Thermodynamic assessment of membrane-assisted chemical looping reforming of glycerol

Abstract

Chemical looping reforming (CLR) as an extension of chemical looping combustion uses less oxygen carriers to achieve hydrogen production via partial oxidation of fuel. Membrane hydrogen separation can promote hydrogen production and makes it possible to low-temperature reforming. In this work, the CLR performance of glycerol with membrane hydrogen separation is investigated by means of thermodynamic analysis. On the basis of the Gibbs free energy minimization method, the sensitivity of the CLR performance with membrane separation to operating parameters is evaluated. The results show that membrane separation can promote hydrogen production at the cost of more heat requirement. The reaction of oxygen carriers cannot achieve auto-thermal conditions of the system. The integration of sorption-enhanced and membrane separation in the CLR of glycerol is further examined.