Plasma-catalysis reforming for H2 production from ethanol

Ethanol reformation in a plasma-catalytic hybrid system was studied for H-2 production. Three low-cost catalysts (Ni/gamma-Al2O3, Co/gamma-Al2O3 and Cu/gamma-Al2O3) were prepared and combined with the plasma process independently to enhance the reforming performance. The effects of O/C and S/C ratios on hydrogen production were explored. It was found that the presence of different catalytic beds studied, ethanol conversion and hydrogen selectivity were both obviously improved in a medium temperature range of 120-210 degrees C. The SER (specific energy requirement) for hydrogen production was lowered to 6.7 kJ/mol with an ethanol conversion rate of 88.2% and the hydrogen selectivity was up to 46.3% by taking Ni/gamma-Al2O3 as catalyst, indicating that the non-thermal arc plasma-catalysis hybrid system is a promising method for hydrogen generation. Furthermore, the possible effects of the interaction between plasma process and catalytic bed on the reforming performance were discussed. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.