A hybrid adsorbent-membrane reactor (HAMR) system for hydrogen production

UnrestrictedAs a result of stricter environmental regulations worldwide, hydrogen is progressively becoming an important clean energy source. For H2 to replace fossil fuels in mobile applications, it will require the creation of a production and delivery infrastructure equivalent to that currently existing for fossil fuels, which is an immense task. As an alternative, and as an interim step towards the new hydrogen economy, various groups are currently studying steam reforming of methane (SRM) for the on-board generation of hydrogen, or for on site production, in order to alleviate the need for compressed or liquid hydrogen gas storage. Conventional technologies are, however, neither convenient nor economical to apply for small-scale (on site or on-board) hydrogen generation. Reactive separation processes have, as a result, been attracting renewed interest for application in H2 production through SRM. One such technology is the hybrid adsorbent-membrane reactor (HAMR) system, which couples reaction and membrane separation steps with adsorption on the reactor and/or membrane permeate side. The HAMR concept was originally proposed by USC group for esterification reactions, and it was adapted recently for on-board or onsite hydrogen production applications. Our early studies involved the development of a mathematical model for the HAMR system (applied to hydrogen production through SRM); recently experimental investigations with the water-gas shift reaction, using microporous membranes and CO2 hydrotalcite-type adsorbents, were carried out in order to validate the HAMR design models. Experimental data were compared with the model predictions, and found to be consistent. The practical process design aspects of the HAMR hydrogen production process was also investigated both experimentally and through modeling studies