Hydrogen Production from Simulated Hot Coke Oven Gas by Using Oxygen-Permeable Ceramics

Hydrogen production from simulated hot coke oven gas (HCOG) was investigated in a BaCo0.7Fe0.2Nb0.1O3-delta (BCFNO) membrane reactor combined with a Ni/Mg(Al)O catalyst by the partial oxidation with toluene as a model tar compound under atmospheric pressure. The reaction results indicated that toluene was completely converted to H-2 and CO in the catalytic reforming of the simulated HCOG in the temperature range from 825 to 875 degrees C. Both thermodynamically predicated values and experimental data showed that the selective oxidation of toluene took precedence over that of CH4 in the reforming reaction. At optimized reaction conditions, the dense oxygen-permeable membrane has an oxygen permeation flux around 12.3 mL cm(-2) min(-1), and a CH4 conversion of 86%, a CO2 conversion of 99%, a H-2 Yield of 88%, and a CO yield of 87% have been achieved. When the toluene and methane were reformed, the amount of H-2 in the reaction effluent gas was about 2 times more than that of original H-2 in simulated HCOG. The results reveal that it is feasible for hydrogen production from HCOG by reforming hydrocarbon compounds in a ceramic oxygen-permeable membrane reactor.