• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.283-289
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• 2016

In this study, electrochemical characterizations of PdCu/C catalysts that are synthesized by modified polyol method are investigated. Most of all, amount of ethylene glycol (EG) that is used as main component for catalyst synthesis is mainly modulated to optimize synthetic condition of the PdCu/C catalyst, For evaluations about catalytic activity and performance of direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC), half cell and full cell tests are implemented. As a result, when amount of EG is 4M, catalytic activities of the PdCu/C catalyst such as peak current of formic acid oxidation and active surface area are best, while maximum power density of DFAFC using the optimized PdCu/C catalyst is better than that using commercial Pd/C (30 wt%) by 6%. Based on that, PdCu/C catalyst synthesized by modified polyol method plays a critical role in improving (i) catalytic activity for formic acid oxidation and (ii) DFAFC performance by employing as anodic catalyst.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.276-282
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• 2016

The effects of conductive additives in a $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.2}MnO_3$ perovskite bifunctional electrode for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) were investigated in an alkaline solution. Highly porous carbon black (CB) and Ni powder were added to the bifunctional electrodes as conductive additives. The surface morphologies of electrodes containing CB and Ni were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The current densities for both ORR and OER were changed by the addition of CB. The conductive additive changed physical properties of bifunctional electrodes such as the sheet conductance, gas permeability and contact angle. It was observed that the air permeability of electrode was most effective to enhance the currents for ORR and OER.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.95-105
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• 2016

Spray-dried NiO-based oxygen carriers developed for chemical looping combustion required high calcination temperatures above $1300^{\circ}C$ to obtain high mechanical strength applicable to circulating fluidized-bed process. In this study, the effect of CBB ($CaO{\cdot}BaO{\cdot}B_2O_3$) addition, as a binder, on the physical properties and oxygen transfer reactivity of spray-dried NiO-based oxygen carriers was investigated. CBB addition resulted in several positive effects such as reduction of calcination temperature and increase in oxygen transfer capacity and porosity. However, oxygen transfer rate was considerably decreased. This was more apparent when a higher amount of CBB was added and MgO was added together. From the experimental results, it is concluded that CBB added NiO-based oxygen carriers are not suitable for chemical looping combustion and a new method to reduce calcination temperature while maintaining high oxygen transfer rate of NiO-based oxygen carriers should be found out.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2016

Performance of absorbent for post-combustion $CO_2$ capture was measured and discussed. Fully saturated fresh absorbent (P2-15F) and absorbents sampled from absorption and regeneration reactor of continuous $CO_2$ capture process, P2-15A, P2-15R, respectively, were used as representative absorbents. Small scale fluidized bed reactor (0.05 m I.D., 0.8 m high) which can measure exhaust gas concentration and weight change simultaneously was used to analyze regeneration characteristics for those absorbents. Exhausted moles of $CO_2$ and $H_2O$ were measured with increasing temperature. $H_2O/CO$ ratio and working capacity were determined and discussed to confirm reason of reactivity decay after continuous operation. Moreover, possibility of side reaction was checked based on the $H_2O/CO_2$ mole ratio. Finally, suitable regeneration temperature range was confirmed based on the trend of working capacity with temperature.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2016

In this study, ash free coals(AFCs) were produced with lignite and anthracite coals in a microwave. The AFCs were analyzed with proximate analysis, fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The extraction yields of the AFCs were 16.4 wt%, 7.6 wt% at lignite and anthracite coal, respectively. The chemical and physical properties of the AFCs were similar regardless of the original coal types. Oxidation behavior of the AFCs was investigated by supplying a mixture of 3g of AFC and 3g of electrolyte into the coin-type molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). For the evaluation of AFC fuel performance, electrochemical analysis of the steady-state polarization and step-chronopotentiometry were conducted based on the standard hydrogen fuel (69 mol% $H_2$, 17 mol% $CO_2$, 14 mol% $H_2O$). The AFCs showed similar electrochemical oxidation behaviors regardless of the original coal types. The overvoltage of the AFCs was larger than the hydrogen fuel, although OCV of the AFCs was higher.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2016

In this study, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system model including balance of plant (BOP) for building electric power generation is developed to study the effect of operating conditions on the system efficiency and power output. SOFC system modeled in this study consists of three heat-exchangers, an external reformer, burner, and two blowers. A detailed computational cell model including internal reforming reaction is developed for a planer SOFC stack which is operated at intermediate temperature (IT). The BOP models including an external reformer, heat-exchangers, a burner, blowers, pipes are developed to predict the gas temperature, pressure drops and flow rate at every component in the system. The SOFC stack model and BOP models are integrate to estimate the effect of operating parameters on the performance of the system. In this study, the design of experiment (DOE) is used to compare the effects of fuel flow rate, air flow rate, air temperature, current density, and recycle ratio of anode off gas on the system efficiency and power output.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.477-483
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• 2015

LFG (Land-Fill Gas) includes components of $CH_4$, $CO_2$, $O_2$, $N_2$, and water. The preparation of synthesis gas from LFG as a DME (Dimethyl Ether) feedstock was studied by methane reforming of $CO_2$, $O_2$ and steam over $NiO-MgO-CeO_2/Al_2O_3$ catalyst. Our experiments were performed to investigate the effects of methane conversion and syngas yield on the amount of LFG components over $NiO-MgO-CeO_2/Al_2O_3$ catalyst. Results were obtained through the methan reforming experiments at the temperature of $900^{\circ}C$ and GHSV of 8,800. The results were as following; it has generally shown that syngas yield increase with the increase of oxygen and steam amounts and then decrease. Highly methane conversion of above 98% and syngas yield of approximately 60% were obtained in the feed of gas composition flow-rate of 243ml/min of $CH_4$, 241ml/min of $CO_2$, 195ml/min of $O_2$, 48ml/min of $N_2$, and 450ml/min of steam, respectively, under reactor pressure of 1 bar for 200 hrs of reaction time. Also, it was shown that catalyst deactivation by coke formation was reduced by excessively adding oxygen and steam as an oxidizer of the methane reforming.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.445-452
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• 2015

A tubular packed bed reactor for the steam-$CO_2$ combined reforming of natural gas to produce the synthesis gas of a target $H_2/CO$ ratio 2.0 was simulated. The effects of the reactor dimension, the feed gas composition, and the gas feeding temperature upon the possibility of coke formation across the catalyst bed were investigated. For this purpose, 2-dimensional heterogeneous reactor model was used to determine the local gas concentrations and temperatures over the catalyst bed. The thermodynamic potential distribution of coke formation was determined by comparing the extent of reaction with the equilibrium constant given by the reaction, $CH_4+2CO{\Leftrightarrow}3C+2H_2O$. The simulation showed that catalysts packed in the central region nearer the entrance of the reactor were more prone to coking because of the regional characteristics of lower temperature, lower concentration of $H_2O$, and higher concentration of CO. With the higher feeding temperature, the feed gas composition of the increased $H_2O$ and correspondingly decreased $CO_2$, or the decrease in the reactor diameter, the volume fraction of the catalyst bed subsequent to coking could be diminished. Throughout the simulation, reactor dimension and reaction condition for coking-free operation were suggested.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2016

The Sulfur-Iodine thermochemical hydrogen production process (SI process) consists of the Bunsen reaction section, the $H_2SO_4$ decomposition section, and the HI decomposition section. The $HI_x$ solution ($I_2-HI-H_2O$) could be recycled to Bunsen reaction section from the HI decomposition section in the operation of the integrated SI process. The phase separation characteristic of the Bunsen reaction using the $HI_x$ solution was similar to that of $I_2-H_2O-SO_2$ system. On the other hands, the amount of produced $H_2SO_4$ phase was small. To investigate the effects of $SO_2$ solubility on Bunsen reaction, the continuous Bunsen reaction was performed at variation of the amounts of $SO_2$ gas. Also, it was carried out to make sure of the effects of partial pressure of $SO_2$ in the condition of 3bar of $SO_2-O_2$ atmosphere. As the results, the characteristic of Bunsen reaction was improved with increasing the amounts and solubility of $SO_2$ gas. The concentration of Bunsen products was changed by reverse Bunsen reaction and evaporation of HI after 12 h.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.211-219
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• 2016

To develop an ash separator for the solid fuel chemical looping combustion system, effects of operating variables such as solid injection nozzle velocity, diameter of solid injection nozzle, gap between solid injection line and vent line, vent line inside diameter, and solid intake height on solid separation rate and solid separation efficiency were measured and discussed using heavy and coarse particle and light and fine particles mixture as bed material in an acrylic fluidized bed apparatus. The solid separation rate increased as the solid injection nozzle velocity and the diameter of solid injection nozzle increased. However, the solid separation rate decreased as the gap between solid injection line and vent line, the vent line inside diameter, and the solid intake height increased. The solid separation efficiency was in inverse proportion to the solid separation rate. In this study, we could get high solid separation rate up to 2.39 kg/hr with 91.6% of solid separation efficiency.