Ndlovu, IMEverson, RCChiuta, SNeomagus, HWJPLangmi, Henrietta WRen, Jianwei2018-02-212018-02-212017-12Ndlovu, I.M. et al. 2017. A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications. International Journal of Electrochemical Science, vol. 13: 485-4971452-3981doi: 10.20964/2018.01.18http://www.electrochemsci.org/papers/vol13/130100485.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10204/10057Article published in International Journal of Electrochemical Science, vol. 13: 485-497An experimental evaluation of a microchannel reactor was completed to assess the reactor performance for the catalytic decomposition of vaporised formic acid (FA) for H2 production. Initially, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), elemental mapping using SEM-EDS and BET surface area measurements were done to characterise the commercial Au/Al2O3 catalyst. The reactor was evaluated using pure (99.99%) and diluted (50/50 vol.%) FA at reactor temperatures of 250–350°C and inlet vapour flow rates of 12–48 mL.min-1. Satisfactory reactor performance was demonstrated at 350°C as near-equilibrium FA conversion (>98%) was obtained for all flow rates investigated. The best operating point was identified as 350°C and 48 mL.min-1 (pure FA feed) with a H2 yield of 68.7%. At these conditions the reactor performed well in comparison to conventional systems, achieving a H2 production rate of 11.8 NL.gcat-1.h-1. This paper therefore highlights important considerations for ongoing design and development of microchannel reactors for the decomposition of FA for H2 production.enFormic acid decompositionHydrogen productionMicrochannel reactorFuel cell applicationAu/Al2O3 catalystArticleNdlovu, I., Everson, R., Chiuta, S., Neomagus, H., Langmi, H. W., & Ren, J. (2017). A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10057Ndlovu, IM, RC Everson, S Chiuta, HWJP Neomagus, Henrietta W Langmi, and Jianwei Ren "A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications." (2017) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10057Ndlovu I, Everson R, Chiuta S, Neomagus H, Langmi HW, Ren J. A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications. 2017; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10057.TY - Article AU - Ndlovu, IM AU - Everson, RC AU - Chiuta, S AU - Neomagus, HWJP AU - Langmi, Henrietta W AU - Ren, Jianwei AB - An experimental evaluation of a microchannel reactor was completed to assess the reactor performance for the catalytic decomposition of vaporised formic acid (FA) for H2 production. Initially, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), elemental mapping using SEM-EDS and BET surface area measurements were done to characterise the commercial Au/Al2O3 catalyst. The reactor was evaluated using pure (99.99%) and diluted (50/50 vol.%) FA at reactor temperatures of 250–350°C and inlet vapour flow rates of 12–48 mL.min-1. Satisfactory reactor performance was demonstrated at 350°C as near-equilibrium FA conversion (>98%) was obtained for all flow rates investigated. The best operating point was identified as 350°C and 48 mL.min-1 (pure FA feed) with a H2 yield of 68.7%. At these conditions the reactor performed well in comparison to conventional systems, achieving a H2 production rate of 11.8 NL.gcat-1.h-1. This paper therefore highlights important considerations for ongoing design and development of microchannel reactors for the decomposition of FA for H2 production. DA - 2017-12 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Formic acid decomposition KW - Hydrogen production KW - Microchannel reactor KW - Fuel cell application KW - Au/Al2O3 catalyst LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2017 SM - 1452-3981 T1 - A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications TI - A performance evaluation of a microchannel reactor for the production of hydrogen from formic acid for electrochemical energy applications UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/10057 ER -