THERMOCHEMICAL MODULE FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY STEAM REFORMING OF METHANOL

摘要

1. It is expedient to use lower alcohols in steam-reforming reactions as a raw material for the production of hydrogen-containing gases. 2. Comparison of analytical results of thermodynamically equilibrium compositions of the steam-reforming products of methanol and ethanol demonstrated the advantage of methanol. 3. Concentration limits for formation of a condensed phase - carbon - are specified from results of thermodynamic calculations of the equilibrium compositions of the steam-reforming products of methanol, and it is established that carbon fails to form with increasing water content in the initial solution, which corresponds to a CH_3OH:H_2O ratio equal to 1 : 1. 4. A test plant was built to investigate catalytic processes in the continuous reactor on which the steam reforming of methanol and ethanol was investigated experimentally. 5. It is proposed that a copper-zinc-chromium oxide composition (Cu-ZnO-Cr_2O_3) applied over Na-X zeolite, which was first investigated experimentally here, be used as a catalyst for the steam reforming of alcohols. 6. It was established experimentally that for the catalyst investigated there is no methane in the reaction products during the steam reforming of methanol within the limits of accuracy of the experiment. The products are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. 7. Data on the ranges of effective concentrations of the water-alcohol mixture and process parameters for the steam-reforming reaction of methanol were obtained. 8. It is recommended that the catalyst investigated be used in a thermocatalytic module for the production of hydrogen-containing gases on-board a vehicle.