(434b) The Effects of Temperature Upon the Supercritical Water Reformation of a Crude Glycerin Solution for Hydrogen Production

Jared Bouquet¹, Ryan Tschannen², Aaron Gonzales², and Sunggyu Lee²

1: Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO

2: Ohio University, Athens, OH

Abstract

Biodiesel is a renewable energy that holds promise due to the fact it can be used in existing automobile engines. The transesterification of triglycerides is used to produce biodiesel, and also produces a large amount of glycerin byproduct. Unfortunately most biodiesel plants need to sell their excess glycerin to remain profitable, which is difficult. This is because the crude glycerol solution must be purified of the excess methanol reactant before it can be sold. Also the supply of glycerin far exceeds the demand, drastically reducing the profit gained by selling it. An alternative to this is the supercritical water reformation of the crude glycerin solution into hydrogen for energy applications. This non-catalytic process would be able to utilize the crude glycerol solution, removing the need for an energy intensive purification as well as increasing the amount of usable transportation fuel that may be produced from triglycerides in biodiesel production. The effect of temperature on the supercritical water reformation of a crude glycerol solution was evaluated in an experimental study. The experimental study was conducted using a 0.1 L Inconel 625 reactor at a constant pressure of 22.4 MPa using a crude glycerol solution that was 70 wt% glycerol and 30 wt% methanol. The temperature was varied between 500 and 700¢ªC with water-to-carbon ratios of 8:3 and 13:3 and space times of 50 and100 seconds.