Parametric study on electrochemical reforming of glycerol for hydrogen production

Abstract

Hydrogen production by electrochemical reforming of glycerol was investigated in this study. Within this scope, the performance of the system under different operating conditions was evaluated by parametric studies and optimum operating conditions were determined. The effects of membrane type, membrane pre-treatment procedure and temperature were investigated. System performance was examined also with long-term tests. The formation of hydrogen at the cathode was determined by analyzing the product gases by gas chromatography. Optimum condition for maximum hydrogen production was obtained with the Zn/Zn electrode pair in the presence of 0.4 M glycerol and 0.04 M H2SO4 at the anode side, 0.04 M H2SO4 at the cathode side and with pre-treated Nafion XL membrane. As the result of performance tests, room temperature and 2 V potential were found to be the most suitable operating conditions.