Sorption-enhanced chemical looping oxidative steam reforming of methanol for on-board hydrogen supply

Hydrogen is an indispensable energy carrier for the sustainable development of human society. Nevertheless, its storage, transportation, and in situ generation still face significant challenges. Methanol can be used as an intermediate carrier for hydrogen supplies, providing hydrogen energy through instant methanol conversion. In this study, a sorption-enhanced, chemical-looping, oxidative steam methanol-reforming (SECL-OSRM) process is proposed using CuO-MgO for the on-board hydrogen supply, which could be a promising method for safe and efficient hydrogen production. Aspen Plus software was used for feasibility verification and parameter optimization of the SECL-OSRM process. The effects of CuO/CH3OH, MgO/CH3OH, and H2O/CH3OH mole ratios and of temperature on H-2 production rate, H utilization efficiency, CH3OH conversion, CO concentration, and system heat balance are discussed thoroughly. The results indicate that the system can be operated in auto thermal conditions with high-purity hydrogen (99.50 vol%) and ultra-low-concentration CO (< 50 ppm) generation, which confirms the possibility of integrating low-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (LT-PEFMCs) with the SECL-OSRM process. The simulation results indicate that the CO can be modulated in a lower concentration by reducing the temperature and by improving the H2O/CH3OH and MgO/CH3OH mole ratios. (C) 2020, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.

Automated summary

This study proposes a method for on-board hydrogen supply using CuO-MgO, namely the sorption-enhanced, chemical-looping, oxidative steam methanol-reforming (SECL-OSRM) process. Feasibility verification and parameter optimization of the SECL-OSRM process were conducted using Aspen Plus software. The results show that the process can produce high-purity hydrogen and ultra-low-concentration CO under auto thermal conditions, indicating the potential for integration with low-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cells.