Development in Catalytic Systems in Hydrogen Production via Ethanol Steam Reforming

  • Mrs Fei Wu, School of Applied Chemistry, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
  • Professor Jianxin Ma, Institute of Hydrogen Technologies, Tongji University, China
  • Mr Yuan Tian, Department of Control System and Engineering, ECUST University, China
  • Mrs Yao Zhang, WASM, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
  • A/Professor Haipeng Wang, WASM, Curtin University of Technology, Australia
  • Mr Jian Zhang, WASM, Curtin University of Technology, Australia

    • Hydrogen energy is one of the most promising green energies in the 21st century and will transform the car industry in a foreseen future. In long term, it will replace fossil fuel and become a major energy source for vehicles. According to the current reports, many famous automotive companies have begun to implement the hydrogen energy system in their production lines. Compared to the methods of using natural gas and petrol to produce hydrogen, the method of ethanol reforming has its obvious advantages, as it contains higher hydrogen content and it is cheaper, easier for storage, and convenient for transportation.
    Most research on ethanol steam reforming focused on catalytic systems, which include noble metal catalysts and non-noble metal catalysts. This article summarizes the more recent development and research outcomes in various catalyst systems. The selectivity of substrates and activity of catalyst are the main focuses in the discussion. They are the determinant factors to evaluate the performance of a catalytic system.