Process intensification of hydrogen production from Ethanol using microreactor

Hydrogen as potential energy source for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) possesses great challenge to replace gasoline due to their high calorific value. Hydrogen can be generated directly through Ethanol Steam Reforming (ESR) on portable reaction — microreactor. In this study, ESR was conducted by nine different variations of Pt/α- Al2O3 catalyst prepared by electroless plating method and four variations of reaction temperature between 270–315°C, atmospheric pressure, liquid feed flow of 0.5 mL/hour and molar feed composition of steam to ethanol 3:1. The result showed that the highest catalyst activity was reached at 300°C and 315°C. Time needed to reach stable hydrogen productivity at 285°C was longer than others. Average hydrogen productivity in stable condition varied between 6.31% (at 270°C) — 14.51% (at 300°C) of the highest hydrogen productivity achieved during six hours of ESR.