DE102013112927A1 - Process for steam reforming of organic peroxides (peroxy fuels) - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for producing hydrogen from an organic peroxide comprising:
- Providing a steam reformer; Providing an organic peroxide and water;
At least partial decomposition of the organic peroxide into decomposition products;
- Reforming the organic peroxide or its decomposition products in the steam reformer, wherein a decomposition heat of the organic peroxide serves at least partially for steam generation.
A steam reformer adapted for reforming a fuel comprising an organic peroxide, comprising: a decomposition chamber, the decomposition chamber being surrounded by a double wall forming a space enclosing the decomposition chamber in fluid communication with a water supply. Further proposed is a process for producing hydrogen and for producing a synthesis gas, each of which comprises the reforming of an organic peroxide.

Description

The invention relates to the production of hydrogen from liquid organic peroxides, a reformer for hydrogen production and steam generation, a fuel cell adapted for the use of liquid organic peroxides for energy production and other hydrogen conversion processes for energy production.

Fuel reformers are used to convert fossil fuels, especially light and heavy hydrocarbons, into purer fuels such as hydrogen [1, 2, 3, 4]. Under a reformer or the reforming here are both autoreformer and steam reformer, or reforming and steam reforming processes to understand. The produced hydrogen can be used in various combustion processes and fuel cells for energy production. So far, as far as known, primarily carbonaceous energy carriers such as natural gas, light gasoline, methanol, biogas or biomass are used in reforming processes for the production of hydrogen. In fuel cells, organic peroxides are not used as fuel to the best of our knowledge.

Against this background, a method for producing hydrogen with a steam reformer according to claim 1, the use of an organic peroxide as fuel in a steam reformer according to claim 6, a steam reformer according to claim 8, and the use of an organic peroxide for the production of synthesis gas according to claim 12 proposed. Other embodiments, modifications and improvements will become apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

According to a first embodiment, a method is proposed for producing hydrogen from an organic peroxide, comprising the following method steps: providing a steam reformer; Providing an organic peroxide and water; At least partial decomposition of the organic peroxide into decomposition products; and - Reforming the decomposition products and / or any remaining proportion of the organic peroxide in the steam reformer, wherein a decomposition heat of the organic peroxide and / or its decomposition products at least partially used to generate steam.

An advantage of this method is a reduction in the production costs and the operating costs of the corresponding reformer, and reduced costs for hydrogen production. The process can be carried out in plants which are adapted to the respective locally existing requirement for hydrogen gas.

According to another embodiment, the proposed method further comprises: adding the organic peroxide to a fuel selected from a fossil fuel, a light oil, a heavy oil, a coal dust, a liquefied coal, a biogas and / or a biomass.

The advantages of this embodiment result from the proportion of added organic peroxide and, above all, include an acceleration of the hydrogen production.

According to the proposed method, the mass of the fuel used is reduced per amount of hydrogen produced. The resulting advantages relate to a reduced space or space requirement of a steam reforming plant for the production of hydrogen or of synthesis gas.

According to the proposed method, a volume of a steam reformer is reduced at the same power as a conventional reformer. Advantages include the hydrogen produced per unit volume of reduced costs.

According to one embodiment of the proposed method for using organic peroxide in a steam reformer, the hydrogen produced can be supplied directly to a fuel cell and serve as fuel of the fuel cell. Advantages include in particular reduced costs of an electric current generated by the fuel cell.

According to a further embodiment, the use of an organic peroxide as fuel in a steam reformer is proposed.

Organic peroxides have a much higher energy density than conventional fossil fuels. Advantages of this embodiment thus arise, for example, from reduced costs by a reduced fuel storage space and compact design of the steam reformer plant.

In another embodiment, the organic peroxide used as fuel in a steam reformer is selected from: di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP, C ₈ H ₁₈ O ₂ ); tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB, C ₁₁ H ₁₄ O ₃ ); tert-butyl peroxy-2-ethylhexanoate (TBPEH, C ₁₂ H ₂₄ O ₃ ); and / or diisononanoyl (di- (3,5,5-trimethylhexanoyl) peroxide, INP, C ₁₈ H ₃₄ O _4).

Advantages result from the fact that the named organic peroxides are present as liquids and thus are easy to use when adapting existing plants. For example, a liquid organic peroxide may be added to a commonly used fossil fuel.

According to another embodiment, a steam reformer adapted for reforming a fuel comprising an organic peroxide is proposed. The adapted steam reformer in particular has a decomposition chamber which is surrounded by a double wall. The double wall forms a chamber enclosing the decomposition chamber, which is in fluid communication with a water supply.

An advantage of this embodiment results from the enlargement of a surface available for heating water to generate steam.

According to a further embodiment, a steam reformer is proposed, it being possible for water vapor to be introduced into the space surrounding the decomposition chamber via the fluidic connection, so that the steam can be generated with a decomposition heat of the organic peroxide.

Advantages of this embodiment result from an accelerated heating of water, an effective steam generation and reduced space requirements for steam generation and consequently for the reformer.

According to a further embodiment, a steam reformer is proposed, which further comprises an at least partially filled with a catalyst space (decomposition chamber), which is permeated by an organic peroxide to completely decompose the organic peroxide with heat release.

Advantages of this embodiment relate to the suitability of the steam reformer for the effective generation of heat for steam generation by means of a decomposition heat released by decomposition of a peroxy fuel and the suitability of the steam reformer for an immediate supply of decomposition gases for syngas production in the actual reformer.

According to a further embodiment, a steam reformer is proposed, which further comprises at least one fuel inlet control valve, which is arranged so that the supply of fuel in the at least partially filled with the catalyst decomposition chamber is adjustable. Furthermore, the steam reformer comprises at least one vapor flow control valve which is arranged so that a steam inlet from the water jacket of the decomposition chamber can be regulated in the reformer.

Advantages of this embodiment include facilitated and more effective control and control of the steam reforming plant during operation.

According to a further embodiment, it is proposed to use at least one organic peroxide for the production of synthesis gas. Advantages of this embodiment include the increase in the carbon monoxide content of the synthesis gas achievable with adapted control. Advantageously, the synthesis gas obtained after the reactor no longer has to be cleaned and treated consuming, since the organic peroxide used as fuel is free of undesirable elements. Therefore, for example, no H ₂ S must be removed.

The described embodiments can be combined with each other as desired. In particular, individual features of the embodiments briefly described above can be combined with each other. In particular, it is expressly pointed out that it is possible to modify the proposed process by, for example, utilizing autothermal reforming, which nevertheless uses an organic peroxide for hydrogen production and resulting heat for steam generation. Also, the above-described embodiments and the following embodiments close the Use of peroxy fuels either as an aggregate or as a major fuel in a fuel cell or a hydrogen-based power generation process.

According to the embodiments proposed here, the liquid organic peroxides can be used both as technically pure substances but also in mixture with commonly used short- or long-chain hydrocarbons. Steam generation is expressly included by utilizing the decomposition heat of the peroxides. Furthermore, according to the proposed or even roughly torn embodiments, the use of one or more organic peroxides as an additive in fuel cells and other hydrogen conversion processes for energy production includes. The mentioned applications have in common that the energy released by the decomposition of organic peroxides at least reduces the possibly necessary supply of electrical energy (eg for steam generation) or makes this energy available for immediate (chemical) reaction (eg in fuel cells), in which case also the active oxygen present in the organic peroxides and released during their decomposition may have a beneficial effect or act.

Steam reforming is a process for recovering so-called synthesis gas, which is a mixture of hydrogen with carbon monoxide. Whereas classical steam reforming of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, light gasoline, methanol, or biogas, with the corresponding supply of heat to form hydrogen, follows equation (1): CH ₄ + H ₂ O⇌CO + 3H ₂ (1) can thereby be used with slight release of heat carbon monoxide further to the water splitting according to the water gas shift reaction (2): CO + H ₂ O⇌CO ₂ + H ₂ (2)

While known steam reforming techniques typically rely on fossil fuels, it is now proposed to exploit the particular properties of organic peroxides for steam reforming by utilizing them as fuels or aggregates. This offers the enormous advantage of enormously increasing the amount of hydrogen released during the conversion of the new reforming fuel and additionally utilizing the heat released, which is directly used for the self-maintenance of the reforming process. Similarly, formed decomposition gases (decomposition products) can be used as synthesis gas or a component thereof.

The accompanying drawings illustrate particular embodiments of the proposed method and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The elements of the drawings are relative to one another and not necessarily to scale.

1 schematically shows the known process of reforming hydrocarbons;

2 schematically shows a typical embodiment of the here proposed reforming of organic peroxides;

3 shows the exothermic decomposition of a typical organic peroxide fuel (DTBP) in a differential scanning calorimeter;

4 shows the decomposition products of a typical peroxide fuel (DTBP) based on their IR spectrum [6];

In particular, in 1 the process flow of a reforming of hydrocarbons [1] shown schematically. First, the fuel is pretreated to remove sulfur or other undesirable contaminants. Water is heated to form steam. In the reformer then, for example, methane is passed with the steam over a (nickel) catalyst and heated in a chamber at 850 ° C. The heat required for this is supplied by low NOx burners, which either fire up or down depending on the preferred design. The generated hydrogen is further purified, for example by pressure swing adsorption (PSA), before being supplied to an engine or fuel cell. Excess steam can be used by a steam turbine to generate electricity.

• 1. Für die Erzeugung einer praktisch nutzbaren Menge an Wasserstoff ist notwendig, eine große Menge an Kohlenwasserstoffen (Brennstoff) und Wasser bereitzustellen und zu lagern;
• 2. Es ist elektrischer Strom erforderlich, um Wasser in Dampf zu verwandeln;
• 3. Eine dementsprechend höhere Menge der Luft-Brennstoff-Mischung muss am Brenner bereitgestellt werden;
• 4. Gesamtkosten und Größe der Reformeranlage ist Beschränkungen unterworfen für Anwendungen, in denen die Kompaktheit der Anlage an erster Stelle steht;
• 5. Fossile Brennstoffe müssen vor der Verwendung im Reformer von Schwefel und anderen unerwünschten Elementen befreit werden.

The known methods of steam reforming are therefore characterized by the following disadvantageous features:

• 1. For the generation of a practical usable amount of hydrogen is necessary to provide and store a large amount of hydrocarbons (fuel) and water;
• 2. Electricity is required to turn water into steam;
• 3. A correspondingly higher amount of air-fuel mixture must be provided to the burner;
• 4. The total cost and size of the reformer plant is limited for applications where compactness of the plant comes first;
• 5. Fossil fuels must be freed of sulfur and other undesirable elements prior to use in the reformer.

In contrast, the reformer proposed here is adapted for the use of organic, preferably liquid, peroxide fuels. By utilizing the decomposition heat of the peroxide to generate steam, the reforming of the peroxide fuel can be made more effective than in the conventional reformer.

In 2 the adapted reformer is shown schematically.

The reference symbols used have the following meaning:

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

Peroxy fuel feed

2

Feeding piping for peroxy fuel

3

Fuel inlet control valve

4

Cold water supply

5

Feeding pipeline for water

6

Water supply control valve

7

Water jacket (double wall, water filled)

8th

Outer surface of the water jacket (isolated)

9

Chamber for the decomposition of peroxy fuel

10

Region of decomposition of the peroxide in the presence of a catalyst

11

Steam flow control valve to the reformer

12

Steam inlet direction to the reformer 22

13

Inlet direction for decomposition products of peroxy fuels

14

Flow control valve for decomposition gases

15

Inner wall of the reformer

16

Outer wall of the reformer (with burner unit between inner and outer wall) for heating the reformer

17

Hydrogen outlet

18

Pressure swing adsorption device (PSA)

19

Carbon monoxide outlet

20

For high-temperature conversion (water gas shift reaction)

21

Additional heat transfer of the reformer (combustion) chamber heat to the water jacket 7

22

reformer

23

Carbon dioxide gas treatment

According to the method, the peroxy fuel passes 1 (for example, selected from the organic peroxides di-tert-butyl-peroxide (DTBP, C ₈ H ₁₈ O ₂ ) mentioned in Table 1, tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB, C ₁₁ H ₁₄ O ₃ ), tert-butyl peroxy-2 ethylhexanoate (TBPEH, C ₁₂ H ₂₄ O ₃ ) or diisononanoyl peroxide (INP, C ₁₈ H ₃₄ O ₄ ) from a reservoir, not shown here, via a pipeline 2 or a pipeline 2 to the decomposition chamber 9 , Its inflow is governed by the fuel inlet check valve 3 , The peroxy fuel enters the chamber 9 where it decomposes under thermal decomposition (cf. 3 ) in the presence of a catalyst, for example a nickel catalyst, completely to form decomposition products (cf. 4 ) is decomposed. Cold water 4 passes from a water reservoir (tank) via a supply line (pipeline) 5 into a decomposition chamber 9 surrounding water jacket 7 , About the valve 6 the required water supply is regulated. Cold water absorbs the decomposition heat of the peroxy fuel (in the case of using 1 kg of DTBP as peroxy fuel, this is about 1365 kW) from the chamber 9 and forms steam in the double jacket 7 ,

Now the decomposition products over valve 14 Access to the reformer 22 granted. At the same time steam passes through the valve 11 to the reformer 22 , The reformer, or its inner surface 15 is heated by a low-NOx burner or a peroxy-fuel burned burner, raising the temperature in the chamber up to 900 ° C. The at this high temperature combined with the water vapor decomposition products of peroxide, which were formed in the presence of the nickel or nickel-containing catalyst, now form in the steam reformer 22 Hydrogen and CO ₂ (also small amounts of CO). In place of or in addition to the nickel catalysts mentioned, other catalysts, for. As cobalt, molybdenum or aluminum-containing catalysts, eg. B. usable on oxide basis. The hydrogen formed is via the pipeline 17 to the pressure swing adsorption unit (PSA) (not shown here) 18 directed. In addition, a stream of carbon monoxide is formed 20 over the pipeline 19 into a high temperature conversion unit (not shown) where it can react with water vapor to form further CO ₂ and hydrogen via the water gas shift reaction (see reaction (2) above). Carbon dioxide will continue to be an exhaust treatment in the exhaust gas treatment chamber 23 subjected. The exhaust gases of the PSA unit can enter the reformer chamber 22 be returned to burn here.

Table 1 below summarizes typical features of the peroxy fuels discussed herein. Table 1 Peroxy fuel Decomposition temperature (start and end) T _dec [° C] Decomposition energy Δh _dec [kJ / kg] Products of decomposition DTBP (C ₈ H ₁₈ O ₂ ) di-tert-butyl peroxide 79-69 1365 Acetone ethane TBPB (C ₁₁ H ₁₄ O ₃ ) tert-butyl peroxybenzoate 90-180 1377 Benzoic acid benzene tert-butyl alcohol acetone methane TBPEH (C ₁₂ H ₂₄ O ₃ ) tert -butyl-peroxy-2-ethylhexanoate 65-158 1158 2-ethylhexanoic acid tert-butanol acetone methane and ethane n-heptane 5,6-di-ethyldecane INP (C ₁₈ H ₃₄ O ₄₎ Diisononanoyl peroxide 66-132 954

example

In the following example, di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP), a liquid organic peroxy fuel, is shown to exhibit a simplified decomposition reaction of DTBP and to discuss the characteristics of the process described.

DTBP responds to the steam reforming according to the molecular formula as follows: C ₈ H ₁₈ O ₂ + 14H ₂ O ⇌ 8CO ₂ + 23H ₂ (3) Here, 1 mole of DTBP provides 23 moles of hydrogen.

The heating rate (kW) required for decomposition results from the product of mass flow (m _f ) of the fuel with the specific heat capacity (c _p ) and delta T (ΔT), such as: Q _d1 = m _f * c _p * ΔT = m _f * c _p (T _dec -T _a ) [kW] (4)

The specific heat capacity of peroxides is ~ 2 kJ / kg · K.

The decomposition of the peroxy fuel with a mass flow m _f = 1 kg / s requires at an ambient temperature of T _a = 293 K a heating rate of 92 kW to 140 kW (see start decomposition temperature T _dec in Table 1).

The amount of heat released in each case (corresponding to Δh _dec ) is given in Table 1 and lies between 954 kW (for INP) and 1365 kW (for DTBP) for the stated organic peroxy fuels, resulting in a heating rate (Q _d2 ) Q _d2 = m _f · Δh _dec [kW] (5) on the order of 862 to 1273 kW, which is still available for steam generation.

This directly contributes to reducing the mass of peroxy fuel used (assuming a stable heat requirement of 34 kW, [5]) from 1 kg to 0.027 kg to 0.04 kg.

In other words, it is 25 times to 37 times less peroxide fuel (depending on the specific compound) or only 1/37 to 1/25 of the commonly used amount of fuel needed.

Table 2 summarizes the main differences of the proposed peroxide reforming over the known reforming of hydrocarbons. Table 2 fuel Hydrogen production [Nm ³ / h] * Electricity requirement [kW] Water [kg / h] Ratio of H ₂ to fuel Fuel requirement [Nm ³ / h] methane 50 34 60 0.25 22 Peroxy fuels DTBP 50 0 60 0.04 0.59 TBPB 50 0 60 0.04 0.59 TBPEH 50 0 60 0.03 0.68 INP 50 0 60 0.04 0.87 * under normal conditions of pressure and temperature

• – Für eine vorgesehene Menge herzustellenden Wasserstoffs müssen große Mengen an Kohlenwasserstoffen (Erdgas, Leichtbenzin) oder Methanol, Biogas oder Biomasse gelagert bzw. der Dampfreformeranlage zugeführt werden;
• – Für die Erzeugung des Wasserdampfes in den Reformierungsanlagen werden große Mengen an elektrischer oder sonstiger Heizenergie benötigt;
• – Die Brenner für den eigentlichen Reformingprozess benötigen größere Mengen an Brennstoff/Luft-Gemischen;
• – Die Größe der Reformer ist limitiert; kompaktere Anlagen können aufgrund der erforderlichen Mengen an Wasserdampf und Brennstoff nicht ökonomisch realisiert werden;
• – Fossile Brennstoffe (Methan) müssen vor dem Einsatz gereinigt bzw. von störenden Beimengungen (z. B. Schwefel) befreit werden.

Disadvantages of known solutions, for example in the reforming of methane, are listed below:

• - For an intended quantity of hydrogen to be produced, large quantities of hydrocarbons (natural gas, light gasoline) or methanol, biogas or biomass must be stored or fed to the steam reformer;
• - For the generation of water vapor in the reforming plants large amounts of electrical or other heating energy is needed;
• - The burners for the actual reforming process require larger amounts of fuel / air mixtures;
• - The size of the reformers is limited; more compact plants can not be realized economically due to the required amounts of water vapor and fuel;
• - Fossil fuels (methane) must be cleaned before use or freed of interfering admixtures (eg sulfur).

The object is therefore to provide a method for generating energy, which seeks to eliminate or reduce the mentioned disadvantages of the previous systems by using alternative fuels. The proposed process for steam reforming based on alternative starting materials (organic peroxides) alone or in combination with conventional hydrocarbons or other carbon-based materials does this task.

• – mit dem Verfahren und dem vorgeschlagenen Reformer flüssige organische Peroxide anstelle von kurz- oder langkettigen Kohlenwasserstoffen zur Herstellung von Wasserstoff in einem Reformierungsprozess Verwendung finden;
• – die flüssigen organischen Peroxide dabei sowohl als technisch reine Stoffe aber auch in Mischung mit den üblicherweise verwendeten Kohlenwasserstoffen eingesetzt werden können;
• – die Dampferzeugung durch Nutzung der Zersetzungswärme der Peroxide eine wesentliche Steigerung der Effizienz des Reformierprozesses ausmacht; und
• – weiterhin organische Peroxide als Additive in Brennstoffzellen und sonstigen Wasserstoffumwandlungsprozessen zur Energiegewinnung zum Einsatz kommen.

The proposed method is based on that

• Using the process and the proposed reformer, liquid organic peroxides instead of short or long chain hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen in a reforming process;
• - The liquid organic peroxides can be used both as technically pure substances but also in mixture with the commonly used hydrocarbons;
• - The steam generation by utilizing the decomposition heat of peroxides constitutes a significant increase in the efficiency of the reforming process; and
• - Continue to use organic peroxides as additives in fuel cells and other hydrogen conversion processes for energy.

It is important in all processes that the energy released by the decomposition of the organic peroxides at least reduces the possibly necessary supply of electrical energy (eg for steam generation) or makes this energy available for immediate (chemical) reaction (eg. B. in fuel cells), in which case also present in the organic peroxides active oxygen may have a favorable effect.

• 1. Kein Erfordernis, elektrischen Strom für die Dampferzeugung einzusetzen, da die Zersetzungswärme von Peroxy-Brennstoffen die für die Dampferzeugung erforderliche Energie bereitstellt;
• 2. Der Anteil des (zur Zersetzung) bereitzustellenden Brennstoffs reduziert sich um einen Faktor von 25 bis 37. Alternativ kann die überschüssige Wärmemenge zur Stromerzeugung genutzt werden. Mit anderen Worten: Die Nutzung der bei der Zersetzung der organischen Peroxide freiwerdenden Energie zur direkten Umwandlung von Wasser in Wasserdampf verringert die ansonsten hierfür notwendige Menge an Energiezufuhr vollständig.
• 3. Für die gleiche Menge produzierten Wasserstoffs reduziert sich die Menge bereitzustellenden Brennstoffs um den gleichen Faktor von 25 bis 37. Mit anderen Worten: Für eine bestimmte Menge an zu erzeugendem Wasserstoff wird 25 bis 37 mal weniger organisches Peroxid benötigt als z. B. Methan.
• 4. Der erforderliche Raum bzw. die erforderliche Baugröße der Anlage last sich um den Faktor 25 bis 37 reduzieren.
• 5. Im Ergebnis der Vorteile in Punkt 4, sind auch die Erstellungskosten einer Anlage reduziert.
• 6. Es kann eine kompakte und bedarfsgerecht dimensionierte, ggf. auch kleine, Anlage zur vor-Ort-Erzeugung von Wasserstoff gebaut werden.
• 7. Kosten (beispielsweise für die Verflüssigung und Kühlung sowie den Transport), Gefahren (Explosionsgefahr bei Knallgasbildung) und Verluste (zwangsläufig beim Um- und Abfüllen auftretend) bei Lieferung von Wasserstoff aus Großanlagen an den jeweiligen Einsatzort werden vermieden.

From the use of peroxy fuels for hydrogen production, for example, the following advantages arise:

• 1. No requirement to use electric power for steam generation, as the heat of decomposition of peroxy fuels provides the energy required for steam generation;
• 2. The proportion of fuel (to decompose) to be provided is reduced by a factor of 25 to 37. Alternatively, the excess heat can be used to generate electricity. In other words, the use of the energy released in the decomposition of the organic peroxides for the direct conversion of water into water vapor reduces the otherwise necessary amount of energy supply completely.
• 3. For the same amount of hydrogen produced, the amount of fuel to be supplied is reduced by the same factor of 25 to 37. In other words, for a given amount of hydrogen to be generated, 25 to 37 times less organic peroxide is needed than, for example, Methane.
• 4. The required space or the required size of the system load can be reduced by a factor of 25 to 37.
• 5. As a result of the advantages in point 4, also the creation costs of a plant are reduced.
• 6. It can be built a compact and needs-sized, possibly even small, plant for on-site generation of hydrogen.
• 7. Costs (eg for liquefaction and cooling as well as transport), hazards (danger of explosion due to the formation of oxyhydrogen gas) and losses (inevitably occurring during refilling and filling) in the case of delivery of hydrogen from large plants to the respective place of use are avoided.

Note: Due to the risk of spontaneous decomposition, which under certain conditions may be caused by organic peroxides, it is urgent to ensure that temperature-controlled conditions are observed during storage and provision. In particular, the respective SADT (Self-Accelerating Decomposition Temperature) of the organic peroxide used must be taken into account.

In summary, a method for producing hydrogen from an organic peroxide is proposed. The method comprises: providing a steam reformer; Providing an organic peroxide and providing water; at least partially decomposing the organic peroxide into decomposition products; Reforming the decomposition products and / or the remaining organic peroxide in the steam reformer, wherein a decomposition heat of the decomposition products and / or the organic peroxide serves at least partially for steam generation. Further, a steam reformer adapted for reforming a fuel comprising an organic peroxide is proposed. The steam reformer comprises: a decomposition chamber, the decomposition chamber being surrounded by a double wall forming a space enclosing the decomposition chamber, which is in fluid communication with a water supply. Further proposed is a process for producing hydrogen and producing a synthesis gas comprising reforming an organic peroxide.

The present invention has been explained with reference to exemplary embodiments. These embodiments should by no means be construed as limiting the present invention. The following claims are a first, non-binding attempt to broadly define the invention.

Sources:

• [1] " www.linde-engineering.com/en/process_plants/hydrogen_and_synthesis_gas_plants/gas_products/hydrogen/index.html "
• [2] Sammes, Nigel M., ed. "Fuel cell technology: reaching towards commercialization". Springer Publishing Limited London 2006, ISBN 10: 185233-974-6 .
• [3] " www.linde-engineering.com/en/process_plants/hydrogen_and_synthesis_gas_plants/gas_generation/steam_reforming/index.html "
• [4] www.thyssenkrupp-uhde.de/en/technologies/ammonia-urea/steam-reforming/overview.html "
• [5] wwww.global-hydrogen-bus-platform.com/Technology/HydrogenProduction/reforming "
• [6] Chun, H., BAM Dissertation Series, Volume 23, Experimental Investigations and CFD Simulations of DTBP Pool Fires BAM Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-981655-0-0

Claims (12)

A process for producing hydrogen from an organic peroxide comprising: - Providing a steam reformer; Providing an organic peroxide and water; At least partial decomposition of the organic peroxide into decomposition products; - Reforming the decomposition products and / or the organic peroxide in the steam reformer, wherein a decomposition heat of the decomposition products and / or the organic peroxide serves at least partially for steam generation. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Adding the organic peroxide to a fuel selected from a fossil fuel, a light oil, a heavy oil, a coal dust, a liquefied coal, a biogas and / or a biomass. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein a mass of the fuel used is reduced per amount of hydrogen generated. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a volume of a steam reformer is reduced at the same power over a conventional reformer. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the generated hydrogen is supplied directly to a fuel cell and serves as fuel of the fuel cell. Use of an organic peroxide as fuel in a steam reformer ( 22 ). Use according to claim 7, wherein the organic peroxide is selected from: di-tert-butyl-peroxide (DTBP, C ₈ H ₁₈ O ₂ ); tert-butyl peroxybenzoate (TBPB, C ₁₁ H ₁₄ O ₃ ); tert-butyl peroxy-2-ethylhexanoate (TBPEH, C ₁₂ H ₂₄ O ₃ ); or diisononanoyl (INP, C ₁₈ H ₃₄ O _4). Steam reformer ( 22 ) adapted for reforming a fuel comprising an organic peroxide, comprising: - a decomposition chamber ( 9 ), wherein the decomposition chamber is surrounded by a double wall forming a decomposition chamber ( 9 ) enclosing space which is in fluid communication with a water supply ( 5 ) stands. Steam reformer ( 22 ) according to claim 8, wherein via the fluidic connection steam into the decomposition chamber ( 9 ) can be introduced, and wherein the water vapor can be generated with a decomposition heat of the organic peroxide. Steam reformer ( 22 ) according to one of claims 7 or 8, further comprising a space at least partially filled with a catalyst ( 10 ), which can be traversed by the organic peroxide, so that the organic peroxide in contact with the catalyst is at least partially decomposable. Steam reformer ( 22 ) according to one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising at least one fuel inlet control valve ( 3 ), which is arranged so that the supply of fuel in the at least partially filled with the catalyst space ( 10 ) and at least one steam flow control valve ( 11 ) arranged so that a steam inlet into the reformer ( 22 ) is controllable. Use of an organic peroxide for the production of synthesis gas.

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