Catalytic Supercritical Water Gasification of 2-Propanol: The Effect of Fe-Cr Catalyst on Gasification and Hydrogen Yields

ACADEMIC JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, cilt.3, ss.417-426, 2014 (Hakemli Dergi)

The development of alternative and efficient ways for hydrogen production, which is expected

to be the primary energy source in the future, is currently the focus of many scientific

investigations. Aiming to contribute to this vital area of research, this study presents our

findings regarding the supercritical water gasification of 2-propanol with Fe-Cr catalyst. The

experiments were conducted at five reaction temperatures (400, 450, 500, 550 and 600􀁱C) and

for five reaction times (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 s), under a constant pressure of 25 MPa. The

effects of process parameters on the gasification and hydrogen yields, along with gaseous

product composition were investigated. The gaseous product was seen to be mainly comprised

of hydrogen, methane, ethane, propane and propylene in terms of flammable components. The

experiments showed that reaction temperature affected gaseous component production

significantly; and that high temperatures favored the gasification yield. At 600􀁱C and for a

reaction time of 30 s, for each L of 2-propanol solution feedstock, a gaseous product of 14.7 L

evolved. At these circumstances, the gaseous product contained 10.4% hydrogen, 41.4%

methane, 9.0% ethane, 3.6% propane, 1.1% propylene and 36.3% carbon dioxide. On the

contrary, low temperatures and reaction times were found to favor hydrogen production.

During the experiment performed at 400􀁱C and 10 s, the gaseous product was seen to involve

70.7% hydrogen.