Thermodynamic analysis and experimental study of hydrogen production from oxidative reforming of n-butanol

•A Gibbs free energy minimization method was applied for thermodynamic analysis.•Experiments were carried out using Ni– and Rh–Al2O3 catalysts.•Thermoneutral conditions obtained at OBR of 2.70–2.80 at 700 °C and 2.65–2.75 at 800 °C.•The thermodynamic predictions were in good agreement with experimental results.

A Gibbs free energy minimization method was applied to analyze the thermodynamics of hydrogen production via oxidative reforming of n-butanol. The conditions studied were a temperature range of 300–1100 °C under atmospheric pressure with steam to n-butanol molar feed ratios (SBR) ranging from 0 to 12 and oxygen to n-butanol molar feed ratios (OBR) of 0–6. The thermoneutral conditions can be obtained at OBR of 2.70–2.80 at 700 °C and 2.65–2.75 at 800 °C, respectively. The maximum hydrogen yield of 5.56 mol/molButanol can be achieved at 700 °C with SBR of 12, conditions under which carbon formation and methane generation are predicted to be relatively low. The thermodynamic predictions were in good agreement with experimental results using Ni/Al2O3 and Rh/Al2O3 catalysts, from which the reaction was studied at different SBR, OBR, and temperatures. Under atmospheric pressure at 700 °C with OBR of 2.70 and SBR of 9, the product yields from the reaction in the presence of Rh/Al2O3 were close to the thermodynamic values.