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Ceramic microreactors developed for on-site hydrogen production
September 20, 2006CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have designed and built ceramic microreactors for the on-site reforming of hydrocarbon fuels, such as propane, into hydrogen for use in fuel cells and other portable power sources.
Applications include power supplies for small appliances and laptop computers, and on-site rechargers for battery packs used by the military.
"The catalytic reforming of hydrocarbon fuels offers a nice solution to supplying hydrogen to fuel cells while avoiding safety and storage issues related to gaseous hydrogen," said Paul Kenis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Illinois and corresponding author of a paper accepted for publication in the journal Lab on a Chip, and posted on its Web site.
In previous work, Kenis and colleagues developed an integrated catalyst structure and placed it inside a stainless steel housing, where it successfully stripped hydrogen from ammonia at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
In their latest work, the researchers incorporated the catalyst structure within a ceramic housing, which enabled the steam reforming of propane at operating temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. Using the new ceramic housing, the researchers also demonstrated the successful decomposition of ammonia at temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. High-temperature operation is essential for peak performance in microreactors, said Kenis, who also is a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. When reforming hydrocarbons such as propane, temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius prevent the formation of soot that can foul the catalyst surface and reduce performance.
"The performance of our integrated, high-temperature microreactors surpasses that of other fuel reformer systems," Kenis said. "Our microreactors are superior in both hydrogen production and in long-term stability." Kenis and his group are now attempting to reform other, higher hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, which have well-developed distribution networks around the world.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In previous work, Kenis and colleagues developed an integrated catalyst structure and placed it inside a stainless steel housing, where it successfully stripped hydrogen from ammonia at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
In their latest work, the researchers incorporated the catalyst structure within a ceramic housing, which enabled the steam reforming of propane at operating temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. Using the new ceramic housing, the researchers also demonstrated the successful decomposition of ammonia at temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. High-temperature operation is essential for peak performance in microreactors, said Kenis, who also is a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. When reforming hydrocarbons such as propane, temperatures above 800 degrees Celsius prevent the formation of soot that can foul the catalyst surface and reduce performance.
"The performance of our integrated, high-temperature microreactors surpasses that of other fuel reformer systems," Kenis said. "Our microreactors are superior in both hydrogen production and in long-term stability." Kenis and his group are now attempting to reform other, higher hydrocarbon fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, which have well-developed distribution networks around the world.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pitt professor designs less-risky reactor for clean, safe energy
Reactors that burn hydrogen or natural gas to generate energy can be dirty and dangerous. The mix of air with hydrogen or natural gas can explode easily if composition and temperature are not carefully controlled. And reactors often produce polluting byproducts.
Chemistry sets for grownups
The best thing about chemistry class in school was always the experiments. It stank, it smoked and best of all things exploded. The students were highly delighted when the teacher's own experiments ran out of control. But large-scale chemical accidents are no laughing matter. A reactor containing tons of chemicals can be a real danger. In microreactors, the same processes take place but in milliliter volumes. The risk is correspondingly lower. "Reactions involving highly toxic compounds or which generate a huge amount of heat are much easier to control on this small scale", explains Dr. Stefan Löbbecke, spokes-man for the Fraunhofer Alliance for Modular Microreaction Systems (FAMOS
Hanover Trade Fair 2003: The six-pack mixer
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From laboratory demonstrators over systems to indispensable process plants
Today microreactors are already valuable informants for the process development in the laboratory area. According to a study of the French consulting company YOLE Développement and Institut für Mikrotechnik Mainz GmbH (IMM) the readiness of industry clients to buy such microreaction components for chemical process development rests with 36 million Euro worldwide already this year. The supposed annual growth rate of 3% follows a conservative approach. For selected chemical processes microreactors can be used for production purposes, above all within the field of speciality chemicals. The study predicts that microreactors will be applied in larger scale as process plants for the in
Chemistry by the thimbleful
The trend toward miniaturization has also taken a hold in chemistry because in miniaturized reactors, the risk of explosions is nearly none and the reaction can be better controlled. At the Analytica trade fair scientists show how to improve chemical engineering and production. -------------- The dinosaurs of the chemical industry are not facing imminent extinction. After all, millions of tons of basic chemicals, such as polyethylene or soda, continue to be produced every year. But there is a definite trend toward smaller reactors, feeders and heat exchangers. Microreaction technology has not only taken a hold in research and development but also in production: An output of several tons per
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