Abstract
With the aim of producing hydrogen at low cost and with a high conversion efficiency, steam methane reforming (SMR) was carried out under moderate operating conditions in a Pd-based composite membrane reactor packed with a commercial Ru/Al2O3 catalyst. A Pd-based composite membrane with a thickness of 4–5 μm was prepared on a tubular stainless steel support (diameter of 12.7 mm, length of 450 mm) using electroless plating (ELP). The Pd-based composite membrane had a hydrogen permeance of 2.4 × 10−3 mol m−1 s−1 Pa−0.5 and an H2/N2 selectivity of 618 at a temperature of 823 K and a pressure difference of 10.1 kPa. The SMR test was conducted at 823 K with a steam-to-carbon ratio of 3.0 and gas hourly space velocity of 1000 h−1; increasing the pressure difference resulted in enhanced methane conversion, which reached 82% at a pressure difference of 912 kPa. To propose a guideline for membrane design, a process simulation was conducted for conversion enhancement as a function of pressure difference using Aspen HYSYS®. A stability test for SMR was conducted for ∼120 h; the methane conversion, hydrogen production rate, and gas composition were monitored. During the SMR test, the carbon monoxide concentration in the total reformed stream was <1%, indicating that a series of water gas shift reactors was not needed in our membrane reactor system.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 7684-7692 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | International Journal of Hydrogen Energy |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 15 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 Apr 12 |
Keywords
- Hydrogen
- Membrane reactor
- Pd-based composite membrane
- Process simulation
- Stability
- Steam methane reforming
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Fuel Technology
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology