Hydrogen Production by Ethanol Steam Reforming in the Presence of Pd-, Pt-, Ru-, and Ni-Containing Nanodiamonds in Conventional and Membrane Reactors

Abstract

Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) in the presence of bimetallic nanocatalysts containing Pd–Ru, Pd–Ni, Pt–Ru, and Pt–Ni alloys deposited on detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) in conventional and membrane reactors has been studied. The effect of some ESR parameters, such as catalyst composition, water/ethanol molar ratio, and temperature, on the hydrogen yield has been studied. The highest hydrogen yield is achieved in a conventional reactor using a Pt–Ru/DND catalyst. In the case of the ESR process running in a membrane reactor and simultaneous removal of hydrogen through membranes made of Pd–Ru or Pd–Ru–In alloys, the hydrogen yield is higher than that obtained in ESR in a conventional reactor. The hydrogen recovery rate from the retentate zone is up to 46%, whereas a high-purity hydrogen stream is withdrawn from the permeate zone.