Numerical Simulation of an Axisymmetric Ethanol Reforming Reactor for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Applications

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Buck ◽  
Hiroyuki Obara
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Autothermal Reforming ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel ◽  
Gaseous State ◽  
Ethanol Reforming ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Production Of Hydrogen

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is currently capable of providing adequate power for a wide range of stationary and mobile applications. Nonetheless, the sustainability of this technology rests upon the production of hydrogen from renewable resources. Among the techniques under current study, the chemical reforming of alcohols and other bio-hydrocarbon fuels, appears to offer great promise. In the so called autothermal reforming process, a suitable combination of total and partial oxidation supports hydrogen production from ethanol with no external addition of energy required. Furthermore, the autothermal reforming process conducted in a well insulated reactor, produces temperatures that promote additional hydrogen production through the endothermic steam reforming and the water-gas shift reactions, which may be catalyzed or uncatalyzed, with the added benefit of lowered carbon monoxide concentrations. In this study, an adiabatic ethanol reforming reactor was simulated assuming the reactants to be air (21% O2 and 79% N2) and ethanol (C2H5OH) and the products to be H2O, CO2, CO and H2, with all constituents taken to be in the gaseous state. The air was introduced uniformly through a ring around the side of the reactor and the gaseous ethanol was injected into the center of one end, with products withdrawn from the center of the opposite end, to create an axisymmetric flow field. The gas flows within the reactor were assumed to be turbulent, and the chemical kinetics of a simple four reaction system was assumed to be controlled by turbulent mixing processes. Air and fuel flow rates into the reactor were varied to obtain six different levels of oxidation (air-fuel ratios) while maintaining the same total gaseous mass flow out of the reactor. The numerical results for the reacting flow show that hydrogen production is maximized when the air-fuel ratio on a mass basis is held at approximately 2.8. These findings are in qualitative agreement with observations from previous experimental studies.

scholarly journals Design for On-Site Hydrogen Production for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Refueling Station at University of Birmingham, U.K.

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 606-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Symes ◽  
Bushra Al-Duri ◽  
Aman Dhir ◽  
Waldemar Bujalski ◽  
Ben Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Fuel Cell Vehicle ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel

Autothermal Reforming of Ethanol for Hydrogen Production: Steady State Modeling

2013 ◽  
Vol 415 ◽  
pp. 651-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chananchai Wutthithanyawat ◽  
Nawadee Srisiriwat
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Autothermal Reforming ◽  
Adiabatic Temperature ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Operating Condition ◽  
Molar Ratios ◽  
Fuel Cell Application ◽  
Production Of Hydrogen

As increasing hydrogen demand for fuel cell application is expected in the near future, the efficient production of hydrogen is vital enabling technology for commercialization of fuel cell for residences and automobiles. Among different technologies of hydrogen production, autothermal reforming is considered to be thermally self-sustaining that the external heat source is not required. In this work, a steady state modeling of autothermal reforming of ethanol for hydrogen production has been performed. Because the operating condition at adiabatic temperature is designed for autothermal reformer, the estimated function of adiabatic temperature as function of steam-to-carbon (S:C) and air-to-carbon (A:C) molar ratios can be determined. At autothermal condition, the effect of S:C and A:C ratios on the product distributions of hydrogen rich stream is thermodynamically investigated. At fixed reactor pressure of 1 bar and preheat temperature of 200 °C, the favorable operating condition for the autothermal reforming of ethanol is found to be a S:C ratio of 2.0 and an A:C ratio of 1.75 at adiabatic temperature of 639 °C.

scholarly journals Multi-Period Planning of Hydrogen Supply Network for Refuelling Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in Urban Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungmi Bae ◽  
Eunhan Lee ◽  
Jinil Han
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Production ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Supply Network ◽  
Fuel Cell Vehicles ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel ◽  
Hydrogen Economy ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles ◽  
Hydrogen Supply

The hydrogen economy refers to an economic and industrial structure that uses hydrogen as its main energy source, replacing traditional fossil-fuel-based energy systems. In particular, the widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) is one of the key factors enabling a hydrogen economy, and aggressive investment in hydrogen refuelling infrastructure is essential to make large-scale adoption of HFCVs possible. In this study, we address the problem of effectively designing a hydrogen supply network for refuelling HFCVs in urban areas relatively far from a large hydrogen production site, such as a petrochemical complex. In these urban areas where mass supply of hydrogen is not possible, hydrogen can be supplied by reforming city gas. In this case, building distributed hydrogen production bases that extract large amounts of hydrogen from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) and then supply hydrogen to nearby hydrogen stations may be a cost-effective option for establishing a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in the early stage of the hydrogen economy. Therefore, an optimization model is proposed for effectively deciding when and where to build hydrogen production bases and hydrogen refuelling stations in an urban area. Then, a case study of the southeastern area of Seoul, known as a commercial and residential center, is discussed. A variety of scenarios for the design parameters of the hydrogen supply network are analyzed based on the target of the adoption of HFCVs in Seoul by 2030. The proposed optimization model can be effectively used for determining the time and sites for building hydrogen production bases and hydrogen refuelling stations.

Sensing advancement towards safety assessment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles

2021 ◽  
Vol 489 ◽  
pp. 229450
Author(s):  
Sahar Foorginezhad ◽  
Masoud Mohseni-Dargah ◽  
Zahra Falahati ◽  
Rouzbeh Abbassi ◽  
Amir Razmjou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
Fuel Cell Vehicles ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

scholarly journals Comparative TCO Analysis of Battery Electric and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses for Public Transport System in Small to Midsize Cities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4384
Author(s):  
Hanhee Kim ◽  
Niklas Hartmann ◽  
Maxime Zeller ◽  
Renato Luise ◽  
Tamer Soylu
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Transport System ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel ◽  
Fuel Cost ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Transport System ◽  
Bus Body

This paper shows the results of an in-depth techno-economic analysis of the public transport sector in a small to midsize city and its surrounding area. Public battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses are comparatively evaluated by means of a total cost of ownership (TCO) model building on historical data and a projection of market prices. Additionally, a structural analysis of the public transport system of a specific city is performed, assessing best fitting bus lines for the use of electric or hydrogen busses, which is supported by a brief acceptance evaluation of the local citizens. The TCO results for electric buses show a strong cost decrease until the year 2030, reaching 23.5% lower TCOs compared to the conventional diesel bus. The optimal electric bus charging system will be the opportunity (pantograph) charging infrastructure. However, the opportunity charging method is applicable under the assumption that several buses share the same station and there is a “hotspot” where as many as possible bus lines converge. In the case of electric buses for the year 2020, the parameter which influenced the most on the TCO was the battery cost, opposite to the year 2030 in where the bus body cost and fuel cost parameters are the ones that dominate the TCO, due to the learning rate of the batteries. For H2 buses, finding a hotspot is not crucial because they have a similar range to the diesel ones as well as a similar refueling time. H2 buses until 2030 still have 15.4% higher TCO than the diesel bus system. Considering the benefits of a hypothetical scaling-up effect of hydrogen infrastructures in the region, the hydrogen cost could drop to 5 €/kg. In this case, the overall TCO of the hydrogen solution would drop to a slightly lower TCO than the diesel solution in 2030. Therefore, hydrogen buses can be competitive in small to midsize cities, even with limited routes. For hydrogen buses, the bus body and fuel cost make up a large part of the TCO. Reducing the fuel cost will be an important aspect to reduce the total TCO of the hydrogen bus.

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