The sustainable production of H2 and its use as a new and alternative energy carrier are receiving growing attention as a valid alternative to fossil fuel exploitation, contributing to the development of the so-called H2 economy [1]. Traditionally, H2 is produced at industrial scale by steam reforming of natural gas; recently, membrane engineering is receiving considerable interest in this field as testified by a large literature about the membrane reactors (MRs), which represent alternative devices allowing the simultaneous generation of H2 and its purification in a unique stage process. The exploitation of biogas as a renewable source instead of natural gas to generate H2 in reforming processes could contribute to deplete the greenhouse gases pollution pursuing the net-zero carbon emission. This work focuses on the reforming of a CH4:CO2 = 60:40 mixture simulating biogas to produce a COx-free H2 stream in a tubular Pd-Ag MR, packed with a novel, non-commercial bimetallic catalyst, 0.5wt%Ru-7wt%Ni/La0,3Y0,3Zr0,4Ox, prepared by the solution combustion method. Preliminary XRD and TPR characterizations reveal the presence of weak and strong interactions between the support and the active phases (Ni and Ru). Mainly, the TPR analysis shows a complex reduction profile, characterized by multiple reduction peaks, located in the temperature range between 100 and 700°C, and ascribed to different ruthenium (ca. 130°C) and nickel species (ca. 200-700°C), Figure 1(a). As best result of the experimental reaction campaign, a CH4 conversion equal to 99% was reached in the MR (@ H2O/CH4 feed molar ratio = 2 and feed pressure of 250 kPa), with a COx-free H2 recovery of 37%. Globally, the MR behaved better than the traditional reactor (TR), reaching CH4 conversion more than 2.5 times greater than the former .
BIOGAS REFORMING IN A MEMBRANE REACTOR OVER A NOVEL RUTHENIUM-NICKEL CATALYST FOR SUSTAINABLE H2 PRODUCTION
Adolfo Iulianelli;Cristina Italiano;Matteo Manisco;Adele Brunetti;Alberto Figoli;Giovanni Drago Ferrante;Lidia Pino;
2021
Abstract
The sustainable production of H2 and its use as a new and alternative energy carrier are receiving growing attention as a valid alternative to fossil fuel exploitation, contributing to the development of the so-called H2 economy [1]. Traditionally, H2 is produced at industrial scale by steam reforming of natural gas; recently, membrane engineering is receiving considerable interest in this field as testified by a large literature about the membrane reactors (MRs), which represent alternative devices allowing the simultaneous generation of H2 and its purification in a unique stage process. The exploitation of biogas as a renewable source instead of natural gas to generate H2 in reforming processes could contribute to deplete the greenhouse gases pollution pursuing the net-zero carbon emission. This work focuses on the reforming of a CH4:CO2 = 60:40 mixture simulating biogas to produce a COx-free H2 stream in a tubular Pd-Ag MR, packed with a novel, non-commercial bimetallic catalyst, 0.5wt%Ru-7wt%Ni/La0,3Y0,3Zr0,4Ox, prepared by the solution combustion method. Preliminary XRD and TPR characterizations reveal the presence of weak and strong interactions between the support and the active phases (Ni and Ru). Mainly, the TPR analysis shows a complex reduction profile, characterized by multiple reduction peaks, located in the temperature range between 100 and 700°C, and ascribed to different ruthenium (ca. 130°C) and nickel species (ca. 200-700°C), Figure 1(a). As best result of the experimental reaction campaign, a CH4 conversion equal to 99% was reached in the MR (@ H2O/CH4 feed molar ratio = 2 and feed pressure of 250 kPa), with a COx-free H2 recovery of 37%. Globally, the MR behaved better than the traditional reactor (TR), reaching CH4 conversion more than 2.5 times greater than the former .I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.