(553e) Development of Thermo Neutral Reforming Catalyst for on-Board Hydrogen Production

This study investigated the development of a reforming catalyst for on-board generation of hydrogen for transportation applications. The development of a new reforming catalyst was aimed for high throughput system for syngas production for on-board transportation applications such as in auxiliary power units. A new reforming catalyst using a monolith support was prepared for liquid hydrocarbons based fuel processor. For mobile applications, liquid fossil fuels like diesel are suitable due to their high energy density, their easy storage and their already existing distribution infrastructure. However, diesel reforming is known as a major challenge due to its high carbon content, aromatics, and sulfur, which play a major role in catalyst deactivation. In this study, a new fuel delivery technique (atomization) was investigated for diesel reforming. An ultrasonic injector (instead of using conventional pre-heating) was used to mix all feedstock (fuel, air and steam) before it reaches the catalyst bed. The new method has improved the thermo neutral reforming (TNR) catalyst performance and stability with diesel. Monolith-based TNR catalysts of various sizes were prepared and their performance was evaluate in a fixed bed reactor with heavy naphtha and diesel as feedstocks. These catalysts were prepared by successive impregnation of active metals on a monolith with a wash coat of alumina on monolith. Compared to any other catalyst structure such as pellets or extrudates, a significantly lower pressure drop is observed when monolithic catalysts are used. The newly developed TNR catalyst showed stable performance with heavy naphtha as well as diesel for hydrogen production.