Hydrogen production using autothermal reforming of biodiesel and other hydrocarbons for fuel cell applications

The department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Puerto Rico (UPRM) in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) works in the development of a reforming catalyst characterization program. The purpose of this research is to study the viability of using new catalysts to convert Biodiesel, Glycerin and Methanol to a hydrogen rich product gas and compare their production potential, identify the conditions for the accumulation of coke and determine the influence of reactor temperature and water to carbon and oxygen to carbon ratios. A Basket Stirred Tank Reactor (BSTR), Plug Flow Reactor (PFR), Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrophotometer (GCMS) and Gas Chromatography Thermal Conductivity Detector (GCTCD), and Pt and Rh-based catalysts synthesized at ANL were used. During the preliminary ATR experiments, methanol, glycerol and biodiesel showed an increase in H-2 production with decreasing O2/C ratio and increases in the reactor temperature. Additionally, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and EDAX analysis has been performed in some of the catalysts samples. All biodiesel and glycerol experiments performed had shown coke formation. Future research will include, experiments with bioethanol and methane as fuel using a Ni-based catalyst synthesized at ANL.