Abstract
This study presents the thermodynamic modelling of hydrogen production from autothermal reforming of synthetic crude glycerol using the Peng-Robinson Stryjek-Vera thermodynamic model and Gibbs free energy minimization approach. In order to simulate the typical crude glycerol, a solution was prepared by mixing glycerol, methanol, soap, and fatty acids. The equilibrium compositions of the reforming gas were obtained and the impacts of the operating temperature, steam to crude glycerol ratio (S/SCG), and oxygen to crude glycerol ratio (O/SCG) on hydrogen production were investigated. Under isothermal conditions, the result showed that maximum hydrogen production is favoured at conditions of high temperatures, high S/SCG, and low O/SCG ratio. However, under thermoneutral conditions where no external heat is supplied to the reformer, results indicate that high hydrogen yield is realised at conditions of high temperatures, high S/SCG and high O/SCG ratio. Furthermore, it was concluded that under thermoneutral condition, steam to SCG ratio of 3.6, oxygen to SCG ratio of 0.75, and adiabatic temperature of 927 K yields maximum hydrogen.
Highlights
The increasingly rising energy demand and the adverse climate change experienced around the world due to greenhouse gas emission has encouraged many researchers to direct their studies to alternative fuels that are environmental friendly [1]
The results showed that increasing the operating temperature increases the formation of hydrogen, while increasing the steam to glycerol ratio (S/G) ratio and oxygen to glycerol ratio (O/G) ratio leads to a decrease in the yield of hydrogen
This paper presents the simulation results for the thermodynamic analysis of autothermal reforming (ATR) of synthetic crude glycerol based on the experimental work reported elsewhere [8]
Summary
The increasingly rising energy demand and the adverse climate change experienced around the world due to greenhouse gas emission has encouraged many researchers to direct their studies to alternative fuels that are environmental friendly [1]. Hydrogen is seen as an environmentally friendly energy source that is readily available and low in pollution when used as a fuel in vehicles, with water as the only combustion product. For this reason, several research studies have been conducted in the area of hydrogen production as a sustainable energy source in comparison to carbon-based energy sources [2]. More attention is being devoted to the deployment of crude glycerol especially for the production of hydrogen as well as in the synthesis of value-added chemicals
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