Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines

Brookshear, Daniel William; Pihl, Josh A.; Szybist, James P.

doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02576

Title: Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines

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Abstract

Here, this study investigated the potential for catalytically reforming liquid fuels in a simulated exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) mixture loop for the purpose of generating reformate that could be used to increase stoichiometric combustion engine efficiency. The experiments were performed on a simulated exhaust flow reactor using a Rh/Al₂O₃ reformer catalyst, and the fuels evaluated included iso-octane, ethanol, and gasoline. Both steam reforming and partial oxidation reforming were examined as routes for the production of reformate. Steam reforming was determined to be an ineffective option for reforming in an EGR loop, because of the high exhaust temperatures (in excess of 700 °C) required to produce adequate concentrations of reformate, regardless of fuel. However, partial oxidation reforming is capable of producing hydrogen concentrations as high as 10%–16%, depending on fuel and operating conditions in the simulated EGR gas mixture. Meanwhile, measurements of total fuel enthalpy retention were shown to have favorable energetics under a range of conditions, although a tradeoff between fuel enthalpy retention and reformate production was observed. Of the three fuels evaluated, iso-octane exhibited the best overall performance, followed by ethanol and then gasoline. Overall, it was found that partial oxidation reforming of liquid fuels in a simulated EGRmore »« less

Authors:

^[1];

^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Publication Date:: 2018-02-07

Research Org.:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)

OSTI Identifier:: 1436053

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Energy and Fuels

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 32; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0887-0624

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS; partial oxidation reforming; steam reforming; thermochemical recuperation

Citation Formats


                    Brookshear, Daniel William, Pihl, Josh A., and Szybist, James P. Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines.  United States: N. p., 2018. 
Web.  doi:10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02576.

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                    Brookshear, Daniel William, Pihl, Josh A., & Szybist, James P. Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02576

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                    Brookshear, Daniel William, Pihl, Josh A., and Szybist, James P. Wed .  
"Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02576.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1436053.

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@article{osti_1436053,

  title        = {Catalytic Steam and Partial Oxidation Reforming of Liquid Fuels for Application in Improving the Efficiency of Internal Combustion Engines},

  author       = {Brookshear, Daniel William and Pihl, Josh A. and Szybist, James P.},

  abstractNote = {Here, this study investigated the potential for catalytically reforming liquid fuels in a simulated exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) mixture loop for the purpose of generating reformate that could be used to increase stoichiometric combustion engine efficiency. The experiments were performed on a simulated exhaust flow reactor using a Rh/Al2O3 reformer catalyst, and the fuels evaluated included iso-octane, ethanol, and gasoline. Both steam reforming and partial oxidation reforming were examined as routes for the production of reformate. Steam reforming was determined to be an ineffective option for reforming in an EGR loop, because of the high exhaust temperatures (in excess of 700 °C) required to produce adequate concentrations of reformate, regardless of fuel. However, partial oxidation reforming is capable of producing hydrogen concentrations as high as 10%–16%, depending on fuel and operating conditions in the simulated EGR gas mixture. Meanwhile, measurements of total fuel enthalpy retention were shown to have favorable energetics under a range of conditions, although a tradeoff between fuel enthalpy retention and reformate production was observed. Of the three fuels evaluated, iso-octane exhibited the best overall performance, followed by ethanol and then gasoline. Overall, it was found that partial oxidation reforming of liquid fuels in a simulated EGR mixture over the Rh/Al2O3 catalyst demonstrated sufficiently high reformate yields and favorable energetics to warrant further evaluation in the EGR system of a stoichiometric combustion engine.},

  doi          = {10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b02576},

  journal      = {Energy and Fuels},

  number       = 2,

  volume       = 32,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2018},

  month        = {2}

}

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