An Experimental Performance Study of a Catalytic Membrane Reactor for Ethanol Steam Reforming over a Metal Honeycomb Catalyst

The present study deals with the combination of ethanol steam reforming over a monolithic catalyst and hydrogen separation by membrane in a lab-scale catalytic membrane reactor (CMR). The catalyst was comprised of honeycomb thin-walled Fechralloy substrate loaded with Ni + Ru/Pr0.35Ce0.35Zr0.35O2 active component. The asymmetric supported membrane consisted of a thin Ni-Cu alloy-Nd tungstate nanocomposite dense permselective layer deposited on a hierarchically structured asymmetric support. It has been shown that the monolithic catalyst-assisted CMR is capable of increasing the driving potential for hydrogen permeation through the same membrane as compared with that of the packed bed catalyst by increasing the retentate hydrogen concentration. Important operating parameters responsible for the low carbon deposition rate as well as the amount of hydrogen produced from 1 mol of ethanol, such as the temperature range of 700-900 degrees C, the water/ethanol molar ratio of 4 in the feed, have been determined. Regarding the choice of the reagent concentration (ethanol and steam in Ar), its magnitude may directly interfere with the effectiveness of the reaction-separation process in the CMR.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the combination of ethanol steam reforming and hydrogen separation using a lab-scale catalytic membrane reactor (CMR), showing that the use of a monolithic catalyst and asymmetric supported membrane can increase hydrogen permeation efficiency. Operating parameters such as temperature, molar ratio of water/ethanol, and reagent concentration play important roles in determining the effectiveness of the reaction-separation process in the CMR.