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F O C U S A R E A F A C T S H E E T Integrated Fuel Processing for Low Tem erature & Hi h Tem erature Fuel Cells

Background

Program DiscussionThe EMS Energy Institute is currently involved in several projectsthat involve liquid hydrocarbon fuels in one or more of thefollowing fuel-cell fuel processing steps: desulfurization oforganic sulfur, reforming of higher hydrocarbons for synthesis gas

generation and oxygen-enhanced water gas shift for H2production and deep CO removal. The target fuel cells for ourresearch include low-temperature fuel cells based on polymerelectrolyte, and high-temperature fuel cells based on solid-oxideelectrolyte. The target processors include both micro-fuel cell fuel

processors for man-portable applications and those for residentialand automotive applications.

GoalTo develop effective adsorbent and catalytic materials as wellas processing methods for integrated fuel-cell fuel processorincluding adsorptive/oxidative desulfurization, catalyticsteam/oxidative reforming and oxygen-enhanced water-gasshift for hydrogen production on-site or on-board.

TeamA partial list of organizations that work with the EMS Energy

Institute in fuel-cell fuel processing research anddevelopment include: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and U.S.Department of Defense (DOD), Delphi, and AltexTechnologies Inc.

Program status: Ongoing

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device in which the chemicalenergy stored in a fuel is converted directly into electricity. Fuelcells operate without combusting fuel and with few moving

parts, and thus they are very attractive from both energy andenvironmental standpoints. High Temperature Proton exchangemembrane (HT-PEMFC) fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells

(SOFC) are considered to be promising fuel cells for mobile andstationary applications.

The candidate fuels for fuel cells include natural gas, propanegas, gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel, methanol, ethanol, biomass,coal, and pure hydrogen. Since pure hydrogen, the ideal fuel forfuel cell, is not readily available due to lack of distributioninfrastructure and lack of storage methods, the on-site or on-board production of hydrogen is considered to be the most

promising way for using stationary (residential, etc.) and mobile(transportation, etc.) fuel cell systems in the near- and mid-termConsequently, it is increasingly recognized that the fuel

processing subsystem can have a major impact on overall fuel celsystem costs.

A stumbling block for hydrocarbon fuel processor developmentis that there is not yet an effective means of removing sulfur forfuel cell applications. Hydrocarbon fuels derived from petroleumcontain sulfur in high concentrations, up to 350 ppm in gasolineand up to 500 ppm in diesel and up to 3000 ppm in jet fuels.Even with the EPA 2006-2010 regulations, sulfur contents ingasoline (30 ppm) and diesel (15 ppm) are still too high for fuelcell applications. Methanol, synthesized from fossil fuels viasynthesis gas generation and catalytic synthesis, is sulfur-free butit has much lower energy density than liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

Reactor System for Liquid and Gas Fuel Reforming for Fuel Cells

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Results

Key Publications J. Kugai, J.T. Miller, N. Guo, C.S. Song . Oxygen-enhanced Water Gas Shift on Ceria-supported Pd-Cu and Pt-Cu Bimetallic

Catalysts. Journal of Catalysis, 2011, 277, 46-53.

C. Xie, Y.S. Chen, Y. Li, X.X. Wang, C.S. Song. Sulfur Poisoning of CeO2-Al2O3-Supported Mono- and Bi-metallic Ni and RhCatalysts in Steam Reforming of Liquid Hydrocarbons at Low and High Temperatures. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2010 390, 210-

218. Y. Li, X.X. Wang, C. Xie, C.S. Song. Influence of Ceria and Nickel Addition to Alumina-supported Rh Catalyst for Propane Steam

Reforming at Low Temperatures. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2009, 357, 213-222.

X.X. Wang, X.L. Ma, L. Sun, C.S. Song. A Nanoporous Polymeric Sorbent for Deep Removal of H2S from Gas Mixtures forHydrogen Purification. Green Chemistry, 2007, 9, 695-702.

C.S. Song, X.L. Ma. New Design Approaches to Ultra-Clean Diesel Fuels by Deep Desulfurization and Deep Dearomatization.Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2003, 41, 207-238.

C.S. Song. Fuel Processing for Low-Temperature and High-Temperature Fuel Cells. Challenges, and Opportunities for SustainableDevelopment in the 21st Century. Catalysis Today, 2002, 77, 17-50.

A new method called selective adsorption for removing sulfur(SARS) has been developed for on-site organic sulfur removal instationary fuel cells and for on-board desulfurization forautomotive fuel cell system. SARS works for making ultra-cleanfuels using solid adsorbents that selectively interacts with sulfurcompounds in the presence of aromatic compounds at roomtemperature (e.g., 30 C), and does not use hydrogen or other

reactive gases. SARS has been demonstrated in laboratory scalefor making ultra-low-sulfur (