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Thermodynamic Analysis and Characterization of Syngas Production by Autothermal Reforming of Biodiesel Byproducts
Author(s) -
Liu Yujia,
Lawal Adeniyi
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201402080
Subject(s) - syngas , methane reformer , biodiesel , biodiesel production , chemistry , catalysis , yield (engineering) , steam reforming , chemical engineering , materials science , organic chemistry , hydrogen production , metallurgy , engineering
Abstract As the demand for and production of biodiesel increase exponentially, the utilization of the biodiesel byproducts will be of increasing commercial significance. The autothermal reforming (ATR) of biodiesel byproducts into synthesis gas (syngas) was experimentally studied by using the BASF Pt and Rh/Pt (rhodium/platinum) dual‐layer monolith catalyst. A total gaseous carbon yield as high as 98 % was obtained with near‐equilibrium concentrations of H 2 , CO, CO 2 , and CH 4 . The optimum operating conditions to produce high yields of syngas with minimal coke formation were also determined to be at atmospheric pressure, a temperature of 750 °C, a steam/carbon (S/C) molar ratio of 3, and an O 2 /C molar ratio of 0.1. The Aspen simulation software package was used to calculate the equilibrium product composition for autothermal reforming of biodiesel byproducts on molecular basis. A comparison between the equilibrium and experimental data was made, and the agreement was generally good, indicating that close‐to‐equilibrium conditions were attained for the selected reaction conditions.