Impact of Thickness of Pd/Cu Membrane on Performance of Biogas Dry Reforming Membrane Reactor Utilizing Ni/Cr Catalyst

The present study pays attention to biogas dry reforming for the purpose of producing H<sub>2</sub>. It is known that biogas contains approximately 40 vol% CO<sub>2</sub>, causing a decrease in the efficiency of power generation due to its lower heating value compared to natu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Akira Nishimura, Syogo Ito, Mizuki Ichikawa, Mohan Lal Kolhe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Fuels
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3994/5/3/24
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The present study pays attention to biogas dry reforming for the purpose of producing H<sub>2</sub>. It is known that biogas contains approximately 40 vol% CO<sub>2</sub>, causing a decrease in the efficiency of power generation due to its lower heating value compared to natural gas, i.e., CH<sub>4</sub>. We suggest a hybrid system composed of a biogas dry reforming membrane reactor and a high-temperature fuel cell, i.e., a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Since biogas dry reforming is an endothermic reaction, we adopt a membrane reactor, controlled by providing a non-equilibrium state via H<sub>2</sub> separation from the reaction site. The purpose of the present study is to understand the effect of the thickness of the Pd/Cu membrane on the performance of the biogas dry reforming membrane reactor with a Pd/Cu membrane as well as a Ni/Cr catalyst. The impact of the reaction temperature, the molar ratio of CH<sub>4</sub>:CO<sub>2</sub> and the differential pressure between the reaction chamber and the sweep chamber on the performance of the biogas dry reforming membrane reactor with the Pd/Cu membrane as well as the Ni/Cr catalyst was investigated by changing the thickness of the Pd/Cu membrane. It was revealed that we can obtain the highest concentration of H<sub>2</sub>, of 122,711 ppmV, for CH<sub>4</sub>:CO<sub>2</sub> = 1:1 at a reaction temperature of 600 °C and a differential pressure of 0 MPa and using a Pd/Cu membrane with a thickness of 40 μm. Under these conditions, it can be concluded that the differential pressure of 0 MPa provides benefits for practical applications, especially since no power for H<sub>2</sub> separation is necessary. Therefore, the thermal efficiency is improved, and additional equipment, e.g., a pump, is not necessary for practical applications.
ISSN:2673-3994