Thermodynamic analysis of steam reforming of glycerol for hydrogen production at atmospheric pressure

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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Thermodynamic analysis of steam reforming of glycerol for hydrogen production at atmospheric pressure Ammaru Ismaila1, Xueli Chen2, Xin Gao (✉)1,3, Xiaolei Fan (✉)1 1 Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK 2 Institute of Clean Coal Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China 3 School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, National Engineering Research Center of Distillation Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

© The Author(s) 2020. This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal.hep.com.cn 2020

Abstract Thermodynamic chemical equilibrium analysis of steam reforming of glycerol (SRG) for selective hydrogen production was performed based on the Gibbs free energy minimisation method. The ideal SRG reaction (C3H8O3+ 3H2O ! 3CO2+ 7H2) and a comprehensive set of side reactions during SRG are considered for the formation of a wide range of products. Specifically, this work focused on the analysis of formation of H2, CO2, CO and CH4 in the gas phase and determination of the carbon free region in SRG under the conditions at atmospheric pressure, 600 K–1100 K and 1.013  105–1.013  106 Pa with the steam-to-glycerol feed ratios (SGFR) of 1:5–10. The reaction conditions which favoured SRG for H2 production with minimum coke formation were identifies as: atmospheric pressure, temperatures of 900 K–1050 K and SGFR of 10:1. The influence of using the inert carrier gas (i.e., N2) in SRG was studied as well at atmospheric pressure. Although the presence of N2 in the stream decreased the partial pressure of reactants, it was beneficial to improve the equilibrium yield of H2. Under both conditions of SRG (with/without inert gas), the CH4 production is minimised, and carbon formation was thermodynamically unfavoured at steam rich conditions of SGFR > 5:1. Keywords steam reforming of glycerol, H2, N2, carbon deposition, thermodynamic analysis, Gibbs free energy minimisation

Received February 29, 2020; accepted June 15, 2020 E-mails: [email protected] (Gao X); [email protected] (Fan X)

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Introduction

The quest for alternatives to dwindling conventional energy sources has made biomass resources as potential raw materials for the generation of sustainable platform chemicals, fuels and energies. Nowadays, biomass used for conversion technologies (to produce value-added energy carriers such as bio-oils and H2) is primarily produced from wastes (such as wood waste, agricultural waste and municipal solid waste), which would otherwise be disposed via landfill disposal, having environmental impact. Among the mature conversion technologies, the production of biodiesel via the transesterification of various oils/fats has been adopted by industry to produce sustainabale fuel to increase the energy security of the society. The main by-product from the transesteri