Aqueous phase reforming of biomass-derived carbohydrates, ethanol and glycerol for H2 generation with minimized CO formation for fuel cell applications.

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Research on the production of hydrogen from bio-renewable resources has been greatly catalyzed by the increasing concerns over greenhouse gas emissions, and the rapid development of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), as well as its application to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (HFCVs). The greatest challenge for the commercialization and market approval of HFCVs is hydrogen storage owing to the extremely low density of H2. On-board generation of hydrogen by catalytic steam reforming of bio-renewable resources has attracted increasing interest in recent years, while the main issues related the existing steam reforming processes, operating at a high temperature (>600-800°C), are the energy costs and the formation of the detrimental by-products of alkanes/tar/char/carbon monoxide. The presence of carbon monoxide (CO) in the fuel gas would deactivate the platinum-electrode in the fuel cell unit by blocking the active surface due to the strong affinity of CO to platinum. The proposed research program aims to generate hydrogen with minimized CO formation (<50 ppm) from glucose, ethanol and glycerol (a byproduct of bio-diesel industry) at low temperatures (<350°C). By employing a novel catalytic two-step process, glucose or ethanol or glycerol will be gasified into a hydro-rich gas product in aqueous phase in the first reactor operating at 250-350°C/150 bar with catalysts. The effluent will be further introduced into the subsequent reactor operating at 200-300°C/15 bar with different catalysts to shift CO to CO2 and H2. After purification, the hydrogen stream may be used for PEMFCs. An expected outcome from the research program will thus be the development of on-board hydrogen generation technologies using renewable feedstock for fuel cell applications. Canada is a country that holds a world-leading position in the development of bio-economy and fuel cell technologies, and is blessed with abundant biomass resources in the forms of forestry and agricultural residues. The success of this research program would strengthen Canada's leading position in the development of bio-economy and fuel cell technologies, and would yield significant environmental and economic benefits to Canada and beyond.