Hydrogen production from glycerol: An update

The production of alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol has increased over the last few years. Such fuels are vital for the reduction of energy dependence on foreign countries and to protect the environmental damage associated with the use of fossil fuels. Due to the increased production of biodiesel, a glut of crude glycerol has resulted in the market and the price has plummeted over the past few years. Therefore, it is imperative to find alternative uses for glycerol. A variety of chemicals and fuels including hydrogen can be produced from glycerol. Hydrogen is produced by using several processes, such as steam reforming, autothermal reforming, aqueous-phase reforming and supercritical water reforming. This paper reviews different generation methods, catalysts and operating conditions used to produce hydrogen using glycerol as a substrate. Most of the studies were focused on hydrogen production via steam reforming process and still less work has been done on producing hydrogen from crude glycerol. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.