(417d) Hydrogen Production By Liquid Fuel Reforming for on-Board Fuel Cell Applications

Hydrogen production by liquid fuel reforming is promising technology due to the high hydrogen density of the liquid fuels. One of the liquid fuel, diesel, is a common energy source of heavy-duty applications and remote area applications. With the liquid fuel reforming technology, hydrogen can be easily produced on-site from diesel. A fuel cell can utilize the produced hydrogen and generate electricity for various applications.

There are some requirements to apply the liquid fuel reforming technology for on-board fuel cell applications. High mechanical and thermal durability of reforming catalyst, fast start-up time of the reforming system, and complying environmental policies are those requirements that should be considered. In this study, a diesel autothermal reformer integrated with fuel cell was developed and demonstrated with consideration of those aspects.

Introducing a structured reforming catalyst enhanced the mechanical and thermal durability of the liquid fuel reforming system. From the lab-scale tests, the catalytic durability was validated, and the catalyst was scaled-up to the 1 kW_e operation. The structured catalyst showed good durability and stability with even several thermal cycles. Designing novel reforming system configuration with heat utilization optimized the start-up time. By providing a small amount of external heat at the initial heat-up period, steam required for the reforming process could be stably generated, and the reaction temperature could be reached. Moreover, in the developed fuel cell system, catalytic off-gas oxidizer was introduced for complete oxidation of carbon monoxide and proving heat to the fuel cell system.

From the development process of the autothermal reformer and 1 kW_e diesel-driven fuel cell auxiliary power unit, the liquid fuel reforming technology for on-board applications was demonstrated. The developed technology could be applied to broad applications such as backup power and heavy-duty vehicles.