There have been several hydrogen related projects with financial support from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Army, DRS Technical Services, Inc., Leonard Wood Institute (LWI), and Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).
Our research group developed a novel process technology that is ideal for on-site, on-demand hydrogen generation from non-conventional feedstocks such as military logistics fuel, JP-8. The process can handle fuels with very high sulfur contents without any technical difficulty. The novel process is based on non-catalytic, condensed-phase reformation of liquid hydrocarbons such as jet fuel, diesel, ethanol, etc. The recent efforts have successfully developed a multi-fuel reformer (MFR) prototype. The process has the following merits:
(1) non-catalytic reaction
(2) unparalleled sulfur tolerance
(3) highly efficient conversion
(4) resistance to coke formation
(5) super compact size, thus requiring the smallest footprint
(6) very versatile in terms of feed hydrocarbons
(7) embedded water gas shift reaction
(8) lower temperature operation
(9) use of environmental water
(10) optional auto-thermal reformer (ATR) mode of operation
(11) applicability to a wide range of renewable and nonrenewable feedstocks
Our team has designed and successfully operated three continuous reactor systems based on the above technology. The first-generation reactor was made of Inconel 625 alloy (Grade 1), whereas the second and third generation reactors were made of Haynes alloys. The process has been successfully operated on a variety of feed hydrocarbons. The R&D effort on JP-8 reformation has been supported by funding from the U.S. Army through a subcontract from DRS Technical Services, Inc. The effort on ethanol reformation has been funded by U.S. Department of Transportation by a UTC Grant. Multifuel reformer (MFR) and its PEM fuel cell integration was supported by the U.S. Army and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). The process technology has enormous potential that can be tapped for a variety of novel and alternative fuel processing technologies.
External View of the Novel Supercritical Water Reformer with Generation-I Reactor (not shown data acquisition and control computers.
Bio-Hydrogen Processes
Our group has developed a comprehensive process technology of biomass-to-hydrogen conversion. Several different process schemes have been developed for lignocellulosic materials, corns and corn stovers, municipal solid wastes, and biogas from anaerobic digesters. These process schemes can be expanded to allow for methanol synthesis, gasoline synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, as well as the aforementioned noncatalytic, direct reformation. An R&D project on hydrogen generation using biofuel byproduct (such as crude glycerin) was sponsored by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).
Hydrogen Technology Infrastructure Testbed at Missouri S&T
Our group participated in the Hydrogen Infrastructure Testbed Research while Dr. Lee was with the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). The effort was financially supported by Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The project effort involved hydrogen fueling station design and operation, commuter service operation using hydrogen buses, safety implementation, storage and dispensing, materials for safety education, code development, etc.
The site of the HyPoint Laboratory of Transportation Fuels and Polymer Processing, the former home of Dr. Lee’s academic research group at Missouri S&T, was used as the temporary station for Missouri’s first hydrogen Buses and Refueling Operation, whose photograph (taken in 2007) is shown here. Expertise and hands-on experience related to safe hydrogen handling and hydrogen station design has been acquired and further refined.
In addition, there have been other process R&D efforts for targeted hydrogen fuel production from diverse renewable sources and very innovative process conversion schemes. Some more details are explained throughout this webpage. Certain details are not fully disclosed due to the proprietary nature of such processes. If you would like to discuss about potential R&D project and process development with Chemtech Innovators, please contact us.
Fuel Reformation Lab at Chemtech R&D Center
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Sunggyu Lee, PhD 