to clean energy while the disutility of briquettes is positively associated with the probability of fuel switching. However, the empirical finding suggests that the policy alone attempting to remove coupon program may fail to switch fuels unless the cost of boiler changes is substantially reduced through the provision of accessible networks to alternative energy sources. It indicates that reform policy for consumer subsidy must be understood in line with more comprehensive regional energy plans to resolve energy poverty issue. - Research highlights: → Various factors are identified for low income households' fuel switching from coal to clean energy. → Coupon program and accessibility to alternative energy sources are considered; Result shows that accessible network to alternative clean energy sources is essential for low income group. → More comprehensive regional energy plans are required to resolve energy poverty issue.

  19. Use of biogas in PEM fuel cells; Einsatz von Biogas in PEM-Brennstoffzellen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scholz, Volkhard; Schmersahl, Ralf; Ellner, Janine (comps.)

    2009-06-15

    This research project was dedicated to two problems: 1. What demands must biogas meet in order to conform to the specifications of PEM fuel cell systems and permit safe operation? 2. How must a fuel cell system be designed and operated in order to be well-adapted to the special features of biogas as opposed to natural gas? For this purpose biogas samples were taken from laboratory-scale and commercial plants and analysed by gas chromatography using various substrates and methods. By combining this with the use of a mass spectroscopy detector (GC-MS system) it was possible to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of sulphurious trace gases in the biogas which might cause damage to the fuel cell system. Investigations were performed on an experimental reformer using either modelled or native biogas of different compositions, the intent being to obtain information for the design of the individual process stages. The two operating parameters steam-methane ratio (or S/C ratio) and reforming temperature were varied to optimise parameter settings in terms of energy efficiency. By linking the reformer to a 500 W fuel cell it was possible confirm the suitability of the reformed biogas for use in fuel cells. [German] In diesm Forschungsvorhaben werden zwei Fragestellungen bearbeitet: 1. Welche Anforderungen ergeben sich an das Biogas, um den Spezifikationen von PEM-Brennstoffzellensystemen zu genuegen und eine sicheren Betrieb zu ermoeglichen? 2. Wie muss das Brennstoffzellensystem ausgelegt und gefuehrt werden, um den Besonderheiten von Biogas im Vergleich zu Erdgas Rechnung zu tragen? Dazu wurden Biogasproben aus Labor- und Praxisanlagen unter Beruecksichtigung unterschiedlicher Substrate und Verfahren gaschromatisch analysiert. Die Kopplung mit einem massenspektroskopischen Detektor (GC-MS System) ermoeglicht dabei die Qualifizierung und Quantifizierung der vorhandenen schwefelhaltigen Spurengase, die eine Schaedigung von Brennstoffzellenanlagen verursachen. Die

  20. Control and load management of a fuel cell based hybrid system; Steuerung und Lademanagement eines brennstoffzellen-basierten Hybridsystems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klausmann, Andreas

    2011-07-01

    Objective of this work is the development of a control for a hybrid electric power train. Initial point is an electric drive powered by a rechargeable battery. This battery shall be recharged during operation by a methanol-driven fuel cell. At this point it is not intended to deploy a direct methanol fuel cell but a combination of a methanol reformer generating hydrogen-rich gas and a high-temperature fuel cell (HTPEM-FC). This work covers the general strategy of operation like load cycles, standby phases etc., the reformer control and the fuel cell operation with a newly developed charge concept. While the basic research is done on a rapid prototyping system this work aims on porting the control system to an embedded platform. Here emphasis is put on the hardware independency of the control. The development of the reformer control contains the strategy for heating up the system with a minimum of electrical energy consumption, since this energy has to be supplied from the battery during the system start-up, increasing the minimum charge level of the battery required for an autarkic recharge. Unlike in common systems the reformer will be modulated according to the electric load and not vice versa, though the fuel cell serves as load sensor. Beside start-up and shutdown strategies the fuel cell control covers particularly the charge control. The electric load is assumed to be unknown, non-influenceable and unsteady. The charge control handles the charging of the battery under optimal utilization of the available hydrogen while avoiding an overload of the fuel cell caused by sudden load changes like powering up the drive. Therefore the common step-down circuit will be advanced so that all huge and heavy electronic components can be minimized or substituted by internal effects of battery and fuel cell. The fuel utilization will be feed back to the reformer control. After coupling of reformer and fuel cell control the system will be ported to an embedded control system

  1. Basic tendencies of restructured UO2 nuclear fuels fabrication industry for water-moderated reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makhova, V.A.; Bokshitskij, V.I.; Blinova, I.V.

    2002-01-01

    Processes of reformation and consolidation of firms and frontier nuclear fuels fabrication industry associated with processes of globalization and deregulation of electric power market are analyzed. Current state of nuclear fuel market and basic factors influenced on the market are presented. The role of nuclear fuel in increasing competition of NPP and fundamental directions of innovation action on the creation of perspective kinds of fuel were considered [ru

  2. Fuel cell power systems for remote applications. Phase 1 final report and business plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-02-01

    The goal of the Fuel Cell Power Systems for Remote Applications project is to commercialize a 0.1--5 kW integrated fuel cell power system (FCPS). The project targets high value niche markets, including natural gas and oil pipelines, off-grid homes, yachts, telecommunication stations and recreational vehicles. Phase 1 includes the market research, technical and financial analysis of the fuel cell power system, technical and financial requirements to establish manufacturing capability, the business plan, and teaming arrangements. Phase 1 also includes project planning, scope of work, and budgets for Phases 2--4. The project is a cooperative effort of Teledyne Brown Engineering--Energy Systems, Schatz Energy Research Center, Hydrogen Burner Technology, and the City of Palm Desert. Phases 2 through 4 are designed to utilize the results of Phase 1, to further the commercial potential of the fuel cell power system. Phase 2 focuses on research and development of the reformer and fuel cell and is divided into three related, but potentially separate tasks. Budgets and timelines for Phase 2 can be found in section 4 of this report. Phase 2 includes: Task A--Develop a reformate tolerant fuel cell stack and 5 kW reformer; Task B--Assemble and deliver a fuel cell that operates on pure hydrogen to the University of Alaska or another site in Alaska; Task C--Provide support and training to the University of Alaska in the setting up and operating a fuel cell test lab. The Phase 1 research examined the market for power systems for off-grid homes, yachts, telecommunication stations and recreational vehicles. Also included in this report are summaries of the previously conducted market reports that examined power needs for remote locations along natural gas and oil pipelines. A list of highlights from the research can be found in the executive summary of the business plan.

  3. Pd-Ag membrane reactor for steam reforming reactions: a comparison between different fuels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gallucci, F.; Basile, A.

    2008-01-01

    The simulation of a dense Pd-based membrane reactor for carrying out the methane, the methanol and the ethanol steam reforming (SR) reactions for pure hydrogen production is performed. The same simulation is also performed in a traditional reactor. This modelling work shows that the use of membrane

  4. Effectiveness of paper-structured catalyst for the operation of biodiesel-fueled solid oxide fuel cell

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quang-Tuyen, Tran; Kaida, Taku; Sakamoto, Mio; Sasaki, Kazunari; Shiratori, Yusuke

    2015-06-01

    Mg/Al-hydrotalcite (HDT)-dispersed paper-structured catalyst (PSC) was prepared by a simple paper-making process. The PSC exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the steam reforming of model biodiesel fuel (BDF), pure oleic acid methyl ester (oleic-FAME, C19H36O2) which is a mono-unsaturated component of practical BDFs. The PSC exhibited fuel conversion comparable to a pelletized catalyst material, here, conventional Ni-zirconia cermet anode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with less than one-hundredth Ni weight. Performance of electrolyte-supported cell connected with the PSC was evaluated in the feed of oleic-FAME, and stable operation was achieved. After 60 h test, coking was not observed in both SOFC anode and PSC.

  5.  Railway Reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asmild, Mette; Holvad, Torben; Hougaard, Jens Leth

    This paper considers railway operations in 23 European countries during 1995-2001, where a series of reform initiatives were launched by the European Commission, and analyses whether these reform initiatives improved the operating efficiency of the railways. Efficiency is measured using Multi......-directional Efficiency Analysis, which enables investigation of how railway reforms affect the inefficiencies of specific cost drivers. The main findings are that the reform initiatives generally improve operating efficiency but potentially differently for different cost drivers. Specifically, the paper provides clear...

  6. Compact hydrogen production systems for solid polymer fuel cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledjeff-Hey, K.; Formanski, V.; Kalk, Th.; Roes, J.

    Generally there are several ways to produce hydrogen gas from carbonaceous fuels like natural gas, oil or alcohols. Most of these processes are designed for large-scale industrial production and are not suitable for a compact hydrogen production system (CHYPS) in the power range of 1 kW. In order to supply solid polymer fuel cells (SPFC) with hydrogen, a compact fuel processor is required for mobile applications. The produced hydrogen-rich gas has to have a low level of harmful impurities; in particular the carbon monoxide content has to be lower than 20 ppmv. Integrating the reaction step, the gas purification and the heat supply leads to small-scale hydrogen production systems. The steam reforming of methanol is feasible at copper catalysts in a low temperature range of 200-350°C. The combination of a small-scale methanol reformer and a metal membrane as purification step forms a compact system producing high-purity hydrogen. The generation of a SPFC hydrogen fuel gas can also be performed by thermal or catalytic cracking of liquid hydrocarbons such as propane. At a temperature of 900°C the decomposition of propane into carbon and hydrogen takes place. A fuel processor based on this simple concept produces a gas stream with a hydrogen content of more than 90 vol.% and without CO and CO2.

  7. Improvements of reforming performance of a nuclear heated steam reforming process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hada, Kazuhiko

    1996-10-01

    Performance of an energy production process by utilizing high temperature nuclear process heat was not competitive to that by utilizing non-nuclear process heat, especially fossil-fired process heat due to its less favorable chemical reaction conditions. Less favorable conditions are because a temperature of the nuclear generated heat is around 950degC and the heat transferring fluid is the helium gas pressurized at around 4 MPa. Improvements of reforming performance of nuclear heated steam reforming process were proposed in the present report. The steam reforming process, one of hydrogen production processes, has the possibility to be industrialized as a nuclear heated process as early as expected, and technical solutions to resolve issues for coupling an HTGR with the steam reforming system are applicable to other nuclear-heated hydrogen production systems. The improvements are as follows: As for the steam reformer, (1) increase in heat input to process gas by applying a bayonet type of reformer tubes and so on, (2) increase in reforming temperature by enhancing heat transfer rate by the use of combined promoters of orifice baffles, cylindrical thermal radiation pipes and other proposal, and (3) increase in conversion rate of methane to hydrogen by optimizing chemical compositions of feed process gas. Regarding system arrangement, a steam generator and superheater are set in the helium loop as downstream coolers of the steam reformer, so as to effectively utilize the residual nuclear heat for generating feed steam. The improvements are estimated to achieve the hydrogen production rate of approximately 3800 STP-m 3 /h for the heat source of 10 MW and therefore will provide the potential competitiveness to a fossil-fired steam reforming process. Those improvements also provide the compactness of reformer tubes, giving the applicability of seamless tubes. (J.P.N.)

  8. Gas-discharge plasma processes for surface modification and conversion of chemical substances. Application for fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schroeder, K.; Meyer, D.; Rohland, B.; Heintze, M.; Zahn, R.J.; Hannemann, M.; Meusinger, J.; Ohl, A. [Institute of Non-Thermal Plasma Physics, Greifswald (Germany)]|[Gesellschaft fuer Angewandte Technik mbH Greifswald (Germany)]|[GAPC, Adam Opel AG, IPC, Ruesselsheim (Germany)

    2001-07-01

    The potential of plasma processes towards hydrogen and fuel cell technology will be demonstrated by two examples with preliminary results: 1. plasma modification of polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells, and 2. plasma supported steam reforming.

  9. Feasibility of solid oxide fuel cell dynamic hydrogen coproduction to meet building demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaffer, Brendan; Brouwer, Jacob

    2014-02-01

    A dynamic internal reforming-solid oxide fuel cell system model is developed and used to simulate the coproduction of electricity and hydrogen while meeting the measured dynamic load of a typical southern California commercial building. The simulated direct internal reforming-solid oxide fuel cell (DIR-SOFC) system is controlled to become an electrical load following device that well follows the measured building load data (3-s resolution). The feasibility of the DIR-SOFC system to meet the dynamic building demand while co-producing hydrogen is demonstrated. The resulting thermal responses of the system to the electrical load dynamics as well as those dynamics associated with the filling of a hydrogen collection tank are investigated. The DIR-SOFC system model also allows for resolution of the fuel cell species and temperature distributions during these dynamics since thermal gradients are a concern for DIR-SOFC.

  10. Land reform in Russia in 1990-2000-ies, or how land reform was "reformed" during the departmental reorganization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barsukova Svetlana, Yu.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides an overview of the land reform in Russia's recent history. Analysis of land reform, which started in 1990, shows what actions and what logic led the land sector in the state in which it was at the finish line of the quarter-century reform marathon. The reform process was not linear, it highlighted the steps differing objectives and strategies to achieve them. Land reform is presented as a struggle of different political forces, which were reflected in the redistribution of functions between agencies in lobbying for appointment to senior positions promoted various commands. The authors conclude about the gradual displacement of state regulation of land relations, the deliberate destruction of the land management as a basis for the development of land resources.

  11. Comparative techno-economic analysis of biohydrogen production via bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yanan; Brown, Tristan R.; Hu, Guiping; Brown, Robert C.

    2013-01-01

    This paper evaluates the economic feasibility of biohydrogen production via two bio-oil processing pathways: bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming. Both pathways employ fast pyrolysis to produce bio-oil from biomass stock. The two pathways are modeled using Aspen Plus ® for a 2000 t d −1 facility. Equipment sizing and cost calculations are based on Aspen Economic Evaluation® software. Biohydrogen production capacity at the facility is 147 t d −1 for the bio-oil gasification pathway and 160 t d −1 for the bio-oil reforming pathway. The biomass-to-fuel energy efficiencies are 47% and 84% for the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Total capital investment (TCI) is 435 million dollars for the bio-oil gasification pathway and is 333 million dollars for the bio-oil reforming pathway. Internal rates of return (IRR) are 8.4% and 18.6% for facilities employing the bio-oil gasification and bio-oil reforming pathways, respectively. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that biohydrogen price, biohydrogen yield, fixed capital investment (FCI), bio-oil yield, and biomass cost have the greatest impacts on facility IRR. Monte-Carlo analysis shows that bio-oil reforming is more economically attractive than bio-oil gasification for biohydrogen production. -- Highlights: ► Biohydrogen production via bio-oil reforming has higher energy efficiency compared to gasification. ► Hydrogen price, fixed capital cost, and feedstock cost most strongly affect IRR. ► Lower risk investment is biohydrogen production via bio-oil reforming

  12. Carbon Capture via Chemical-Looping Combustion and Reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johansson, Marcus; Mattisson, Tobias; Ryden, Magnus; Lyngfelt, Anders

    2006-10-15

    Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a combustion technology with inherent separation of the greenhouse gas CO{sub 2}. The technique involves the use of a metal oxide as an oxygen carrier which transfers oxygen from combustion air to the fuel, and hence a direct contact between air and fuel is avoided. Two inter-connected fluidized beds, a fuel reactor and an air reactor, are used in the process. In the fuel reactor, the metal oxide is reduced by the reaction with the fuel and in the air reactor; the reduced metal oxide is oxidized with air. The outlet gas from the fuel reactor consists of CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O, and almost pure stream of CO{sub 2} is obtained when water is condensed. Considerable research has been conducted on CLC in the last decade with respect to oxygen carrier development, reactor design, system efficiencies and prototype testing. The technique has been demonstrated successfully with both natural gas and syngas as fuel in continuous prototype reactors based on interconnected fluidized beds within the size range 0.3 - 50 kW, using different types of oxygen carriers based on the metals Ni, Co, Fe, Cu and Mn. From these tests it can be established that almost complete conversion of the fuel can be obtained and 100% CO{sub 2} capture is possible. Further, two different types of chemical-looping reforming (CLR) have been presented in recent years. CLR is a technology to produce hydrogen with inherent CO{sub 2} capture. This paper presents an overview of the research performed on CLC and CLR highlights the current status of the technology.

  13. Experimental study of proton exchange membrane fuel cell; Estudo experimental de uma celula a combustivel de membrana polimerica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Acevedo, Luis Evelio Garcia; Oliveira, Amir Antonio Martins [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica], e-mail: evelio@labcet.ufsc.br, e-mail: amirol@emc.ufsc.br

    2006-07-01

    Here we present a thermodynamic and chemical kinetic analysis of the methane steam reforming for production of 5 kw of electrical power in a PEM fuel cell. The equilibrium analysis is based on the method of element potentials to find the state of minimum Gibbs free energy for the system and provides the equilibrium concentration of the reforming products. The objective of this analysis is to obtain the range of reforming temperature, pressure and steam-methane molar ratio that results in maximum hydrogen production subjected to low carbon monoxide production and negligible coke formation. The thermal analysis provides the heat transfer rates associated with the individual processes of steam production, gas-phase superheating and reforming necessary to produce 5 kw of electrical power in a PEM fuel cell and allows for the calculation of thermal efficiencies. Then, the chemical reaction pathways for hydrogen production in steam reforming are discussed and the available chemical, adsorption and equilibrium constants are analyzed in terms of thermodynamic consistency. This analysis provides the framework for the reactor sizing and for establishing the adequate operation conditions. (author)

  14. Available online Efficiency potential of indirectly heated solar reforming with different types of solar air receivers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Storch, Henrik von; Roeb, Martin; Stadler, Hannes; Sattler, Christian; Hoffschmidt, Bernhard

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A process for indirectly heated solar reforming of natural gas with air as heat transfer fluid is proposed. • Different solar receivers are modeled and implemented into the reforming process. • The overall efficiency of the process with different solar receivers is determined. • Optimum solar receiver characteristics for application in a solar reforming process are determined. - Abstract: In solar reforming, the heating value of natural gas is increased by utilization of concentrated solar radiation. Hence, it is a process for storing solar energy in a stable and transportable form that also permits further conversion into liquid fuels like methanol. This process has the potential to significantly decrease the natural gas consumption and the associated CO_2-emissions of methanol production with only few open questions to be addressed prior to commercialization. In the medium and long term, it has the potential to generate methanol as an environmentally friendly fuel for both transport as well as flexible electricity production in combined cycle gas turbines, when biogas is used as reactant. In a previous study the high potential of indirectly heated solar reforming with solar air receivers was shown; however, the efficiency is limited when using state of the art open volumetric receivers. Therefore, different types of air receivers are implemented into an indirectly heated solar reforming process and the overall efficiency potential is assessed in the present study. The implemented receivers are an open volumetric cavity receiver, a closed volumetric cavity receiver and a tubular cavity receiver. The open volumetric cavity receiver and tubular cavity receiver achieve the best results due to their capability of operating efficiently at temperatures well above 700 °C. For these receivers peak efficiencies up to 29% and 27% respectively are predicted. As the utilization of an open volumetric cavity receiver constitutes an open heat transfer

  15. System and process for producing fuel with a methane thermochemical cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diver, Richard B.

    2015-12-15

    A thermochemical process and system for producing fuel are provided. The thermochemical process includes reducing an oxygenated-hydrocarbon to form an alkane and using the alkane in a reforming reaction as a reducing agent for water, a reducing agent for carbon dioxide, or a combination thereof. Another thermochemical process includes reducing a metal oxide to form a reduced metal oxide, reducing an oxygenated-hydrocarbon with the reduced metal oxide to form an alkane, and using the alkane in a reforming reaction as a reducing agent for water, a reducing agent for carbon dioxide, or a combination thereof. The system includes a reformer configured to perform a thermochemical process.

  16. Electrochemical evaluation of sulfur poisoning in a methane-fuelled solid oxide fuel cell: Effect of current density and sulfur concentration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagen, Anke; Johnson, Gregory B.; Hjalmarsson, Per

    2014-01-01

    , the effect of sulfur was less pronounced on mass transfer/fuel reforming processes but quite significant on the charge transfer/TPB processes. Overall, sulfur related performance loss was more severe at the highest current density (1 A cm−2), due to the deactivation of catalytic fuel reforming reactions......A Ni/ScYSZ based SOFC was tested at 1, 0.5, 0.25, and 0 (OCV) A cm−2 in methane fuel containing 0–100 ppm H2S. Analysis of cell voltage loss during short-term H2S poisoning showed that SOFC performance loss was generally larger at higher current loads. Separating the effect of H2S on catalytic...... reforming and electrochemical activity by evaluating the relevant area specific resistances and charge transfer processes based on impedance spectroscopy revealed that the poisoning of electrochemical activity was not dependent on current density. Two major anode processes were significantly affected...

  17. Steepest Ascent Tariff Reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Woodland, Alan D.

    2006-01-01

    a theoretical concept where the focus is upon the size of welfare gains accruing from tariff reforms rather than simply with the direction of welfare effects that has been the concern of theliterature.JEL code: F15.Keywords: Steepest ascent tariff reforms; piecemeal tariff policy; welfare; market access; small......This paper introduces the concept of a steepest ascent tariff reform for a small open economy. By construction, it is locally optimal in that it yields the highest gain in utility of any feasible tariff reform vector of the same length. Accordingly, it provides a convenient benchmark...... for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other well known tariff reform rules, as e.g. the proportional and the concertina rules. We develop the properties of this tariff reform, characterize the sources of the potential welfare gains from tariff reform, use it to establish conditions under which some...

  18. Health system reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortolon, Ken

    2009-06-01

    A vote on reforming the nation's health care system seems likely this summer as President Obama makes good on a campaign pledge. Although the Democratic leadership in Congress appears ready to push through reform legislation before the next election, TMA and AMA leaders say very little is known about what that "reform" likely will look like.

  19. Novel materials for more robust solid oxide fuel cells in small scale applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holtappels, Peter

    , especially for remote fuel cell systems. For those applications, redox tolerant and Sulphur resistant fuel electrode materials are advantageous in order to make the cells more tolerant against sudden system failures such as fuel cut off and reformer breakdown. Also for direct feeding of alcohols and higher...... hydrocarbons, coking tolerant electrodes are required. State-of art fuel electrodes are based on a nickel ceramic composite, a nickel cermet, which suffers from low redox stability, susceptibility for sulfur poisoning and coking. Redox stable anodes can be achieved by replacing the Ni-cermet fuel electrode...

  20. High Temperature PEM Fuel Cells - Degradation and Durability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Araya, Samuel Simon

    for storage and distribution of hydrogen, it is more practical to use liquid alcohols as energy carriers for fuel cells. Among these, methanol is very attractive, as it can be obtained from a variety of renewable sources and has a relatively low reforming temperature for the production of hydrogen rich...... be stored in liquid alcohols such as methanol, which can be sources of hydrogen for fuel cell applications. In addition, fuel cells unlike other technologies can use a variety of other fuels that can provide a source of hydrogen, such as biogas, methane, butane, etc. More fuel flexibility combined....... On the other hand, CO and methanol-water vapor mixture degrade the fuel cell proportionally to the amounts in which they are tested. In this dissertation some of the mechanisms with which the impurities affect the fuel cell are discussed and interdependence among the effects is also studied. This showed...

  1. Medical Education and Curriculum Reform: Putting Reform Proposals in Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Kam Yin Chan, MD, MB.BS, MHA

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to elaborate criteria by which the principles of curriculum reform can be judged. To this end, the paper presents an overview of standard critiques of medical education and examines the ways medical curriculum reforms have responded to these critiques. The paper then sets out our assessment of these curriculum reforms along three parameters: pedagogy, educational context, and knowledge status. Following on from this evaluation of recent curriculum reforms, the paper puts forward four criteria with which to gauge the adequacy medical curriculum reform. These criteria enable us to question the extent to which new curricula incorporate methods and approaches for ensuring that its substance: overcomes the traditional opposition between clinical and resource dimensions of care; emphasizes that the clinical work needs to be systematized in so far as that it feasible; promotes multi-disciplinary team work, and balances clinical autonomy with accountability to non-clinical stakeholders.

  2. Fuel quality issues in stationary fuel cell systems.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papadias, D.; Ahmed, S.; Kumar, R. (Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division)

    2012-02-07

    Fuel cell systems are being deployed in stationary applications for the generation of electricity, heat, and hydrogen. These systems use a variety of fuel cell types, ranging from the low temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) to the high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Depending on the application and location, these systems are being designed to operate on reformate or syngas produced from various fuels that include natural gas, biogas, coal gas, etc. All of these fuels contain species that can potentially damage the fuel cell anode or other unit operations and processes that precede the fuel cell stack. These detrimental effects include loss in performance or durability, and attenuating these effects requires additional components to reduce the impurity concentrations to tolerable levels, if not eliminate the impurity entirely. These impurity management components increase the complexity of the fuel cell system, and they add to the system's capital and operating costs (such as regeneration, replacement and disposal of spent material and maintenance). This project reviewed the public domain information available on the impurities encountered in stationary fuel cell systems, and the effects of the impurities on the fuel cells. A database has been set up that classifies the impurities, especially in renewable fuels, such as landfill gas and anaerobic digester gas. It documents the known deleterious effects on fuel cells, and the maximum allowable concentrations of select impurities suggested by manufacturers and researchers. The literature review helped to identify the impurity removal strategies that are available, and their effectiveness, capacity, and cost. A generic model of a stationary fuel-cell based power plant operating on digester and landfill gas has been developed; it includes a gas processing unit, followed by a fuel cell system. The model includes the key impurity removal steps to enable predictions of impurity breakthrough

  3. Fuel cells for transport: can the promise be fulfilled? Technical requirements and demands from customers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaiber, Thomas

    The paper discusses the technical requirements and the customer demands for vehicles that have an on-board methanol reformer and fuel cells. The research concentrates on the technical developmental risks which include minimizing volume, reducing weight and, at the same time, improving efficiency and system dynamics. Fuel cell powered vehicles with methanol reformers are not only suitable for a niche market but also these vehicles will compete with conventional vehicles. The greatest hindrance will be the price of the fuel cell. A possible progressive development of the number of fuel cell powered vehicles in conjunction with a reduction in costs will be discussed in the paper. When fuel cell vehicles come to the market it is necessary that an infrastructure for the fuel methanol or hydrogen is installed. Therefore, it will only be possible to introduce fuel cell vehicles into special markets, e.g. California. Such a process will need to be subsidized by additional incentives like tax concessions. Today there are many technical risks and unsolved problems relating to production technologies, infrastructure, and costs. Nevertheless, among the alternative power units, the fuel cell seems to be the only one that might be competitive to the conventional power unit, especially relating to emissions.

  4. European electricity markets reforms: the 'visible hand' of public coordination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finon, Dominique; Roques, Fabien

    2013-01-01

    The paper investigates how proposed reforms on policies to maintain generation adequacy and encourage clean technology investments in a number of European countries modify the role of the market. In these reforms the government, regulator and system operator take on explicit planning and coordination responsibilities with the introduction of capacity mechanisms and long-term support for clean technologies. We highlight the interactions of these mechanisms with the electricity market and how they reallocate risks between generators, government and consumers. The different mechanisms offer varying degrees of autonomy to generators with regards to investment decisions. In a prospective way, the paper also explores how designs of these different mechanisms might converge towards a unified technology neutral mechanism in the long-run. This could involve auctioning of long-term contracts for all types of existing and new capacities, whether it is low carbon or fossil fueled. (authors)

  5. Recent development in safety regulation of nuclear fuel cycle activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kato, S.

    2001-01-01

    Through the effort of deliberation and legislation over five years, Japanese government structure was reformed this January, with the aim of realizing simple, efficient and transparent administration. Under the reform, the Agency for Nuclear and Industrial Safety (ANIS) was founded in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to be responsible for safety regulation of energy-related nuclear activities, including nuclear fuel cycle activities, and industrial activities, including explosives, high-pressure gasses and mining. As one of the lessons learned from the JCO criticality accident of September 1999, it was pointed out that the government's inspection function was not enough for fuel fabrication facilities. Accordingly, new statutory regulatory activities were introduced, namely, inspection of observance of safety rules and procedures for all kinds of nuclear operators and periodic inspection of fuel fabrication facilities. In addition, in order to cope with insufficient safety education and training of workers in nuclear facilities, licensees of nuclear facilities are required by law to specify safety education and training for their workers. ANIS is committed to enforce these new regulatory activities effectively and efficiently. In addition, it is going to be prepared, in its capacity as safety regulatory authority, for future development of Japanese fuel cycle activities, including commissioning of JNFL Rokkasho reprocessing plant and possible application for licenses for JNFL MOX fabrication plant and for spent fuel interim storage facilities. (author)

  6. Low CO2-emissions hybrid solar combined-cycle power system with methane membrane reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Na; Cai, Ruixian

    2013-01-01

    Based on the principle of cascade utilization of multiple energy resources, a gas-steam combined cycle power system integrated with solar thermo-chemical fuel conversion and CO 2 capture has been proposed and analyzed. The collected solar heat at 550 °C drives the endothermic methane reforming and is converted to the produced syngas chemical exergy, and then released as high-temperature thermal energy via combustion for power generation, achieving its high-efficiency heat-power conversion. The reforming reaction is integrated with a hydrogen separation membrane, which continuously withdraws hydrogen from the reaction zone and enables nearly full methane conversion. The CO 2 enriched gas being concentrated in the retentate zone is collected and processed with pre-combustion decarbonization. The system is thermodynamically simulated using the ASPEN PLUS code. The results show that with 91% CO 2 captured, the specific CO 2 emission is 25 g/kWh. An exergy efficiency of 58% and thermal efficiency of 51.6% can be obtained. A fossil fuel saving ratio of 31.2% is achievable with a solar thermal share of 28.2%, and the net solar-to-electricity efficiency based on the gross solar heat incident on the collector is about 36.4% compared with the same gas-steam combined cycle system with an equal CO 2 removal ratio obtained by post-combustion decarbonization. - Highlights: ► A solar-assisted hybrid combined cycle power system has been proposed and analyzed. ► The system integrates power generation with solar-driven reforming and CO 2 capture. ► solar heat upgrading and high-efficiency heat-to-power conversion are achieved. ► membrane reforming enables high CH 4 conversion and pre-combustion CO 2 capture. ► The system thermodynamic performances have been investigated and compared

  7. Hydrogen production by steam reforming of bio-alcohols. The use of conventional and membrane-assisted catalytic reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seelam, P. K.

    2013-11-01

    The energy consumption around the globe is on the rise due to the exponential population growth and urbanization. There is a need for alternative and non-conventional energy sources, which are CO{sub 2}-neutral, and a need to produce less or no environmental pollutants and to have high energy efficiency. One of the alternative approaches is hydrogen economy with the fuel cell (FC) technology which is forecasted to lead to a sustainable society. Hydrogen (H{sub 2}) is recognized as a potential fuel and clean energy carrier being at the same time a carbon-free element. Moreover, H{sub 2} is utilized in many processes in chemical, food, metallurgical, and pharmaceutical industry and it is also a valuable chemical in many reactions (e.g. refineries). Non-renewable resources have been the major feedstock for H{sub 2} production for many years. At present, {approx}50% of H{sub 2} is produced via catalytic steam reforming of natural gas followed by various down-stream purification steps to produce {approx}99.99% H{sub 2}, the process being highly energy intensive. Henceforth, bio-fuels like biomass derived alcohols (e.g. bio-ethanol and bio-glycerol), can be viable raw materials for the H{sub 2} production. In a membrane based reactor, the reaction and selective separation of H{sub 2} occur simultaneously in one unit, thus improving the overall reactor efficiency. The main motivation of this work is to produce H{sub 2} more efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way from bio-alcohols with a high H{sub 2} selectivity, purity and yield. In this thesis, the work was divided into two research areas, the first being the catalytic studies using metal decorated carbon nanotube (CNT) based catalysts in steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) at low temperatures (<450 deg C). The second part was the study of steam reforming (SR) and the water-gas-shift (WGS) reactions in a membrane reactor (MR) using dense and composite Pd-based membranes to produce high purity H{sub 2}. CNTs

  8. Simulation of biomass and/or coal gasification systems integrated with fuel cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ersoz, A; Ozdogan, S; Caglayan, E; Olgun, H [TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Kocaeli (Turkey). Institute of Energy

    2006-11-15

    This paper presents the results of a system simulation study. The HYSYS 3.1 - ASPEN code has been used for simulation. The system consists of a fixed bed gasifier followed by reforming and clean-up units. The produced hydrogen gas is fed to a PEM fuel cell. The gasified hydrocarbons are hazelnut shells, bark, rice straw, animal waste, and two lignites. Hydrocarbon properties, gasification, and reforming process parameters all affect the system efficiency. The effect of the moisture content and oxygen to carbon ratio of the hydrocarbon fees on the fuel processing and overall system efficiencies are presented. The overall efficiency of the system increases with increasing hydrocarbon fees oxygen to carbon ratio; this tendency is more evident at higher moisture levels.

  9. Reform despite politics? The political economy of power sector reform in Fiji, 1996–2013

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dornan, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    Attempts to reform the electricity sector in developing countries have achieved mixed results, despite the implementation of similar reforms in many developed countries, and concerted effort by donors to transfer reform models. In many cases, political obstacles have prevented full and effective implementation of donor-promoted reforms. This paper examines the political economy of power sector reform in Fiji from 1996 to 2013. Reform has been pursued with political motives in a context of clientelism. Policy inconsistency and reversal is explained by the political instability of ethnic-based politics in Fiji. Modest success has been achieved in recent years despite these challenges, with Fiji now considered a model of power sector reform for other Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific. The experience demonstrates that reform is possible within difficult political environments, but it is challenging, takes time and is not guaranteed. The way in which political motives have driven and shaped reform efforts also highlights the need for studies of power sector reform to direct greater attention toward political drivers behind reform. - Highlights: • This is the first study of power sector reform in Fiji or other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific. • The clientelist nature of politics in Fiji is found to have both driven and shaped reform efforts. • There has been modest success in recent years despite these obstacles, with Fiji now considered a model for other SIDS. • The experience demonstrates that reform is possible within difficult political environments, but it is challenging, takes time and is not guaranteed

  10. A numerical analysis of heat and mass transfer during the steam reforming process of ethane

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomiczek, Marcin; Kaczmarczyk, Robert; Mozdzierz, Marcin; Brus, Grzegorz

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents a numerical analysis of heat and mass transfer during the steam reforming of ethane. From a chemical point of view, the reforming process of heavy hydrocarbons, such as ethane, is complex. One of the main issue is a set of undesired chemical reactions that causes the deposition of solid carbon and consequently blocks the catalytic property of a reactor. In the literature a carbon deposition regime is selected by thermodynamical analysis to design safe operation conditions. In the case of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD, hereafter) models each control volume should be investigated to determinate if carbon deposition is thermodynamically favourable. In this paper the authors combine equilibrium and kinetics analysis to simulate the steam reforming of methane-ethane rich fuel. The results of the computations were juxtaposed with experimental data for methane steam reforming, and good agreement was found. An analysis based on the kinetics of reactions was conducted to predict the influence of temperature drop and non-equilibrium composition on solid carbon deposition. It was found that strong non-uniform temperature distribution in the reactor causes conditions favourable for carbon deposition at the inlet of the reformer. It was shown that equilibrium calculations, often used in the literature, are insufficient.

  11. Fossil fuel combined cycle power system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labinov, Solomon Davidovich; Armstrong, Timothy Robert; Judkins, Roddie Reagan

    2006-10-10

    A system for converting fuel energy to electricity includes a reformer for converting a higher molecular weight gas into at least one lower molecular weight gas, at least one turbine to produce electricity from expansion of at least one of the lower molecular weight gases, and at least one fuel cell. The system can further include at least one separation device for substantially dividing the lower molecular weight gases into at least two gas streams prior to the electrochemical oxidization step. A nuclear reactor can be used to supply at least a portion of the heat the required for the chemical conversion process.

  12. Pension reform in the European periphery: the role of EU reform advocacy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stepan, M.; Anderson, K.A.

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY: This paper analyzes the impact of international reform advocacy on national pension reforms. We analyze European Union (EU) reform advocacy in two EU member states: Greece and Hungary. Although the EU has articulated a fairly coherent template for sustainable pensions, its use of soft

  13. Taxing carbon in fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnold, Rob

    2000-01-01

    It is argued that both the Climate Change Levy and the fuel duty tax are outdated even before they are implemented. Apparently, the real problems are not in the bringing of road fuels into the scope of the Climate Change Levy but in introducing reforms to improve integration of greenhouse gases and taxation. Both fuel duty and the Levy are aimed at maximising efficiency and reducing air pollution. The system as it stands does not take into account the development of a market where the management and trading of carbon and greenhouse gases may jeopardise the competitiveness of UK businesses. It is argued that an overhaul of climate and emissions-related law is necessary. The paper is presented under the sub-headings of (i) a fixation on energy; (ii) no focus on CO 2 ; (iii) carbon markets - beyond the levy and (iv) tax structure. (UK)

  14. Heat recovery properties from fuel cell system for telecommunications use; Tsushin`yo nenryo denchi system ni okeru hainetsu kaishu tokusei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishizawa, M.; Iida, S.; Abe, I.; Yamamoto, M. [NTT Integrated Information and Energy Systems Laboratories, Tokyo (Japan)

    1997-08-20

    NTT is developing a phosphoric-acid fuel-cell energy system for telecommunication co-generation systems to reduce energy costs and help preserve the environment. Fuel cells are used to provide electrical power to telecommunication equipment and the heat energy that is generated is used by the absorption refrigerators to cool the telecommunication rooms throughout the year. We field-tested this fuel-cell energy system in a telephone office. Two heat recovery methods were applied in the test: one uses direct steam heat recovery from fuel-cell stack coolant to keep the heat recovery temperature high and to avoid requiring a heat exchanger for the recovery; the other uses heat recovery from the reformer exhaust gas that is directly in contact with the heat recovery water to recover heat more economically. Our field tests confirmed that the average efficiency of heat recovery from fuel-cell stack coolant is 16%, and from the reformer exhaust gas is 9% under 80-kW continuous operation. Maximum total efficiency including electrical power efficiency was confirmed to be about 73% under the condition of 100-kW and an S/C ratio of 2.5 in the winter period: heat recovery from the fuel-cell stack coolant was 23%, from the reformer exhaust gas was 10%, and from electrical conversion was about 40%. 9 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.

  15. Reforming Romanian energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perkins, S.

    1993-01-01

    Success in reforming energy sector depends on the implementation of the programme of economic reform agreed in February 1993. The difficulty of the negotiations between the International Monetary Fund and the Romanian government reflects the wider difficulties faced by the economy as a whole. They can be blamed in part on the legacy of uneconomic and inflexible industrial development and in part on opposition from interest groups which stand to lose from reform. Nonetheless, in spite of hesitant approach, the government does appear committed to the economic reform necessary to establish a market-oriented economy. But as the danger of a financial crisis engendered by the inadequately supported short-term borrowing of foreign exchange becomes urgent, the question is whether economic reform can be now implemented fast enough to protect economic enterprises and saving from a debt crisis. The scope for further delay in implementing the 1993 economic reform programme is fast disappearing. Procrastination should not be allowed to threaten the success of the reforms achieved in the energy and other sectors of the economy. 8 refs., 2 figs

  16. Fuel pricing policies in South America and Mexico. Economic and environmental implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altomonte, H.; Rogat, J.

    2004-01-01

    Increasing industrialisation and income levels in developing countries are leading to increased demand for energy. A vast majority of this energy is based on fossil fuels, where oil represents the largest share. The burning of fossil fuels gives rise to emissions of gases with severe impacts on local and global environment, and most importantly on human health. In spite of this, oil consumption has been steadily increasing during the last decades, and is expected to continue doing so. According to the IPCC's second assessment report, the use of energy and in particular of fossil fuels, is expected to double by 2020. In Latin America, fuel prices have historically been well below world market prices. Prior to energy reforms in the early 1990s, energy prices did not follow conventional marginal cost or opportunity cost pricing rules, but where instead set with particular regard for income distribution goals or with the avowed purpose of promoting industrialization. This situation started to change in a number of countries at the end of the 1980s as a result of energy reforms, which included changes in pricing policies. These reforms allowed for private sector participation in the exploration, production and distribution of these products, thuds leading in most of the countries to the pricing system being decentralised and profitability criteria being incorporated into the state owned companies. In some countries where energy had been heavily subsidised, energy reforms contributed to reducing or dismantling subsidies and thereby to price levels more in line with those of industrialized countries. Nevertheless, in several countries of the region energy subsidies are still in place. These subsidies are creating market distortions, with prices still well below world market prices being one of the results. The objective of this study is twofold. The first objective is to map current fuel pricing in a number of South American countries and Mexico. This information will

  17. Data reconciliation and optimal operation of a Catalytic naphtha reformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tore Lid

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available The naphtha reforming process converts low-octane gasoline blending components to high-octane components for use in high-performance gasoline fuels. The reformer also has an important function as the producer of hydrogen to the refinery hydrotreaters. A process model based on a unit model structure, is used for estimation of the process condition using data reconciliation. Measurements are classified as redundant or non redundant and the model variables are classified as observable, barely observable or unobservable. The computed uncertainty of the measured and unmeasured variables shows that even if a variable is observable it may have a very large uncertainty and may thereby be practically unobservable. The process condition at 21 data points, sampled from two years of operation, was reconciled and used to optimize the process operation. There are large seasonal variations in the reformer product price and two operational cases are studied. In case 1, the product price is high and throughput is maximized with respect to process and product quality constraints. In case 2, the product price is low and the throughput is minimized with respect to a low constraint on the hydrogen production. Based on the characteristics of the optimal operation, a "self optimizing" control structure is suggested for each of the two operational cases.

  18. Development and evaluation of the 5 kW fuel cell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furtado, Jose Geraldo de Melo; Silva Junior, Fernando Rodrigues da; Soares, Guilherme Fleury Wanderley; Lopes, Francisco da Costa; Gutierrez, Taisa Eva Fuziger; Serra, Eduardo Torres [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)], Email: furtado@cepel.br; Codeceira Neto, Alcides [Companhia Hidroeletrica do Sao Francisco (CHESF), Recife, PE (Brazil)

    2010-07-01

    Power systems based on fuel cells have been considered for residential and commercial applications in electrical energy Distributed Generation (DG) markets. In this work we present an analysis of the main results obtained in a DG demonstration project developed by CEPEL, which consists in the implementation, operation and evaluation of a DG power generation system formed by a 5 k W proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) unit electrical generation and a natural gas reformer (fuel processor) for local hydrogen production. This demonstration project aims to evaluate a fuel cell technology for stationary application in the Brazilian electric sector. Under this project the performance analysis developed simultaneously the energy and the economic viewpoints, allowing the determination of the best technical and economic conditions of this energy generation power plant, as well as the best operating strategies, enabling the optimization of the overall performance of the stationary cogeneration fuel cell system. It was determined the electrical performance and the overall and subsystems efficiencies of the cogeneration system as a function of the design and operational power plant parameters. Additionally, it was verified the influence of the activation conditions of the fuel cell electrocatalytic system on the system performance. It also appeared that the use of hydrogen produced from the natural gas catalytic steam reforming provided the system operation with excellent electrothermal stability conditions resulting in increase of the energy conversion efficiency and of the economicity of the cogeneration power plant. The results indicate that the fuel cell-based power generation system evaluated can operate with potential of 0.60 V per single fuel cell or higher throughout the power range of the system and the efficiency of the generation system is almost stable for electric power higher than 1.5 k W, with fuel cell electrical efficiency peak of 38%. (author)

  19. Modification of Catalysts for Steam Reforming of Fluid Hydrocarbons. Research of Gas-Dynamic Duct Cooling Using Planar and Framework Catalysts (CD-ROM)

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kuranov, Alexander L

    2005-01-01

    .... One way of fuel conversion is the catalytic steam reforming of hydrocarbon. This reaction has a large heat capacity and gives maximum quantity of molecular hydrogen among known reactions of hydrocarbons...

  20. Hydrogen yield from low temperature steam reforming of ethanol

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, N.K.; Dalai, A.K. [Saskatchewan Univ., Saskatoon, SK (Canada). Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering Laboratories; Ranganathan, R. [Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

    2007-02-15

    Interest in the use of ethanol for fuel cell hydrogen production was discussed with particular reference to a study in which the production of hydrogen was maximized through low temperature steam reforming of ethanol in the temperature range of 200 to 360 degrees C. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of Mn concentration on a Cu/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst for steam reforming of ethanol to produce hydrogen. The purpose was to maximize ethanol conversion and hydrogen selectivity in the lowest possible reaction temperature for the ideal catalyst activity. The optimum reaction conditions in the presence of a suitable catalyst can produce the desired products of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Cu/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalysts with six different concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 weight per cent Mn, were prepared, characterized and studied for the ethanol-steam reforming reaction. The effects of different process variables were studied, including water-to-ethanol feed ratio, space time and catalyst reduction temperatures on ethanol conversion and hydrogen yield. Maximum ethanol conversion of 60.7 per cent and hydrogen yield of 3.74 (mol of hydrogen per mol of ethanol converted) were observed at 360 degrees C for a catalyst with 2.5 weight per cent Mn loading. 29 refs., 3 tabs., 12 figs.

  1. Effect of microchannel structure on the reaction performance of methanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Minqiang; Wu, Qiuyu; Jiang, Lianbo; Zeng, Dehuai

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Effect of microchannel cross-section and distribution on MSR are investigated. • Microchannel distribution shows much more influence on reaction performance. • SLDR and ELR with rectangular cross-section present better reaction performance. • DLSR and EUU with tooth cross-section have better reaction performance. • Equal-distribution of microchannels present the best reaction performance. - Abstract: Methanol steam reforming inside microchannel reactors is regarded as one of effective methods for supplying hydrogen for fuel cells. Microchannel structure plays an important role on the reaction performance of methanol steam reforming. Parallel and uniform-distributed microchannels with rectangular cross-section are generally adopted. In this work, two kinds of microchannel cross-sections and four kinds of microchannel distributions are selected to investigate the effect of microchannel structure on the reaction performance of methanol steam reforming. The result indicates that microchannel distribution shows much more influences on the reaction performance of methanol steam reforming than the microchannel cross-section. Sparse-distribution in the Left direction and Dense-distribution in the Right direction (SLDR) as well as Equal-distribution in the Left–Right direction (ELR) with rectangular cross-section present relatively good reaction performances, whereas Dense-distribution in the Left direction and Sparse-distribution in the Right direction (DLSR) as well as Equal-distribution in the Upside–Underside direction (EUU) with tooth cross-section have relatively good performances. ELR presents the best reaction performances of methanol steam reforming among all the investigated microchannel structures, whether rectangular or tooth cross-section

  2. Fuel upgrading and reforming with metal organic framework

    KAUST Repository

    Eddaoudi, Mohamed

    2016-03-31

    Systems and methods for separating hydrocarbons on an internal combustion powered vehicle via one or more metal organic frameworks are disclosed. Systems and methods can further include utilizing separated hydrocarbons and exhaust to generate hydrogen gas for use as fuel. In one aspect, a method for separating hydrocarbons can include contacting a first component containing a first metal organic framework with a flow of hydrocarbons and separating hydrocarbons by size. In certain embodiments, the hydrocarbons can include alkanes.

  3. Plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol: influence of air activation rate and reforming temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nedybaliuk, O.A.; Chernyak, V.Ya.; Fedirchuk, I.I.; Demchina, V.P.; Bortyshevsky, V.A.; Korzh, R.V.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents the study of the influence that air activation rate and reforming temperature have on the gaseous products composition and conversion efficiency during the plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol. The analysis of product composition showed that the conversion efficiency of ethanol has a maximum in the studied range of reforming temperatures. Researched system provided high reforming efficiency and high hydrogen energy yield at the lower temperatures than traditional conversion technologies

  4. Synergistic routes to liquid fuel for a petroleum-deprived future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Agrawal, R.; Singh, N.R. [Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (United States). School of Chemical Engineering

    2009-07-15

    When compared with biomass gasification/Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, hydropyrolysis/hydrodeoxygenation (HDO)-based processes have a potential to achieve high biomass carbon conversion to liquid fuel with much lower amounts of supplementary H{sub 2}. On the basis of this observation, we suggest a Hydrogen Bio-oil (H{sub 2}Bioil) process using fast hydropyrolysis/HDO that has a potential to produce nearly double the amount of liquid fuel when compared with the existing biofuel processes while requiring only modest quantities of supplementary H{sub 2}. The optimal operating mode for the H{sub 2}Bioil process is suggested to be in an entrained bed mode in presence of H{sub 2} with gas phase HDO of hydropyrolyzed vapors. A remarkable result due to reduced need for the supplementary H{sub 2} is that it provides synergistic integration of the H(2)Bioil process with a coal gasification power plant or a small scale steam natural gas (NG) reformer leading to a dramatic increase in the liquid fuel production from biomass and coal or NG. Here, hot synthesis gas (T>500{sup o}C) from a coal gasifier or methane reformer supplies H{sub 2}/CO for hydropyrolysis and deoxygenation as well as heat for the process. This result is exciting, because it presents us with an option to build integrated H{sub 2}Bioil processes sooner rather than later when the cost effective H{sub 2}, becomes available from a carbon-free energy source such as solar or nuclear. The H{sub 2}Bioil process and its integrated version with a small scale NG reformer have strong potential to be attractive on a small scale while being more efficient than any current biomass to liquid fuel process in operation.

  5. Integrating Wind And Solar With Hydrogen Producing Fuel Cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hemmes, K.

    2007-01-01

    The often proposed solution for the fluctuating wind energy supply is the conversion of the surplus of wind energy into hydrogen by means of electrolysis. In this paper a patented alternative is proposed consisting of the integration of wind turbines with internal reforming fuel-cells, capable of

  6. HTGR Fuel Technology Program. Semiannual report for the period ending March 31, 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-05-01

    This document reports the technical accomplishments on the HTGR Fuel Technology Program at General Atomic during the first half of FY-81. The activities include the fuel process, fuel materials, fuel cycle, fission product transport, and core component verification testing tasks necessary to support the design and development of a steam cycle/cogeneration (SC/C) version of the HTGR with a follow-on reformer (R) version. An important effort which was initiated during this period was the preparation of input data for a long-range technology program plan

  7. HTGR Fuel-Technology Program. Semiannual report for the period ending September 30, 1982

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-11-01

    This document reports the technical accomplishments on the HTGR Fuel Technology Program at GA Technologies Inc. during the second half of FY-1982. The activities include the fuel process, fuel materials, fuel cycle, fission product transport, and core component verification testing tasks necessary to support the design and development of a steam cycle/cogeneration (SC/C) version of the HTGR with a follow-on reformer (R) version. An important effort which was completed during this period was the preparation of input data for a long-range technology program plan

  8. Life cycle cost analysis to examine the economical feasibility of hydrogen as an alternative fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Ji-Yong; Yoo, Moosang; Cha, Kyounghoon; Hur, Tak; Lim, Tae Won

    2009-01-01

    This study uses a life cycle costing (LCC) methodology to identify when hydrogen can become economically feasible compared to the conventional fuels and which energy policy is the most effective at fostering the penetration of hydrogen in the competitive fuel market. The target hydrogen pathways in this study are H 2 via natural gas steam reforming (NG SR), H 2 via naphtha steam reforming (Naphtha SR), H 2 via liquefied petroleum gas steam reforming (LPG SR), and H 2 via water electrolysis (WE). In addition, the conventional fuels (gasoline, diesel) are also included for the comparison with the H 2 pathways. The life cycle costs of the target fuels are computed and several key factors are examined to identify the economical feasibilities of the target systems: fuel cell vehicle (FCV) price, social cost of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and regulated air emissions (CO, VOC, SO x , NO x , PM), fuel efficiency of FCV, capital costs of H 2 equipments at a H 2 fueling station. The life cycle costs of a H 2 pathway also depend on the production capacity. Although, at present, all H 2 pathways are more cost efficient than the conventional fuels in the fuel utilization stage, the H 2 pathways have lack competitiveness against the conventional fuels in the life cycle (well to wheel) costs due to the high price of FCV. From future scenario analyses in 2015, all H 2 pathways are expected to have lower life cycle costs than the conventional fuels as a transportation fuel. It is evident that the FCV price is the most important factor for encouraging the hydrogen economy and FCVs. Unless the FCV price is below US $62,320, it is necessary for the institution to subsidize the FCV price by any amount over US $62,320 in order to inject H 2 into the market of transportation fuel. The incentive or taxes on GHGs and regulated air emissions are also expected to effectively encourage the diffusion of H 2 and FCV, especially for the H 2 pathway of WE with wind power (WE[Wind]). The uncertainties

  9. FEEDSTOCK-FLEXIBLE REFORMER SYSTEM (FFRS) FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL (SOFC)- QUALITY SYNGAS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jezierski, Kelly; Tadd, Andrew; Schwank, Johannes; Kibler, Roland; McLean, David; Samineni, Mahesh; Smith, Ryan; Parvathikar, Sameer; Mayne, Joe; Westrich, Tom; Mader, Jerry; Faubert, F. Michael

    2010-07-30

    The U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory funded this research collaboration effort between NextEnergy and the University of Michigan, who successfully designed, built, and tested a reformer system, which produced highquality syngas for use in SOFC and other applications, and a novel reactor system, which allowed for facile illumination of photocatalysts. Carbon and raw biomass gasification, sulfur tolerance of non-Platinum Group Metals (PGM) based (Ni/CeZrO2) reforming catalysts, photocatalysis reactions based on TiO2, and mild pyrolysis of biomass in ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated at low and medium temperatures (primarily 450 to 850 C) in an attempt to retain some structural value of the starting biomass. Despite a wide range of processes and feedstock composition, a literature survey showed that, gasifier products had narrow variation in composition, a restriction used to develop operating schemes for syngas cleanup. Three distinct reaction conditions were investigated: equilibrium, autothermal reforming of hydrocarbons, and the addition of O2 and steam to match the final (C/H/O) composition. Initial results showed rapid and significant deactivation of Ni/CeZrO2 catalysts upon introduction of thiophene, but both stable and unstable performance in the presence of sulfur were obtained. The key linkage appeared to be the hydrodesulfurization activity of the Ni reforming catalysts. For feed stoichiometries where high H2 production was thermodynamically favored, stable, albeit lower, H2 and CO production were obtained; but lower thermodynamic H2 concentrations resulted in continued catalyst deactivation and eventual poisoning. High H2 levels resulted in thiophene converting to H2S and S surface desorption, leading to stable performance; low H2 levels resulted in unconverted S and loss in H2 and CO production, as well as loss in thiophene conversion. Bimetallic catalysts did not outperform Ni-only catalysts, and small Ni particles were

  10. Sulfur-Tolerant Autothermal Reforming Catalysts for Aviation Fuel, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — As solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) approach commercialization, interest in broader applications of this technology is mounting. While the first commercialized systems...

  11. Technical and economic assessment of producing hydrogen by reforming syngas from the Battelle indirectly heated biomass gasifier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, M.K.

    1995-08-01

    The technical and economic feasibility of producing hydrogen from biomass by means of indirectly heated gasification and steam reforming was studied. A detailed process model was developed in ASPEN Plus trademark to perform material and energy balances. The results of this simulation were used to size and cost major pieces of equipment from which the determination of the necessary selling price of hydrogen was made. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the process to study hydrogen price as a function of biomass feedstock cost and hydrogen production efficiency. The gasification system used for this study was the Battelle Columbus Laboratory (BCL) indirectly heated gasifier. The heat necessary for the endothermic gasification reactions is supplied by circulating sand from a char combustor to the gasification vessel. Hydrogen production was accomplished by steam reforming the product synthesis gas (syngas) in a process based on that used for natural gas reforming. Three process configurations were studied. Scheme 1 is the full reforming process, with a primary reformer similar to a process furnace, followed by a high temperature shift reactor and a low temperature shift reactor. Scheme 2 uses only the primary reformer, and Scheme 3 uses the primary reformer and the high temperature shift reactor. A pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system is used in all three schemes to produce a hydrogen product pure enough to be used in fuel cells. Steam is produced through detailed heat integration and is intended to be sold as a by-product

  12. Fuel and Chemicals from Renewable Alcohols

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Jeppe Rass

    2008-01-01

    The present work entitled Fuel and Chemicals from Renewable Alcohols covers the idea of developing routes for producing sustainable fuel and chemicals from biomass resources. Some renewable alcohols are already readily available from biomass in significant amounts and thus the potential...... for these renewable alcohols, together with other primary renewable building blocks, has been highlighted in the introductory chapter. While the first chapter covers the general potential of a renewable chemical industry, the other chapters deal with particular possibilities. It is shown how ethanol and glycerol can...... be converted into hydrogen by steam reforming over nickel or ruthenium based catalysts. This process could be important in a future hydrogen society, where hydrogen can be utilized in high efficiency fuel cells. Hydrogen produced from biofeedstocks can also be used directly in the chemical industry, where...

  13. Comparison of Iron and Tungsten Based Oxygen Carriers for Hydrogen Production Using Chemical Looping Reforming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, M. N.; Shamim, T.

    2017-08-01

    Hydrogen production by using a three reactor chemical looping reforming (TRCLR) technology is an innovative and attractive process. Fossil fuels such as methane are the feedstocks used. This process is similar to a conventional steam-methane reforming but occurs in three steps utilizing an oxygen carrier. As the oxygen carrier plays an important role, its selection should be done carefully. In this study, two oxygen carrier materials of base metal iron (Fe) and tungsten (W) are analysed using a thermodynamic model of a three reactor chemical looping reforming plant in Aspen plus. The results indicate that iron oxide has moderate oxygen carrying capacity and is cheaper since it is abundantly available. In terms of hydrogen production efficiency, tungsten oxide gives 4% better efficiency than iron oxide. While in terms of electrical power efficiency, iron oxide gives 4.6% better results than tungsten oxide. Overall, a TRCLR system with iron oxide is 2.6% more efficient and is cost effective than the TRCLR system with tungsten oxide.

  14. A comparison of hydrogen-fueled fuel cells and combustion engines for electric utility applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schoenung, S.M.

    2000-01-01

    Hydrogen-fueled systems have been proposed for a number of stationary electric generation applications including remote power generation, load management, distribution system peak shaving, and reliability or power quality enhancement. Hydrogen fueling permits clean, low pollution operation. This is particularly true for systems that use hydrogen produced from electrolysis, rather than the reforming of hydrocarbon fuels. Both fuel cells and combustion engines are suitable technologies for using hydrogen in many electric utility applications. This paper presents results from several studies performed for the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program. A comparison between the two technologies shows that, whereas fuel cells are somewhat more energy efficient, combustion engine technology is less expensive. In this paper, a comparison of the two technologies is presented, with an emphasis on distributed power and power quality applications. The special case of a combined distributed generation I hydrogen refueling station is also addressed. The comparison is made on the basis of system costs and benefits, but also includes a comparison of technology status: power ratings and response time. A discussion of pollutant emissions and pollutant control strategies is included. The results show those electric utility applications for which each technology is best suited. (author)

  15. Reforming science: methodological and cultural reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casadevall, Arturo; Fang, Ferric C

    2012-03-01

    Contemporary science has brought about technological advances and an unprecedented understanding of the natural world. However, there are signs of dysfunction in the scientific community as well as threats from diverse antiscience and political forces. Incentives in the current system place scientists under tremendous stress, discourage cooperation, encourage poor scientific practices, and deter new talent from entering the field. It is time for a discussion of how the scientific enterprise can be reformed to become more effective and robust. Serious reform will require more consistent methodological rigor and a transformation of the current hypercompetitive scientific culture.

  16. Design and optimization of a fixed - bed reactor for hydrogen production via bio-ethanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maria A Goula; Olga A Bereketidou; Costas G Economopoulos; Olga A Bereketidou; Costas G Economopoulos

    2006-01-01

    Global climate changes caused by CO 2 emissions are currently debated around the world. Renewable sources of energy are being sought as alternatives to replace fossil fuels. Hydrogen is theoretically the best fuel, environmentally friendly and its combustion reaction leads only to the production of water. Bio-ethanol has been proven to be effective in the production of hydrogen via steam reforming reaction. In this research the steam reforming reaction of bio-ethanol is studied at low temperatures over 15,3 % Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst. The reaction and kinetic analysis takes place in a fixed - bed reactor in 130 - 250 C in atmospheric pressure. This study lays emphasis on the design and the optimization of the fixed - bed reactor, including the total volume of the reactor, the number and length of the tubes and the degree of ethanol conversion. Finally, it is represented an approach of the total cost of the reactor, according to the design characteristics and the materials that can be used for its construction. (authors)

  17. Carbon monoxide tolerant anodes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. 1. Catalyst development approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holleck, G L; Pasquariello, D M; Clauson, S L

    1998-07-01

    PEM fuel cells are highly attractive for distributed power and cogeneration systems. They are efficient and function virtually without noise or pollution. To be competitive PEM fuel cells must operate on fuel mixtures obtained by reforming of widely available natural gas or liquid hydrocarbons. Reformed fuel gas mixtures invariably contain CO, a strong poison for Pt. Therefore CO tolerant anode catalysts are essential for wide spread PEMFC introduction. It is the objective to develop effective CO tolerant fuel cell catalysts based on multi-component platinum-transition metal alloys. Towards this goal the authors have developed a novel approach for the synthesis and performance evaluation of multifunctional ternary alloy fuel cell catalysts. The alloys are prepared as well-defined thin films on standard TFE-bonded carbon substrates via a dc magnetron sputtering technique. The anodes are laminated to Nafion membranes and the electrochemical performance is measured in a representative fuel cell configuration with H{sub 2} and H{sub 2}/CO gas mixtures. The multi-target sputtering technique permits one to reproducibly synthesize true alloy films of controlled composition. The deposit morphology and electrode structure are determined by the standardized TFE bonded carbon substrate. The thin catalyst layer is concentrated at the electrode ionomer interface where it can be fully utilized in a representative fuel cell configuration. Thus, a true comparative fuel cell catalyst evaluation is possible. The effectiveness of this approach will be demonstrated with Pt, Pt-Ru and Pt-Ru-X catalyzed anodes.

  18. Reform Drivers and Reform Obstacles in Natural Resource Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gezelius, Stig S.; Raakjær, Jesper; Hegland, Troels Jacob

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT: The ability to transform historical learning into institutional reform is a key to success in the management of common pool natural resources. Based on a model of institutional inertia and a comparative analysis of Northeast Atlantic fisheries management from 1945 to the present....... Institutional inertia entails that large-scale management reform tends to be crisis driven....

  19. Ovonic Renewable Hydrogen (ORH) - low temperature hydrogen production from renewable fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reichman, B.; Mays, W.; Strebe, J.; Fetcenko, M.

    2009-01-01

    'Full text': ECD has developed a new technology to produce hydrogen from various organic matters. In this technology termed Ovonic Renewable Hydrogen (ORH), base material such as NaOH is used as a reactant to facilitate the reforming of the organic matters to hydrogen gas. This Base-Facilitated Reforming (BFR) process is a one-step process and has number of advantages over the conventional steam reforming and gasification processes including lower operation temperature and lower heat consumption. This paper will describe the ORH process and discuss its technological and economics advantages over the conventional hydrogen production processes. ORH process has been studied and demonstrated on variety of renewable fuels including liquid biofuels and solid biomass materials. Results of these studies will be presented. (author)

  20. Heat supply analysis of steam reforming hydrogen production process in conventional and nuclear

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siti Alimah; Djati Hoesen Salimy

    2015-01-01

    Tile analysis of heat energy supply in the production of hydrogen by natural gas steam reforming process has been done. The aim of the study is to compare the energy supply system of conventional and nuclear heat. Methodology used in this study is an assessment of literature and analysis based on the comparisons. The study shows that the heat sources of fossil fuels (natural gas) is able to provide optimum operating conditions of temperature and pressure of 850-900 °C and 2-3 MPa, as well as the heat transfer is dominated by radiation heat transfer, so that the heat flux that can be achieved on the catalyst tube relatively high (50-80 kW/m"2) and provide high thermal efficiency of about 85 %. While in the system with nuclear energy, due to the demands of safety, process operating at less than optimum conditions of temperature and pressure of 800-850 °C and 4.5 MPa, as well as the heat transfer is dominated by convection heat transfer, so that the heat flux that can be achieved catalyst tube is relatively low (1020 kW/m"2) and it provides a low thermal efficiency of about 50 %. Modifications of reformer and heat utilization can increase the heat flux up to 40 kW/m"2 so that the thermal efficiency can reach 78 %. Nevertheless, the application of nuclear energy to hydrogen production with steam reforming process is able to reduce the burning of fossil fuels which has implications for the potential decrease in the rate of CO2 emissions into the environment. (author)

  1. Hybrid fuel cell/diesel generation total energy system, part 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blazek, C. F.

    1982-11-01

    Meeting the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (DGSCC) electrical and thermal requirements with the existing system was compared with using fuel cells. Fuel cell technology selection was based on a 1985 time frame for installation. The most cost-effective fuel feedstock for fuel cell application was identified. Fuels considered included diesel oil, natural gas, methanol and coal. These fuel feedstocks were considered not only on the cost and efficiency of the fuel conversion process, but also on complexity and integration of the fuel processor on system operation and thermal energy availability. After a review of fuel processor technology, catalytic steam reformer technology was selected based on the ease of integration and the economics of hydrogen production. The phosphoric acid fuel cell was selected for application at the GDSCC due to its commercial readiness for near term application. Fuel cell systems were analyzed for both natural gas and methanol feedstock. The subsequent economic analysis indicated that a natural gas fueled system was the most cost effective of the cases analyzed.

  2. The indonesia’s Police Reform Police in the Reform Era New Institutionalism Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ACHMAD NURMAND

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the reformation and democratization movement in 1998, Indonesians have faced a chronic corruption problem. At the beginning of reformation era in 1998 to fight against corruption, the Indonesian government reforms the organization structure of the Indonesia Police to be an independent body separated from the Military organization. The police reforms begun in 1999 and got legal foundation with Act No. 2/2002. However, since fourteen years, the level of police reform has not yet succeed because of low community satisfaction on police service and the intense conflicts always occur whenever ACA investigates the case of corruptions conducted by police leaders. Three conflicts between police institution and ACA have taken placed. By using institutionalism approach, this research focus on the reform in police themselves are major actors on how reforms are organized and managed. This study is interpretative in nature gained only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings, documents, tools, and other artefacts’. This finding revealed that this unsuccessful institutionalization process took place in a context of the main task of police for communicty service. Second, the study has demonstrated that three concepts from institutional theory as aforementioned provided vocabularies and insights to explain the phenomenon under study.

  3. Fuzzy Logic Based Control of Power of PEM Fuel Cell System for Residential Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaled MAMMAR

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a dynamic model of Fuel cell system for residential power generation. The models proposed include a fuel cell stack model, reformer model and DC/AC inverter model. Furthermore a fuzzy logic (FLC controller is used to control active power of PEM fuel cell system. The controller modifies the hydrogen flow feedback from the terminal load. Simulation results confirmed the high performance capability of the fuzzy logic controller to control power generation.

  4. TWR Bench-Scale Steam Reforming Demonstration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marshall, D.W.; Soelberg, N.R.

    2003-05-21

    The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) was home to nuclear fuel reprocessing activities for decades at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. As a result of the reprocessing activities, INTEC has accumulated approximately one million gallons of acidic, radioactive, sodium-bearing waste (SBW). The purpose of this demonstration was to investigate a reforming technology, offered by ThermoChem Waste Remediation, LLC, (TWR) for treatment of SBW into a ''road ready'' waste form that would meet the waste acceptance criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). TWR is the licensee of Manufacturing Technology Conservation International (MTCI) steam-reforming technology in the field of radioactive waste treatment. A non-radioactive simulated SBW was used based on the known composition of waste tank WM-180 at INTEC. Rhenium was included as a non-radioactive surrogate for technetium. Data was collected to determine the nature and characteristics of the product, the operability of the technology, the composition of the off-gases, and the fate of key radionuclides (cesium and technetium) and volatile mercury compounds. The product contained a low fraction of elemental carbon residues in the cyclone and filter vessel catches. Mercury was quantitatively stripped from the product but cesium, rhenium (Tc surrogate), and the heavy metals were retained. Nitrate residues were about 400 ppm in the product and NOx destruction exceeded 86%. The demonstration was successful.

  5. TWR Bench-Scale Steam Reforming Demonstration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D. W. Marshall; N. R. Soelberg

    2003-05-01

    The Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) was home to nuclear fuel reprocessing activities for decades at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. As a result of the reprocessing activities, INTEC has accumulated approximately one million gallons of acidic, radioactive, sodium-bearing waste (SBW). The purpose of this demonstration was to investigate a reforming technology, offered by ThermoChem Waste Remediation, LLC, (TWR) for treatment of SBW into a "road ready" waste form that would meet the waste acceptance criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). TWR is the licensee of Manufacturing Technology Conservation International (MTCI) steam-reforming technology in the field of radioactive waste treatment. A non-radioactive simulated SBW was used based on the known composition of waste tank WM-180 at INTEC. Rhenium was included as a non-radioactive surrogate for technetium. Data was collected to determine the nature and characteristics of the product, the operability of the technology, the composition of the off-gases, and the fate of key radionuclides (cesium and technetium) and volatile mercury compounds. The product contained a low fraction of elemental carbon residues in the cyclone and filter vessel catches. Mercury was quantitatively stripped from the product but cesium, rhenium (Tc surrogate), and the heavy metals were retained. Nitrate residues were about 400 ppm in the product and NOx destruction exceeded 86%. The demonstration was successful.

  6. Common morality and moral reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, K A

    2009-01-01

    The idea of moral reform requires that morality be more than a description of what people do value, for there has to be some measure against which to assess progress. Otherwise, any change is not reform, but simply difference. Therefore, I discuss moral reform in relation to two prescriptive approaches to common morality, which I distinguish as the foundational and the pragmatic. A foundational approach to common morality (e.g., Bernard Gert's) suggests that there is no reform of morality, but of beliefs, values, customs, and practices so as to conform with an unchanging, foundational morality. If, however, there were revision in its foundation (e.g., in rationality), then reform in morality itself would be possible. On a pragmatic view, on the other hand, common morality is relative to human flourishing, and its justification consists in its effectiveness in promoting flourishing. Morality is dependent on what in fact does promote human flourishing and therefore, could be reformed. However, a pragmatic approach, which appears more open to the possibility of moral reform, would need a more robust account of norms by which reform is measured.

  7. Factors affecting science reform: Bridging the gap between reform initiatives and teaching practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pensak, Karl John

    In response to the perceived deficiencies in science education today, and to the expressed need for research into the culture of schools (due primarily to the failure of many science reforms in the past), this study used a broad based approach to study the gap between science education research and science education practice. This study identified 47 factors that may encourage or inhibit science curriculum reform. A survey was conducted to determine which factors were perceived to be important by local and national K-12 classroom teachers, science supervisors/coordinators, and college/university professors. Continual staff development (scheduled as part of teachers' work day/week/month), funding (for long-term staff development, teacher training and support, science laboratory facilities and materials), teacher motivation and "ownership" of the reform, the need for collaborative opportunities for classroom teachers, teachers' college preparation, textbook reform, community support, and reform initiatives that are "in tune" with assessment, are major factors identified as having a substantial affect on the successful adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of science reforms.

  8. Catalytic reforming methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tadd, Andrew R; Schwank, Johannes

    2013-05-14

    A catalytic reforming method is disclosed herein. The method includes sequentially supplying a plurality of feedstocks of variable compositions to a reformer. The method further includes adding a respective predetermined co-reactant to each of the plurality of feedstocks to obtain a substantially constant output from the reformer for the plurality of feedstocks. The respective predetermined co-reactant is based on a C/H/O atomic composition for a respective one of the plurality of feedstocks and a predetermined C/H/O atomic composition for the substantially constant output.

  9. Development of a high-efficiency hydrogen generator for fuel cells for distributed power generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duraiswamy, K.; Chellappa, Anand [Intelligent Energy, 2955 Redondo Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806 (United States); Smith, Gregory; Liu, Yi; Li, Mingheng [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768 (United States)

    2010-09-15

    A collaborative effort between Intelligent Energy and Cal Poly Pomona has developed an adsorption enhanced reformer (AER) for hydrogen generation for use in conjunction with fuel cells in small sizes. The AER operates at a lower temperature (about 500 C) and has a higher hydrogen yield and purity than those in the conventional steam reforming. It employs ceria supported rhodium as the catalyst and potassium-promoted hydrotalcites to remove carbon dioxide from the products. A novel pulsing feed concept is developed for the AER operation to allow a deeper conversion of the feedstock to hydrogen. Continuous production of near fuel-cell grade hydrogen is demonstrated in the AER with four packed beds running alternately. In the best case of methane reforming, the overall conversion to hydrogen is 92% while the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide concentrations in the production stream are on the ppm level. The ratio of carbon dioxide in the regeneration exhaust to the one in the product stream is on the order of 10{sup 3}. (author)

  10. High Efficiency Solar-based Catalytic Structure for CO2 Reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menkara, Hisham [PhosphorTech Corporation, Kennesaw, GA (United States)

    2013-09-30

    Throughout this project, we developed and optimized various photocatalyst structures for CO2 reforming into hydrocarbon fuels and various commodity chemical products. We also built several closed-loop and continuous fixed-bed photocatalytic reactor system prototypes for a larger-scale demonstration of CO2 reforming into hydrocarbons, mainly methane and formic acid. The results achieved have indicated that with each type of reactor and structure, high reforming yields can be obtained by refining the structural and operational conditions of the reactor, as well as by using various sacrificial agents (hole scavengers). We have also demonstrated, for the first time, that an aqueous solution containing acid whey (a common bio waste) is a highly effective hole scavenger for a solar-based photocatalytic reactor system and can help reform CO2 into several products at once. The optimization tasks performed throughout the project have resulted in efficiency increase in our conventional reactors from an initial 0.02% to about 0.25%, which is 10X higher than our original project goal. When acid whey was used as a sacrificial agent, the achieved energy efficiency for formic acid alone was ~0.4%, which is 16X that of our original project goal and higher than anything ever reported for a solar-based photocatalytic reactor. Therefore, by carefully selecting sacrificial agents, it should be possible to reach energy efficiency in the range of the photosynthetic efficiency of typical crop and biofuel plants (1-3%).

  11. Theoretical investigations of the gas flow in ballooning LWR-fuel rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaballah, I.

    1978-09-01

    A theory is developed for the calculation of gas flow in a fuel rod simulator or in a fuel rod with round- or cracked pellets. The fundamental equations are formulated, simplified, reformed, and then numerically solved. The numerical investigations show, that a quasi steady incompressible flow model can be used without great error. The effect of the deformation form is studied. A uniform deformation along the whole length causes small pressure difference. A power profile and rod spacers cause non-uniform clad deformation of the fuel rod simulator or the fuel rod. This deformation leads to greater pressure differences. Finally the effect of the cracked pellets is studied. The cracked pellets cause great pressure differences along the fuel rod. (orig.) 891 HP [de

  12. Reforming Organizational Structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.G.J. Van de Walle (Steven)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractPublic sectors have undergone major transformations. Public sector reform touches upon the core building blocks of the public sector: organizational structures, people and finances. These are objects of reform. This chapter presents and discusses a set of major transformations with

  13. High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleige, Michael

    This thesis presents the development and application of electrochemical half-cell setups to study the catalytic reactions taking place in High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (HTPEM-FCs): (i) a pressurized electrochemical cell with integrated magnetically coupled rotating disk electrode...... oxidation of ethanol is in principle a promising concept to supply HTPEM-FCs with a sustainable and on large scale available fuel (ethanol from biomass). However, the intermediate temperature tests in the GDE setup show that even on Pt-based catalysts the reaction rates become first significant...... at potentials, which approach the usual cathode potentials of HTPEM-FCs. Therefore, it seems that H3PO4-based fuel cells are not much suited to efficiently convert ethanol in accordance with findings in earlier research papers. Given that HTPEM-FCs can tolerate CO containing reformate gas, focusing research...

  14. Fabrication and characteristics of cube-post microreactors for methanol steam reforming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Dehuai; Pan, Minqiang; Wang, Liming; Tang, Yong

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We developed a cube-post microreactor for methanol steam reforming. ► We investigated the influences of micro-milling parameters on the burr formation during fabricating the cube posts. ► Larger cutting speed, smaller feed rate and cutting depth are in favor of obtaining relatively small burrs. ► Cube post and manifold structure show important effects on reaction performances at relatively low reaction temperature. -- Abstract: The lamination-plate structure patterned with microchannels and triangle manifolds regarded as one of the preferred constructions for micro fuel reformers. Learned from the microchannel plate structure, a similar plate structure with cube-post array and triangle manifolds is proposed in this work. A micro-milling process is applied to fabricate the cube posts on the plate surface, and the influences of cutting parameters on the burr formation are analyzed. Experimental results indicate that larger cutting speed, smaller feed rate and cutting depth are in favor of obtaining relatively small burrs. Two plates with different cube-post dimensions and manifold structures are experimentally investigated the performances of methanol steam reforming over the Cu/Zn/Al/Zr catalyst. It indicates that the reactor with small-scale cube posts and acute triangle manifold presents better reforming performances at 260 °C than that of the one with large-scale cube posts and right triangle manifolds. However, their performances are closed to each other at relatively high reaction temperature since the catalyst activity is situated in dominated position at the time.

  15. Development of Ni-Based Catalysts Derived from Hydrotalcite-Like Compounds Precursors for Synthesis Gas Production via Methane or Ethanol Reforming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ya-Li Du

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available As a favorably clean fuel, syngas (synthesis gas production has been the focus of concern in past decades. Substantial literatures reported the syngas production by various catalytic reforming reactions particularly in methane or ethanol reforming. Among the developed catalysts in these reforming processes, Ni-based catalysts from hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTLcs precursors have drawn considerable attention for their preferable structural traits. This review covers the recent literature reporting syngas production with Ni-based catalysts from HTLc precursors via methane or ethanol reforming. The discussion was initiated with catalyst preparation (including conventional and novel means, followed by subsequent thermal treatment processes, then composition design and the addition of promoters in these catalysts. As Ni-based catalysts have thermodynamic potential to deactivate because of carbon deposition or metal sintering, measures for dealing with these problems were finally summarized. To obtain optimal catalytic performances and resultantly better syngas production, based on analyzing the achievements of the references, some perspectives were finally proposed.

  16. Full fuel-cycle comparison of forklift propulsion systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaines, L.L.; Elgowainy, A.; Wang, M.Q.

    2008-01-01

    Hydrogen has received considerable attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investigates the technical and economic feasibility of promising new technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells. A recent report for DOE identified three near-term markets for fuel cells: (1) Emergency power for state and local emergency response agencies, (2) Forklifts in warehousing and distribution centers, and (3) Airport ground support equipment markets. This report examines forklift propulsion systems and addresses the potential energy and environmental implications of substituting fuel-cell propulsion for existing technologies based on batteries and fossil fuels. Industry data and the Argonne Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model are used to estimate full fuel-cycle emissions and use of primary energy sources, back to the primary feedstocks for fuel production. Also considered are other environmental concerns at work locations. The benefits derived from using fuel-cell propulsion are determined by the sources of electricity and hydrogen. In particular, fuel-cell forklifts using hydrogen made from the reforming of natural gas had lower impacts than those using hydrogen from electrolysis

  17. Full fuel-cycle comparison of forklift propulsion systems.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaines, L. L.; Elgowainy, A.; Wang, M. Q.; Energy Systems

    2008-11-05

    Hydrogen has received considerable attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) investigates the technical and economic feasibility of promising new technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells. A recent report for DOE identified three near-term markets for fuel cells: (1) Emergency power for state and local emergency response agencies, (2) Forklifts in warehousing and distribution centers, and (3) Airport ground support equipment markets. This report examines forklift propulsion systems and addresses the potential energy and environmental implications of substituting fuel-cell propulsion for existing technologies based on batteries and fossil fuels. Industry data and the Argonne Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model are used to estimate full fuel-cycle emissions and use of primary energy sources, back to the primary feedstocks for fuel production. Also considered are other environmental concerns at work locations. The benefits derived from using fuel-cell propulsion are determined by the sources of electricity and hydrogen. In particular, fuel-cell forklifts using hydrogen made from the reforming of natural gas had lower impacts than those using hydrogen from electrolysis.

  18. Automotive Fuel Processor Development and Demonstration with Fuel Cell Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nuvera Fuel Cells

    2005-04-15

    processor subsystems (fuel reformer, CO cleanup, and exhaust cleanup) that were small enough to integrate on a vehicle and (2) evaluating the fuel processor system performance for hydrogen production, efficiency, thermal integration, startup, durability and ability to integrate with fuel cells. Nuvera carried out a three-part development program that created multi-fuel (gasoline, ethanol, natural gas) fuel processing systems and investigated integration of fuel cell / fuel processor systems. The targets for the various stages of development were initially based on the goals of the DOE's Partnership for New Generation Vehicles (PNGV) initiative and later on the Freedom Car goals. The three parts are summarized below with the names based on the topic numbers from the original Solicitation for Financial Assistance Award (SFAA).

  19. Thermodynamics of Hydrogen Production from Dimethyl Ether Steam Reforming and Hydrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    T.A. Semelsberger

    2004-10-01

    The thermodynamic analyses of producing a hydrogen-rich fuel-cell feed from the process of dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming were investigated as a function of steam-to-carbon ratio (0-4), temperature (100 C-600 C), pressure (1-5 atm), and product species: acetylene, ethanol, methanol, ethylene, methyl-ethyl ether, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetone, n-propanol, ethane and isopropyl alcohol. Results of the thermodynamic processing of dimethyl ether with steam indicate the complete conversion of dimethyl ether to hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide for temperatures greater than 200 C and steam-to-carbon ratios greater than 1.25 at atmospheric pressure (P = 1 atm). Increasing the operating pressure was observed to shift the equilibrium toward the reactants; increasing the pressure from 1 atm to 5 atm decreased the conversion of dimethyl ether from 99.5% to 76.2%. The order of thermodynamically stable products in decreasing mole fraction was methane, ethane, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, n-propanol, ethylene, ethanol, methyl-ethyl ether and methanol--formaldehyde, formic acid, and acetylene were not observed. The optimal processing conditions for dimethyl ether steam reforming occurred at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 1.5, a pressure of 1 atm, and a temperature of 200 C. Modeling the thermodynamics of dimethyl ether hydrolysis (with methanol as the only product considered), the equilibrium conversion of dimethyl ether is limited. The equilibrium conversion was observed to increase with temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio, resulting in a maximum dimethyl ether conversion of approximately 68% at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 4.5 and a processing temperature of 600 C. Thermodynamically, dimethyl ether processed with steam can produce hydrogen-rich fuel-cell feeds--with hydrogen concentrations exceeding 70%. This substantiates dimethyl ether as a viable source of hydrogen for PEM fuel cells.

  20. Public Administration reforms and results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Research on administrative reforms during the past thirty years indicates that reform efforts of countries differ. The Anglo Saxon states were at the forefront of the New Public Management movement while countries on mainland Europe were more hesitant and moved further towards the Neo-Weberian state. Academics have tried to explain different reform efforts within countries by looking at political, historical and cultural issues, values and economic factors to name just a few. Three hypotheses are put forward to explain reform efforts in different states. This research involves analysing the implementation of two different reform trends, New Public Management and the Neo-Weberian tradition. The analysis indicates that countries vary in their commitment to reform rather than in the emphasis on either New Public Management or the Neo-Weberian State. Decentralization, clear objectives and consultation with communities and experts are closely related to national reform efforts. However, Iceland does distinguish itself from Europe and the Nordic countries. The analysis reveals that although decentralization is high in the Icelandic system, autonomy of agencies does not have a strong relation to a varied use of administrative instruments. The second part of the article focuses on the results and achievements of reform programmes. The achievement of reform programmes are examined in relation to theories of bounded rationality, street level bureaucracy (bottom up and consensus decision making. Three hypotheses are presented and tested to explain what causes reforms programmes to be successful in some countries and not in others. The analysis reveals that countries are more likely to succeed if bounded rationality is applied with careful preparation and when stakeholders are consulted.