Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts

dc.contributor.advisorFletcher, Jacken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMaduna, Kubefu Alberten_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-05T03:49:20Z
dc.date.available2014-11-05T03:49:20Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractFuel cell technology will play a crucial role in future sustainable energy generation. Different types of fuel cells had been developed, of which Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are the fuel cells of choice for small scale stationary and mobile applications that operate under transient conditions.The feed for PEMFCs is hydrogen. For small scale stationary and mobile applications, the hydrogen, typically, has to be produced on-site from other energy sources, such as fossil fuels or fuel from renewable sources. At present, the most favourable approach appears to be production train that startsith a steam reformer stage, which converts most of the primary fuel to syngas. In the subsequent water-¬‐gas-¬‐shift stage,most of the carbon monoxide in the syngas is converted to additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide. In a last stage, the small amount of carbon monoxide that remains in the stream is reduced to acceptable levels for use in the fuel cell. In large scale industrial hydrogen production, the above concept (steam reforming –water gas-shift-hydrogen purification) is the state of the art, with the units operating under steady conditions for years years once started. In contrast, the said small scale units will typically operate under transient conditions and in on/off mode. This requires catalysts that are stable with respect to occasional contact with air and condensation of the steam co-fed with the primary fuel and which do not require any activation or other conditioning prior to restart. Only noble metal based catalysts meet these requirements at present.This study was aimed at the water-gas-shirhift (WGS) stage within this train. The basis of the study was the comparison of three commercial supported noble metal WGS catalysts and a state-¬‐of-¬‐the-¬‐art industrial iron/chromium high temperature WGS catalyst. All the catalysts were applied washcoated into stainless steel microchannel reactor, either coated in - house or by the catalyst manufacturer, as well as defining an operational window for the noble metal catalysts.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMaduna, K. A. (2014). <i>Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9119en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMaduna, Kubefu Albert. <i>"Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9119en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMaduna, K. 2014. Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Maduna, Kubefu Albert AB - Fuel cell technology will play a crucial role in future sustainable energy generation. Different types of fuel cells had been developed, of which Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are the fuel cells of choice for small scale stationary and mobile applications that operate under transient conditions.The feed for PEMFCs is hydrogen. For small scale stationary and mobile applications, the hydrogen, typically, has to be produced on-site from other energy sources, such as fossil fuels or fuel from renewable sources. At present, the most favourable approach appears to be production train that startsith a steam reformer stage, which converts most of the primary fuel to syngas. In the subsequent water-¬‐gas-¬‐shift stage,most of the carbon monoxide in the syngas is converted to additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide. In a last stage, the small amount of carbon monoxide that remains in the stream is reduced to acceptable levels for use in the fuel cell. In large scale industrial hydrogen production, the above concept (steam reforming –water gas-shift-hydrogen purification) is the state of the art, with the units operating under steady conditions for years years once started. In contrast, the said small scale units will typically operate under transient conditions and in on/off mode. This requires catalysts that are stable with respect to occasional contact with air and condensation of the steam co-fed with the primary fuel and which do not require any activation or other conditioning prior to restart. Only noble metal based catalysts meet these requirements at present.This study was aimed at the water-gas-shirhift (WGS) stage within this train. The basis of the study was the comparison of three commercial supported noble metal WGS catalysts and a state-¬‐of-¬‐the-¬‐art industrial iron/chromium high temperature WGS catalyst. All the catalysts were applied washcoated into stainless steel microchannel reactor, either coated in - house or by the catalyst manufacturer, as well as defining an operational window for the noble metal catalysts. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts TI - Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9119 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9119
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMaduna KA. Water-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalysts. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment ,Department of Chemical Engineering, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9119en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Chemical Engineeringen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleWater-gas shift conversion in microchannel reactors using noble metal catalystsen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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