Hydrogen production through steam-assisted glycerol reforming via thermodynamic approach

To check the feasibility of the steam glycerol reformation process, thermodynamic analysis of steam glycerol reformation plays vital role. The aim of this work is to carry out thermodynamic analysis, equilibrium calculations of steam reforming of glycerol for hydrogen production. Production of hydrogen is affected by parameters including temperature, pressure, water/glycerol ratio, and byproducts. The thermodynamic analysis has been done by calculating mole fractions as a function of x and mole fraction as a function of epsilon for single reaction. The effect of temperature, pressure, and water/glycerol ratio is observed on single and multiple reactions. The thermodynamic analysis is carried out on variable ranges of temperature 573.15-1073.15 K, pressure 1-5 atm, and water/glycerol ratio 1:1 to 6:1.The results show that by changing temperature from 573.15 to 1073.15 K, reducing pressure from 5 to 1 atm and rising water/glycerol ratio from 1:1 to 6:1 hydrogen production is improved; glycerol and water are converted to products.