(98g) Diesel Reforming Catalytic Kinetics - Experimental Results and Model Development

In regions where electricity is supplied using diesel generators (e.g., Northern territories of Canada) and regions where diesel engines are used as a standby system when there is no electric power from grid (e.g., India, Pakistan), diesel reforming coupled with a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) system is a promising technology to efficiently convert the chemical energy of the fuel into electricity with less pollution issues. The present work will discuss the technical issues related to diesel reforming and research undertaken by SOFC Canada and SECA to address these issues.

Experimental studies have been performed to characterize and screen two catalysts for diesel reforming. Fundamental surface science studies have been carried out using a Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) cell to study surface reactions as well as gas phase species formed during the catalytic reforming of small molecules such as methane and carbon monoxide. A blank reactor study using a bed of inert material was done to  characterize  the temperature and flow profiles, and a gas phase microkinetic model was implemented in order to define the species reaching the catalyst bed in later experiments. Using the results of the inert run it was possible to deconvolute the surface reaction mechanism from catalytic kinetic studies. The first phase of the development of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) type model based on elementary surface reactions from the previous literature on the catalytic kinetics of hydrocarbon steam reforming will be presented.