HYDROGEN AS ENERGY CARRIER: DECENTRALIZED PRODUCTION BY AUTOTHERMAL REFORMING OF METHANE

The aim of this PhD thesis will be the mathematical modeling of an autothermal reactor for hydrogen production from methane, followed by an experimental campaign. Commercial pellets catalysts will be employed, in particular Ni-based and Rh-based catalyst, and the reactor will be designed in order to be highly compact, since the system is substantially thought for automotive and/or residential purposes. The attention will be focused on thermal profile developed along the catalytic bed, so that catalyst thermal stress can be evaluated; indeed, the main problem that inhibits the development of autothermal catalytic processes is the thermal deactivation due to high temperatures reached. Catalyst thermal profile will be experimentally evaluated by means of IR technology, in order to have a reliable validation of the mathematical model developed for the reactor; then, simulations will be carried out on the reactor behaviour in situations prohibitive from an experimental point of view. The results will also be used for a comparison between the two commercial catalysts selected.