Formic Acid Decomposition Using Palladium-Zinc Preformed Colloidal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanofibre in Batch and Continuous Flow Reactors: Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling Studies
Sanaa Hafeez,
Eleana Harkou,
Panayiota Adamou,
Ilaria Barlocco,
Elisa Zanella,
George Manos,
Sultan M. Al-Salem,
Xiaowei Chen,
Juan Josè Delgado,
Nikolaos Dimitratos,
Alberto Villa,
Achilleas Constantinou
Affiliations
Sanaa Hafeez
School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
Eleana Harkou
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
Panayiota Adamou
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
Ilaria Barlocco
Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi, 20133 Milan, Italy
Elisa Zanella
Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi, 20133 Milan, Italy
George Manos
Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WCIE 7JE, UK
Sultan M. Al-Salem
Environment & Life Sciences Research Centre, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait
Xiaowei Chen
Department of Materials Science Metallurgical Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Juan Josè Delgado
Department of Materials Science Metallurgical Engineering and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Cádiz, Campus Río San Pedro, E-11510 Puerto Real, Spain
Nikolaos Dimitratos
Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Alberto Villa
Department of Chemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi, 20133 Milan, Italy
Achilleas Constantinou
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
The need to replace conventional fuels with renewable sources is a great challenge for the science community. H2 is a promising alternative due to its high energy density and availability. H2 generation from formic acid (FA) decomposition occurred in a batch and a packed-bed flow reactor, in mild conditions, using a 2% Pd6Zn4/HHT (high heated treated) catalyst synthesised via the sol-immobilisation method. Experimental and theoretical studies took place, and the results showed that in the batch system, the conversion was enhanced with increasing reaction temperature, while in the continuous flow system, the conversion was found to decrease due to the deactivation of the catalyst resulting from the generation of the poisoning CO. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies were developed to predict the conversion profiles, which demonstrated great validation with the experimental results. The model can accurately predict the decomposition of FA as well as the deactivation that occurs in the continuous flow system. Of significance was the performance of the packed-bed flow reactor, which showed improved FA conversion in comparison to the batch reactor, potentially leading to the utilisation of continuous flow systems for future fuel cell applications for on-site H2 production.
