Inherent CO2 Capture and H2 Production Enhancement in a New Glycerol Steam Reformer Coupled with Chemical Looping Combustion

As far as biodiesel economy and hydrogen production are concerned, steam reforming of glycerol, which is the main byproduct of the biodiesel plants, is an appealing policy. Despite hydrogen abundant application in various fields, the total energy efficiency of its production process is comparatively unpleasant. Thus, an upgrading of the outdated procedure is the vital key for consideration of hydrogen as the future fuel. In the current study, a new reactor configuration that integrates both chemical looping combustion (CLC) system and glycerol steam reforming (GSR) process is introduced and compared with the conventional concept; therefore, the electric furnace, the energy-supplier of the conventional reactor, is removed. One of the most substantial aspects that should be noted in the CLC technologies is the operation of oxygen carriers. The applied oxygen carrier in the present CLC system is the NiO18-alpha Al2O3 particles. This type of oxygen carrier has revealed great reactivity and the ability to operate suitably in high temperatures. The proposed model displays that the conversion of glycerol and yield of hydrogen are elevated by 32.88% and 1.95, compared with those of its conventional system, respectively. In conclusion, the performance of the proposed configuration was analyzed by changing the inlet temperature of both CLC and GSR processes, as well as inlet pressure and flow rate of the steam reforming process.