Autothermal generation of hydrogen from ethanol in a microreactor

A two-side platelet microreactor was designed, modeled, and tested for the generation of hydrogen from ethanol under autothermal regime. The microchannels of one side of the platelet microreactor were coated with Co/ZnO catalyst for conducting the ethanol steam reforming reaction for producing hydrogen at low temperature, whereas the microchannels of the other side of the platelet were coated with CuMnOxCuMnOx catalyst for the complete oxidation of ethanol. The heat released during ethanol combustion was used for maintaining the heat demand for the endothermic steam reforming side of the microreactor. Several preparation methods were used and compared for the deposition of catalysts in the microchannels in order to guarantee homogeneous deposition and stability. An amount of 3.67 mol of hydrogen per mol of total ethanol consumed in both sides of the microreactor was obtained at 733 K. The overall efficiency of the microreactor was 71%.