Conversion of wet ethanol to syngas via filtration combustion: An experimental and computational investigation

Ethanol is often promoted as the biofuel of the future, yet its acceptance as a fuel for combustion devices is limited by the cost of production. Since most combustion engines cannot tolerate high concentrations of water, the ethanol must be distilled and dehydrated, requiring large amounts of energy. Ethanol also has great potential as a feedstock for syngas consisting of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and other species. The conversion, called reforming, of ethanol to syngas does not necessarily require dehydration or distillation, thus eliminating or reducing the costs associated with those processes. In addition, there is potential for obtaining additional hydrogen from the water in the mixture. In this paper, we investigate the conversion of wet ethanol, or ethanol that has not been fully distilled or dehydrated, to syngas in an inert porous reactor. Experimental and computational results over a range of equivalence ratios, inlet velocities, and water fractions are presented. The results indicate that wet ethanol is a promising biological source for hydrogen.