Hydrogen production from an ethanol reformer with energy saving approaches over various catalysts

The reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production was carried out in this study. The effects of ethanol supply rate, catalysts, O2/EtOH and different energy-saving approaches on the reforming temperature, H2 + CO (syngas) concentration and thermal efficiency were investigated. The results showed that the best H2 + CO concentration of 43.41% could be achieved by using rhodium (Rh), while the next best concentration of about 42.08% could be obtained using ruthenium (Ru). The results also showed that the conversion efficiency of ethanol, concentrations of H2 and CO, and the energy loss ratio could be improved by heat insulation and heat recycling; and the improvement in the reforming performance was greater by the Ru catalyst rather than by the Rh catalyst with the energy-saving approaches. The greatest improvement in hydrogen production was achieved when using the Ru catalyst with the addition of steam and heat recycling system under an O2/EtOH ratio of 0.625 and S/C ratio of 1.0. ► Ethanol was reformed to produce H2 by energy-saving ATR over various catalysts. ► Noble metal catalysts can achieve reforming under lower temperatures. ► Noble metals have better H2 selectivity than other catalysts investigated. ► Heat insulation and heat recycling can give better results than original system. ► Reforming was greatly improved by Ru catalyst with energy saving methods.