Development of a robust and efficient biogas processor for hydrogen production. Part 2: Experimental campaign

Hartmut Krause ,F. Rau,Σουζάνα Λορέντζου ,Eric Werzner ,G. Pantoleontos,F. Vilardo,Frédéric Meunier ,Athanasios G. Konstandopoulos ,A. Khinsky,Debora Fino ,Axel S. Herrmann ,M. Antonini,Nickolas Vlachos ,Y. Schuurman,Alberto Ortona ,Sandro Gianella ,L. Marchisio,N. Guilhaume,Ehsan Rezaei ,Samir Bensaid ,Mathilde Luneau ,D. Trimis,Yeidy Sorani Montenegro Camacho

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.177

Abstract

In this study, a robust and efficient decentralized fuel processor based on the direct autothermal reforming (ATR) of biogas with a nominal production rate of 50 Nm3/h of hydrogen and a plant efficiency of about 65% was developed and tested. The ATR unit is composed of a structured catalyst support for the biogas reforming close coupled to a catalytic wall-flow filter to retain eventual soot particles.The performance of the conventional random foam and homogeneous lattice supports structures for the production of hydrogen from the ATR reaction was investigated. 15–0.05 wt%-Ni-Rh/MgAl2O4-SiSiC structured catalyst and LiFeO2-SiC monolith were selected for the conversion of biogas to hydrogen and for the syngas post-treatment process, respectively. For all the experiments, a model synthetic biogas was used and the catalytic activities were evaluated in three different experimental facilities: lab bench, pilot test rig and demonstration plant. High methane conversions (>95%) and hydrogen yields (>1.8) reached in the lab bench were also achieved in the pilot and demonstration plant operating at different GHSV.Results of duration test using a foam coupled to the filter has demonstrated that the pre-commercial processor is reliable while offering a satisfactory reproducibility and negligible pressure drop. A thermodynamic equilibrium and a cold gas efficiency of 90% were reached for an inlet temperature of 500 °C, O/C: 1.1 and S/C: 2.0, as predicted with the Aspen simulation.

Highlights

Hydrogen is one of the most promising fuel for energy and transport applications, providing solutions to environmental and economic challenges [1e3]
The results of catalyst screening in terms of methane conversion and hydrogen production as a function of time on stream are shown in Fig. 6 [20,56]
The results showed that the structured catalyst supports designed within thin study have improved the coupling of the exothermic and endothermic reaction during the biogas auto thermal reforming (ATR) [47,69]

Summary

Introduction

Hydrogen is one of the most promising fuel for energy and transport applications, providing solutions to environmental and economic challenges [1e3]. It has been demonstrated that the methane conversion, catalytic stability and resistance to deactivation improvement markedly with the addition of small amount of noble metals to Ni-based catalyst, for ATR of biogas to produce hydrogen [20,32e34]. Ricca et al in a study has confirmed that the use of structured catalysts leads to a clear intensification of the reforming process; the tests have shown that the use of structured catalysts allows a flattening of the radial thermal profile This effect leads to a higher performance that provides greater methane conversion and hydrogen yield. The structured high conductivity catalyst should allow obtaining appreciable yields for a high reagent rate and a relatively low temperature for long periods, reducing the use of noble metal based formulations [48] This is one of the main challenges facing this study. A pilot plant is intended to verify only certain process operations, while a demonstration plant portrays a fuller picture of what lies ahead in a commercial plant

Catalyst for the autothermal reforming of biogas

Catalyst for carbon gasification

ATR structured support

Wall flow filter

Pilot test rig

Demonstration plant

ATR catalyst

NM NZ NL NCA NRL NRM NA NC

No catalyst

Flow rate

Full scale and comparison with the pilot scale

Conclusion