Hydrogen production from biomass feedstocks

Hydrogen attracts significant research interests because it is a clean fuel emitting only water without formation of greenhouse gases. For H₂ production as a fuel in molten carbonate fuel cell, ethanol steam reforming was studied at 600°-700°C. Ethanol steam reforming followed either dehydration to form ethylene or dehydrogenation to form CH₃CHO resulting in decarbonylation to form methane pathways. Acidic supports favored the ethylene formation over methane formation. Ethanol conversion was relatively independent on Rh loading while methane selectivity increased with Rh loading. Non acidic supports favored methane formation. Addition of Pt to Rh based catalysts increased both the formation of methane and CO₂ via water gas shift reaction. The micro-channel reactor outperformed the microtubular reactor in terms of hydrogen productivity under identical reaction conditions over 3%Rh3%Pt/CeO₂-ZrO₂ catalyst due to the reduced heat transfer distance, which is beneficial to the endothermic ethanol steam reforming.