High efficient production of hydrogen from crude bio-oil via an integrative process between gasification and current-enhanced catalytic steam reforming

High efficient production of hydrogen from the crude bio-oil was performed in the gasification-reforming dual beds. A recently developed electrochemical catalytic reforming method was applied in the downstream reforming bed using NiCuZnAl catalyst. Production of hydrogen from the crude bio-oil through both the single gasification and integrative gasification-reforming processes was investigated. The maximum hydrogen yield of 81.4% with carbon conversion of 87.6% was obtained through the integrative process. Hydrogen is a major product (similar to 73 vol%) together with by-products of CO2 (similar to 26 vol%) as well as very low content of CO (<1%) and a trace amount of CH4 through the integrative route. In particular, the deactivation of the catalyst was significantly depressed by using the integrative gasification-reforming method, comparing to the direct reforming of the crude bio-oil. The mechanism and evaluation for the downstream electrochemical catalytic reforming were also discussed. The integrative process with higher hydrogen yield and carbon conversion, potentially, would be a useful route to produce hydrogen from the crude bio-oil. (C) 2009 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.