Abstract
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an interesting option for electricity generation. However, the usage of pure hydrogen feeding to PEMFC faces many problems such as high price and gas storage capacity. On-board fuel processor integrated with PEMFC is therefore a more preferable option. Two hydrogen production processes from crude ethanol feed, a by-product of fermentation of corn stover, integrated with PEMFC were developed and proposed. They are steam reforming (SR) process integrated with PEMFC and steam reforming process coupled with a CO preferential oxidation (COPROX) reactor with PEMFC. The results showed that the optimal operating conditions for both processes were similar i.e. S/F ratio of 9, WGS reactor temperature of 250oC and membrane area of 0.6 m2. However, the optimal SR temperature of both processes were different i.e. 500oC and 460oC. Both processes produced pure hydrogen gas at 0.53 mol/s. The energy requirement of the SR process alone was higher than SR process coupled with a COPROX about 0.19 MW. The produced hydrogen gas entered PEMFC at current density of 1.1 A cm-2, generating the power at of 0.44 W cm-2.
Highlights
Increasing energy demand over the past decades leads to lack of energy resources and high price
4.1 Influence of temperature on steam reforming (SR) reactor in SR process integrated with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)
The results showed a similar trend as the SR process integrated with PEMFC but they cannot be operated at high temperature when the S/F ratio was less than 1
Summary
Increasing energy demand over the past decades leads to lack of energy resources and high price. The electricity generation from coal is limited due to effect on the environment such as greenhouse gas effect and emission of particle matters. To overcome such a difficulty, alternative energy is developed to replace fossil energy. Fuel cell technology is an interesting option for the future as it generates electricity from electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. This technology is more effective and environmentally friendly than conventional methods. It is suitable for household, portable power application and electronic device [1]
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