Kinetics of Supercritical Water Reformation of Ethanol to Hydrogen
Abstract
Kinetics of the supercritical water reformation of ethanol was experimentally studied in a tubular reactor made of Inconel 625 alloy. The high enthalpy level of supercritical water and the extraordinary solubility of reaction components in supercritical water allow the reformation reaction to proceed without the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. The principal reactions are pyrolytic decomposition and reformation of ethanol, which are competing in nature. The products of both reactions are quite similar yielding both hydrogen and carbon oxides, except that the former reaction also generates methane which undergoes further reformation in the supercritical water medium. The competitive nature of the reformation and pyrolytic decomposition reactions along with the water gas shift reaction in the supercritical reformation process was elucidated from a mechanistic standpoint. Kinetic rate information as well as the optimal process operating conditions were obtained for the supercritical water reformation process.
Recommended Citation
J. E. Wenzel et al., "Kinetics of Supercritical Water Reformation of Ethanol to Hydrogen," Proceedings of the 2007 Materials Science and Technology Conference (2007, Notre Dame, IN), The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), Jun 2007.
Meeting Name
2007 Materials Science and Technology Conference (2007: Jun. 20-22, Notre Dame, IN)
Department(s)
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Ethanol; Hydrogen; Kinetics; Reformation; Supercritical Water
Document Type
Article - Conference proceedings
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2007 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
22 Jun 2007
