Behaviour of Sulfur-Free Odorants in Natural Gas Fed PEM Fuel Cell Systems

摘要

For safety reasons, distributed natural gas is mixed with a strong scent known as the odorant. While typically sulfurcontaining molecules are used for this purpose, a novel sulfur-free odorant (Gasodor S-free) has been developed and introduced into the marketplace. Our thermodynamic analysis and experimental results show that the reforming of methane over a Rh/Ce{sub}0.2Gd{sub}0.8O{sub}(1.95-δ) catalyst is unaffected by the addition of Gasodor S-free. The odorant is converted completely in the reforming step, so no negative influence is expected in the subsequent process steps. Overall, the addition of Gasodor S-free should not pose a problem when combined with fuel cell systems.