Autothermal reforming of glycerol in a dual layer monolith catalyst

The autothermal reforming (ATR) of glycerol into synthesis gas was studied using the BASF Pt and Rh/Pt dual layer monolith catalyst. At gas hourly space velocities of ∼104 h−1, the catalyst achieved 100% glycerol conversion to near equilibrium concentrations of H2, CO, CO2, and CH4. The effect of the distance between the atomizer nozzle and catalyst on reactor performance was studied, and the optimum distance was found to be 2 in. The optimum operating conditions to produce high yields of H2, CO and H2/CO molar ratio of ∼2 with minimal coke formation were also determined to be O2/C of 0.15, S/C of 0.8, temperature of 650 °C and atmospheric pressure. In addition, the effect of non-catalytic reactions was studied. The results showed that the catalyst was capable of reforming glycerol as well as the by-products from non-catalytic reaction at 600–700  °C. The Aspen simulation software package was used to calculate the equilibrium product composition for various reaction conditions. A comparison between 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. This study is the first step in the development of a process for autothermal reforming of crude glycerol to generate synthesis gas for methanol production.

► Sustained ATR of glycerol into syngas was demonstrated in a dual layer monolith catalyst.
► The catalyst achieved 100% glycerol conversion at moderate temperatures and low values of O2/C and S/C ratios.
► Catalyst did not show any significant deactivation after on-stream use of 30 h.
► Practically feasible process conditions were found where experimental results were close to equilibrium calculations.