Hydrogen production by glucose reforming using a nickel hollow fiber membrane reactor

Hydrogen production from biomass reforming is a promising technology to convert waste into hydrogen, a valuable and clean energy source. Membrane reactors can enhance the conversion efficiency by integrating reaction and H2 separation into one unit. In this study, a nickel hollow fiber membrane (NHFM) was integrated with Ni-based catalyst to form a catalytic reactor for glucose steam reforming (GSR) for hydrogen production. The performance of the catalytic membrane reactor was investigated under various operating conditions, including reaction temperature, feed concentration and feed flow rate. Results show that increasing the temperature effectively improved glucose conversion and hydrogen production yield. Although high feed flow rate and glucose concentration reduced carbon gasification efficiency and hydrogen yield, high H2 flux could be obtained. At 1000 °C, 8 wt% glucose, and 0.03 g min−1 feed flow rate, the membrane reactor delivered a maximum H2 flux of 0.8 mL cm−2 min−1, corresponding to a carbon gasification efficiency of 93 %. Furthermore, the catalytic membrane reactor exhibited stable performance for 4 cycle stability tests over 84 h time-on-stream without any deactivation. Hence, the nickel catalytic hollow fiber membrane reactor for glucose steam reforming displays great potential for hydrogen production from liquid products derived from biomass.