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Lecture

Van Marum Colloquium - Development of materials for hydrogen production via ethanol reform

  • Prof. Germano Tremiliosi-Filho (University of São Paulo)
Date
Monday 5 September 2022
Time
Location
Gorlaeus Building
Einsteinweg 55
2333 CC Leiden
Room
DM0.17

Abstract

Molecular hydrogen is a part of the electrical mobility and represent one of the key solution for the decarbonization of the transport sector. Ethanol reform is a friendly source of hydrogen that function at relatively low temperatures (25 °C – 85 °C) and is represented by the following reactions:

Anodic reaction:         C2H5OH + 3H2O → 2CO2 + 12H+ + 12e-   (1)

Cathodic reaction:      12H+ + 12e- → 6H2   (2)

Overall reaction:         C2H5OH + 3H2O → 2CO+ 6H2   (3)

The overall reaction (3) is similar to a steam reforming process (usually operating at high temperatures: 600 °C – 800 °C). The energetic demanded to produce 1 mol of hydrogen is + 58 kJ/mol, with a cell voltage at 0.084V, that it is much smaller than that from water electrolysis decomposition, + 286 kJ/mol with a cell voltage at 1.23 V, leading to a lower electric consumption. However, the relatively slow kinetics limitations of reactions (1) and (2) leads to high-cell voltage, ca. 0.6 – 0.8 V, for the electrolysis ethanol cell operating at 1 A cm-2. Thus, the high efficiency of the electrochemical reforming of ethanol demands the use of excellent catalysts for the anodic and for the cathodic reactions. Thus, in this talk will be presented the development of nanostructured materials reasoned in the systems: Mo/S and Ni/Fe, in order to assembly efficient ethanol electrolysis cell.

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