Thermodynamic analysis of syngas production and carbon formation on oxidative steam reforming of butanol

Theoretical calculations of chemical equilibrium were adopted to explore the syngas production of oxidative steam reforming of butanol (OSRB). The results indicated that when the H2O/C4H9OH molar ratio was 3 and the O2/C4H9OH molar ratio was 1.5, the thermal neutrality temperature reached 602 °C, generating a corresponding H2 yield of 59.3%, a CO yield of 39.5%, and reforming efficiency of 65.1%. Additionally, when the OSRB was at moderate temperatures (400-800 °C), adding an appropriate amount of O2 effectively inhibited coke formation and exerted only a minor effect on butanol reforming efficiency. The analysis of the coking boundaries indicated that at the same H2O/C1 molar ratio, alcohol fuels with higher carbon numbers (butanol > ethanol > methanol) produced higher degrees of coke formation. However, if OSRB was used, the amount of H2O and O2 addition was able to be controlled to inhibit coke formation and reduce the coke formation zone considerably.