Using palladium membrane-used fuel reformers for combined heat and power (CHP) plants

Introduction It is widely accepted that the problem of global warming will require a combination of solutions ranging from carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) through to improved carbon effi ciency of fossil fuels and (in the long term) widespread use of renewable energy sources. In particular, as energy costs increase, the advantage of high energy-conversion effi ciency becomes very important. In this respect, fuel cell (FC) systems (with signifi cantly higher conversion efficiency than other energy conversion devices, particularly at small sizes) will become more important and their market share will increase accordingly (further enhanced by reductions in manufacturing costs). However, for FCs overall to achieve higher effi ciency, the energy carrier for those FCs (mostly H 2 ) should also be produced at higher effi ciency. This can be achieved by using membrane reactors, devices that integrate separation and reaction in a single unit, thus reducing the amount of equipment required and circumventing certain thermodynamic limitations that affect conventional systems. In this chapter, the application of membrane reactors as innovative reformers for combined heat and power (CHP) systems will be discussed. An overview of actual CHP systems will be outlined fi rst, then the advantages and disadvantages of applying novel reformers will be highlighted, and fi nally an energy analysis of a micro-CHP system with conventional and membrane reformers will be presented