Abstract
Membrane reactors for hydrogen production can increase both the hydrogen production efficiency at small scale and the electric efficiency in micro-cogeneration systems when coupled with Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells. This paper discusses the achievements of three European projects (FERRET, FluidCELL, BIONICO) which investigate the application of the membrane reactor concept to hydrogen production and micro-cogeneration systems using both natural gas and biofuels (biogas and bio-ethanol) as feedstock. The membranes, used to selectively separate hydrogen from the other reaction products (CH4, CO2, H2O, etc.), are of asymmetric type with a thin layer of Pd alloy (<5 μm), and supported on a ceramic porous material to increase their mechanical stability. In FERRET, the flexibility of the membrane reactor under diverse natural gas quality is validated. The reactor is integrated in a micro-CHP system and achieves a net electric efficiency of about 42% (8% points higher than the reference case). In FluidCELL, the use of bio-ethanol as feedstock for micro-cogeneration Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane based system is investigated in off-grid applications and a net electric efficiency around 40% is obtained (6% higher than the reference case). Finally, BIONICO investigates the hydrogen production from biogas. While BIONICO has just started, FERRET and FluidCELL are in their third year and the two prototypes are close to be tested confirming the potentiality of membrane reactor technology at small scale.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1442-1450 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Cleaner Production |
| Volume | 161 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Sept 2017 |
Keywords
- BIONICO
- FERRET
- FluidCELL
- Fluidized membrane reactor
- Hydrogen separation
- Biofuels and natural gas
Project and Funding Information
- Project ID
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/621181/EU/A Flexible natural gas membrane Reformer for m-CHP applications/FERRET
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/621196/EU/Advanced m-CHP fuel CELL system based on a novel bio-ethanol Fluidized bed membrane reformer/FLUIDCELL
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/671459/EU/BIOgas membrane reformer for deceNtralIzed hydrogen produCtiOn/BIONICO
- Funding Info
- The research leading to these results has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative under grant agreements No 621181 (FERRET), No 621196 (FluidCELL). BIONICO has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 671459. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and N.ERGHY.
