Hydrogen production through chemical looping using NiO/NiAl2O4 as oxygen carrier

A new autothermal route to produce hydrogen from natural gas via chemical looping technology was investigated. Tests were conducted in a micro-fixed bed reactor loaded with 200 mg of NiO/NiAl₂O₄ as oxygen carrier. Methane reacts with a nickel oxide in the absence of molecular oxygen at 800 °C for a period of time as high as 10 min. The NiO is subsequently contacted with a synthetic air stream (21% O₂ in argon) to reconstitute the surface and combust carbon deposited on the surface. Methane conversion nears completion but to minimize combustion of the hydrogen produced, the oxidation state of the carrier was maintained below 30% (where 100% represents a fully oxidized surface). Co-feeding water together with methane resulted in stable hydrogen production. Although the carbon deposition increased with time during the reduction cycle, the production rate of hydrogen remained virtually constant. A new concept is also presented where hydrogen is obtained from methane with inherent CO₂ capture in an energy neutral 3-reactors CFB process. This process combines a methane combustion step where oxygen is provided via an oxygen carrier, a steam methane reforming step catalyzed by the reduced oxygen carrier and an oxidizing step where the O-carrier is reconstituted to its original state.     

Low temperature gasification using lattice oxygen

Low temperature pyrolysis and gasification has been investigated based on the chemical looping combustion (CLC), where insufficient amount of lattice oxygen was reacted with hydrocarbons. Metal oxides such as nickel oxide, iron oxide and titanium oxide were used as lattice oxygen source and were coated on silica gel or porous aluminum. Single column reactor was used for experiments and 36.1 mmol of polyethylene was dropped to the column whose temperature was ranged from 693 to 1073 K. For the pyrolysis, hydrogen yield was 100% of polyethylene contained hydrogen, while methane, CO and CO₂ were minor products and almost half of the supplied carbon was deposited on the particle surface. On the other hand, for the steam gasification, 2-3 mol of the hydrogen was generated from 1 mol of carbon and almost no carbon deposition was observed. It is found that no wax and heavy tar was observed in the exhaust. Therefore, the lattice oxygen was able to be applied to the low temperature gasification of hydrocarbons.     

A dual catalyst bed for the autothermal partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas

Dual bed catalysts were found to produce high yields (>85%) of hydrogen from methane and air in a millisecond contact time reactor. The dual bed catalyst consisted of a 5 mm platinum combustion catalyst followed by a 5 mm nickel steam reforming catalyst. The platinum catalyst was used to totally oxidize approximately one-quarter of the methane feed to carbon dioxide and water. In the nickel catalyst, the carbon dioxide and water reformed the remaining methane to hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This process is favored at high flow rates, because the heat generated in the platinum catalyst is convected to the nickel catalyst at a higher rate. The heat delivered to the nickel catalyst favors the endothermic reforming reactions that generate the hydrogen and carbon monoxide.     

Isotopic steam investigations of hematite (Fe2O3) for chemical looping combustion of methane

The effect of steam on the chemical looping combustion of methane over hematite (Fe₂O₃) is studied by the isotopic exchange method coupled with mass spectroscopy. Traditional steam was replaced with deuterium-oxide providing interesting mechanistic information not previously reported. The rapid kinetics of steam reforming were established before complete combustion reaction, and adsorption of deuterium into the iron structure was observed. Additionally, the presence of deuterium-oxide drastically reduced the combustion conversion of methane to carbon dioxide.     

Chemical Looping Steam Methane Reforming via Ni-ferrite Supported on Cerium and Zirconium Oxides

Pure hydrogen was produced by means of chemical looping steam methane reforming with novel oxygen carriers. Ni-ferrite, Ni-ferrite-ZrO₂, and Ni-ferrite-CeO₂ were synthesized as oxygen carriers and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR). The performances of the as-synthesized oxygen carriers in the cyclic oxidation-reduction were investigated in the packed-bed microreactor at a defined temperature range and under atmospheric pressure. Ni_0.39Fe_2.61O₄-ZrO₂ exhibited the best performance and maximum methane conversion among the other oxygen carriers. In addition, high selectivities for H₂ and CO were reached.     

Multifunctional catalyst for de-NOx processes: The selective reduction of NOx by methane

A multifunctional catalyst has been applied for the reduction of NO_x by methane in excess of oxygen. The catalyst includes a heteropolyacid (HPW) and a noble metal (Pt) deposited on a ceria–zirconia mixed oxide. The presence of hydrogen is necessary for reducing NO_x into N₂ with methane. During several alternate cycles of NO_x storage (2 min) and reduction (1 min), the average NO_x reduction percentage into nitrogen was of ca. 60% with a constant storage efficiency of ca.70%. A coherent picture of the catalytic process emerged from two separated experimental tests: water gas shift and steam methane reforming reactions.     

化学链干重整联合制氢热力学分析及实验

提出了一种化学链甲烷干重整联合制氢工艺。该工艺由还原反应器、干重整反应器、蒸汽反应器和空气反应器组成，在实现制氢的同时获得可变H₂/CO比的合成气。借助ASPEN plus软件和小型流化床实验台，在等温条件下，温度900℃，采用Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃载氧体，对该工艺进行热力学分析和实验验证。结果显示，当铁氧化物被还原至FeO/Fe时，干重整反应器内甲烷转化率可以达到98%，CO产率可以达到94%。干重整反应器中同时发生甲烷干重整和部分氧化反应，载氧体内部晶格氧可以有效降低积炭并提高合成气H₂/CO比。积炭发生于晶格氧消耗殆尽时。积炭进入蒸汽反应器，发生气化反应，降低氢气纯度。     

Investigation of the catalytic performance of Ni/MgO catalysts in partial oxidation,dry reforming and combined reforming of methane

Dry reforming, partial oxidation and combined reforming of methane (combination of partial oxidation and dry reforming) to synthesis gas over nickel catalysts supported on nanocrystalline magnesium oxide with various nickel loadings have been studied. Among the catalysts evaluated, catalyst with 15 wt.% nickel content revealed the most active catalytic performance toward dry reforming, partial oxidation and combined reforming reactions. In addition, catalyst with 5 wt.% nickel loading was employed in long term stability test and has shown stable catalytic performance up to 50 h time on stream without any decrease in methane conversion in these three processes.     

A comparative simulation study of power generation plants involving chemical looping combustion systems

This work presents a simulation study on both energy and economics of power generation plants with inherent CO₂ capture based on chemical looping combustion technologies. Combustion systems considered include a conventional chemical looping system and two extended three-reactor alternatives (exCLC and CLC3) for simultaneous hydrogen production. The power generation cycles include a combined cycle with steam injected gas turbines, a humid air turbine cycle and a simple steam cycle. Two oxygen carriers are considered in our study, iron and nickel. We further analyze the effect of the pressure reaction and the turbine inlet temperature on the plant efficiency. Results show that plant efficiencies as high as 54% are achieved by the chemical looping based systems with competitive costs. That value is well above the efficiency of 46% obtained by a conventional natural gas combined cycle system under the same conditions and simulation assumptions.     

1kW SOFC-CHP系统用催化燃烧耦合蒸汽重整反应器的实验研究

针对1 kW 固体氧化物燃料电池热电联供(SOFC-CHP)系统开发了集成催化燃烧、换热及蒸汽重整的反应器,搭建了性能评价系统,系统研究了燃烧侧气体组分及工艺参数对该反应器性能的影响规律。实验结果表明:在反应器燃烧侧气体入口温度为300℃、空燃比为10:1、电堆燃料利用率为65%、水碳比为3 的条件下,重整侧转化率达到73.6%,重整尾气中H₂ 含量为67.5%。电堆燃料利用率对重整反应转化效率影响较大,其值大于80%时,采用尾气燃烧的余热回收方式无法有效为蒸汽重整提供所需热量。在150~350℃范围内,降低燃烧侧气体入口温度对重整反应效率影响较小,建议采用尾气先换热再进行催化燃烧的流程设计,保证重整效率的前提下可有效提升系统热效率。空燃比的降低可小幅度提升重整效率,在保证电堆反应温度稳定的前提下,适当降低空燃比可减少空气压缩机的功耗,从而提升整个系统的效率。研究成果对SOFC-CHP 系统的优化和整体效率提升具有指导意义。     

Modularization strategy for syngas generation in chemical looping methane reforming systems with CO2 as feedstock

This study considers a CO₂ feedstock in conventional methane reforming processes and metal oxide lattice oxygen based chemical looping reforming. Lattice oxygen from iron‐titanium composite metal oxide provides the most efficient co‐utilization of CO₂ with CH₄. A modularization chemical looping strategy is developed to further improve process efficiencies using a thermodynamic rationale. Modularization leverages the ability of two or more reactors operating in parallel to produce a higher quality syngas than a single reactor operating alone while offering a direct solution to scale up of multiple parallel reactor processes. Experiments conducted validate the thermodynamic simulation results. Simulation and experimental results ascertain that a cocurrent moving bed in a modularization system can operate under CO₂ neutral or negative conditions. The results for a modularization process system for 7950 m³ per day (50,000 barrels per day) of liquid fuel indicate a ～23% reduction of natural gas usage over baseline‐case. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3343–3360, 2017     

Reduction kinetics of SrFeO3−δ/CaO∙MnO nanocomposite as effective oxygen carrier for chemical looping partial oxidation of methane

Chemical looping reforming of methane is a novel and effective approach to convert methane to syngas, in which oxygen transfer is achieved by a redox material. Although lots of efforts have been made to develop high-performance redox materials, a few studies have focused on the redox kinetics. In this work, the kinetics of SrFeO_3−δ–CaO∙MnO nanocomposite reduction by methane was investigated both on a thermo-gravimetric analyzer and in a packed-bed microreactor. During the methane reduction, combustion occurs before the partial oxidation and there exists a transition between them. The weight loss due to combustion increases, but the transition region becomes less inconspicuous as the reduction temperature increased. The weight loss associated with the partial oxidation is much larger than that with combustion. The rate of weight loss related to the partial oxidation is well fitted by the Avrami–Erofeyev equation with n = 3 (A3 model) with an activation energy of 59.8 kJ∙mol^‒1. The rate law for the partial oxidation includes a solid conversion term whose expression is given by the A3 model and a methane pressure-dependent term represented by a power law. The partial oxidation is half order with respect to methane pressure. The proposed rate law could well predict the reduction kinetics; thus, it may be used to design and/or analyze a chemical looping reforming reactor.     

Hydrogen Sulfide-Resistant Bifunctional Catalysts for the Steam Reforming of Methane: Activity and Structural Evolution

Results are presented from studying an iron–nickel catalyst for the steam reforming of methane, synthesized by epitaxial coating on the surface of spherical pellets of commercial γ-Al₂O₃. It is shown the catalyst is resistant to the presence of hydrogen sulfide in a steam–gas mixture. The degree of conversion of methane during reforming is close to equilibrium at a pressure of 2.0 MPa, a temperature of 800°C, a ratio of Н₂О: СН4 = 2: 1, a feedstock hourly space velocity (FHSV) of 6000 h^?1, and a H₂S concentration of 30 ppm. The structural evolution and phase state of the active components of the system are studied via X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The formation of paramagnetic iron oxide clusters tightly bound to the structure of the support, and of FeNi₃ iron–nickel alloy particles on the surface of the catalyst, is responsible for the polyfunctional properties of the catalyst, which displays high activity in both the steam reforming of methane and the oxidative decomposition of hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur.     

Carbon-negative syngas production: A comprehensive assessment of biomass pyrolysis coupling chemical looping reforming

This article introduces a pyrolysis chemical looping reforming (PCLR) process that produces carbon-negative syngas in autothermal operation. To enhance the system's carbon negativity, a process configuration with oxygen carrier two-stage regeneration is adopted, enabling internal CO₂ utilization. The PCLR process is systematically evaluated and compared to chemical looping gasification and steam gasification processes in the process performance, energy efficiency, and environmental impact using a process model. Results reveal significant improvements over chemical looping gasification, including 69%, 45%, and 4% improvement in syngas yield, energy efficiency, and environmental benefit. Process analysis demonstrates that decoupling volatile reforming from pyrolysis and combustion enhances syngas quality, energy efficiency, and process flexibility. While the two-stage regeneration sacrifices syngas production, it contributes to a 4% increase in carbon negativity and a 15% reduction in carbon emissions. Thus, the PCLR process effectively overcomes the limitations of chemical looping gasification systems and exhibits excellent process intensification performance.     

甘油膜分离-吸附协同强化化学链重整评估

作为生物柴油的副产物,甘油理论氢气产量高,是蒸汽重整的潜在原料。基于化学链技术,结合氢气膜分离和二氧化碳吸附,对甘油化学链重整制氢过程进行热力学模拟研究,分析反应器操作压力和膜渗透侧压力的改变对氢气产量和系统热量需求的影响。结果表明,反应器压力的提高和渗透侧压力的降低可以有效的增强氢气产量,抑制甲烷的生成,系统的反应热对压力的变化并不敏感,而吸附剂甘油比的提高能够提高重整所需的热量,进而实现系统的自热。     

Methane steam reforming over Ni/Ce–ZrO2 catalyst: Influences of Ce–ZrO2 support on reactivity, resistance toward carbon formation, and intrinsic reaction kinetics

Ni/Ce–ZrO₂ showed good methane steam reforming performance in term of stability toward the deactivation by carbon deposition. It was first observed that the catalyst with Ce/Zr ratio of 3/1 showed the best activity among Ni/Ce–ZrO₂ samples with the Ce/Zr ratios of 1/0, 1/1, 1/3, and 3/1. Temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) experiments indicated the excellent resistance toward carbon formation for this catalyst, compared to conventional Ni/Al₂O₃; the requirement of inlet H₂O/CH₄ to operate without the formation of carbon species is much lower. These benefits are related to the high oxygen storage capacity (OSC) of Ce–ZrO₂. During the steam reforming process, in addition to the reactions on Ni surface (*), the redox reactions between the gaseous components present in the system and the lattice oxygen (O_x) on Ce–ZrO₂ surface also take place. Among these reactions, the redox reactions between the high carbon formation potential compounds (CH₄, CH_x-*n and CO) and the lattice oxygen (O_x) can prevent the formation of carbon species from the methane decomposition and Boudard reactions, even at low inlet H₂O/CH₄ ratio (1.0/1.0).

Regarding the intrinsic kinetic studies in the present work, the reaction order in methane over Ni/Ce–ZrO₂ was observed to be approximately 1.0 in all conditions. The dependence of steam on the rate was non-monotonic, whereas addition of oxygen as an autothermal reforming promoted the rate but reduced CO and H₂ production selectivities. The addition of a small amount of hydrogen increased the conversion of methane, however, this positive effect became less pronounced and the methane conversion was eventually inhibited when high hydrogen concentration was added. Ni/Ce–ZrO₂ showed significantly stronger negative impact of hydrogen than Ni/Al₂O₃. The redox mechanism on ceria proposed by Otsuka et al. [K. Otsuka, T. Ushiyama, I. Yamanaka, Chem. Lett. (1993) 1517; K. Otsuka, M. Hatano, A. Morikawa, J. Catal. 79 (1983) 493; K. Otsuka, M. Hatano, A. Morikawa, Inorg. Chim. Acta 109 (1985) 193] can explain this high inhibition.     

Application of oxygen ion-conductive membranes for simultaneous electricity and hydrogen generation

The high temperature of the air in power generation gas-turbine cycles involving natural gas (mainly methane) oxidation accounts for the utilization of ion-conductive membranes within solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and membrane reactors (MRs). In SOFCs, the electricity is directly derived from the chemical exergy of methane (SOFCs with internal methane reforming are considered here). Within a membrane reactor (MR), which is considered a substitute for combustion chambers in traditional gas-turbine units, the ion-conductive membranes separate oxygen from air and allow the flow of the hot combustion products (carbon dioxide and steam) to be separated from air. It permits the use of combustion products which are not diluted in nitrogen in the process of methane conversion into hydrogen. A modified gas-turbine cycle that includes a SOFC stack, an MR (instead of a traditional combustion chamber), and a catalytic reactor to convert methane to hydrogen is proposed. An exergy analysis of the proposed system is conducted to evaluate its exergy efficiency and the exergy losses for the processes occurring within the system. It is shown that, in comparison to the traditional gas-turbine cycle, there is a significant reduction (more than three times) in the exergy losses for the most irreversible process occurring in the system, natural gas combustion. It is also found that the proposed cogeneration scheme, including both power generation and the industrial catalytic conversion of methane to hydrogen, permits improved efficiencies for both technologies. The efficiency of this cogeneration, as well as the reduction in exergy losses, is demonstrated by the following observation: if the value of energy (exergy) efficiency of hydrogen production is considered equal to that for a traditional process, the corresponding thermal (energy) efficiency for electricity generation would reach values of 80–96% depending on the efficiency of a SOFC stack. The combined SOFC and MR application also eliminates the possibility of toxic nitrogen oxides formation and, at the same time, makes carbon dioxide removal from flue gases feasible (due to its high concentration). The development of the proposed technology is especially important, within the context of the hydrogen economy, if the produced hydrogen is used as a fuel for fuel cell vehicles.     

Fluidizable catalyst for methane reforming

Fluidizable catalysts are developed in this study for advancing an integral approach towards a new methane reforming process. With this end, catalysts constituted by nickel supported on -alumina, NaY, and USY were developed using the incipient wetness technique producing bulk nickel loadings in the 0–20 wt.% range. These catalysts were also tested under relevant conditions for industrial operation in a novel Riser Simulator. It was found that, for the case of ‘dry’ reforming of methane, nickel deposited in zeolites is a promising catalyst given that it allows for close control of metal dispersion–redispersion process. In fact, when this catalyst was exposed to repeated oxidation and reduction cycles, nickel dispersions remained stable at 25% for NaY zeolite and at 15% for USY zeolite. This catalyst offers, however, limited application for steam reforming of methane given the potential collapse of the zeolite structure under steam atmosphere. As an alternative and for cases where steam reforming of methane is preferred, nickel on -alumina catalyst was considered. In these cases, optimum catalytic activity was achieved with 2.5 wt.% of nickel on -alumina with 3–6% nickel dispersion.     

Novel circulating fast fluidized-bed membrane reformer for efficient production of hydrogen from steam reforming of methane

The coupling of steam reforming and oxidative reforming of methane for the efficient production of hydrogen is investigated over Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst in a novel circulating fast fluidized-bed membrane reformer (CFFBMR) using a rigorous mathematical model. The removal of product hydrogen using palladium hydrogen membranes “breaks” the thermodynamic equilibrium barrier exists among the reversible reactions. Oxygen can be introduced into the adiabatic CFFBMR for oxidative reforming by direct oxygen (or air) feed and through dense perovskite oxygen membranes. The simulations show that high productivity of hydrogen can be obtained in the CFFBMR. The combination of these two different processes does not only enhance the hydrogen productivity but also save the energy due to the exothermicity of the oxidative reforming. Based on the preliminary investigations, four parameters (number of hydrogen membranes, number of oxygen membranes, direct oxygen feed rate and steam-to-carbon feed ratio) are carefully chosen as main variables for the process optimization. The optimized result shows that the hydrogen productivity (moles of hydrogen produced per hour per m³ of reactor) in the novel CFFBMR is about 8.2 times higher than that in typical industrial fixed-bed steam reformers.     

Methane Conversion to Synthesis Gas by Partial Oxidation and CO2 Reforming over Supported Platinum Catalysts

Partial oxidation of methane and reforming of methane with CO₂ were carried out with Pt/Al₂O₃, PtZrO₂ and Pt/CeO₂ catalysts, in the temperature range of 350–900 °C. For partial oxidation, the catalysts showed similar stabilities, with the PtZr slightly more active. The reaction occurs in two simultaneous stages: total combustion of methane and reforming of the unconverted methane with steam and CO₂, with the O₂ conversion of 100% over the whole temperature range. For reforming with CO₂, the catalysts presented similar activities, but with distinct deactivation rates: while the PtAl deactivates very fast at 800 °C, due to deposition of inactive carbon, the PtZr and PtCe catalysts offer higher resistance to coke formation, due to the metal-support interactions and the higher mobility of oxygen in the oxide lattice.