Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of Bioethanol Steam Reforming Reactor for Fuel Cell Purposes

Bioethanol and hydrogen as a new source of energy are being strongly considered by industries and scientific community for causing less pollution and being cheaper when compared with fossil fuels. In this context, a new kind of engine, called fuel cells, that uses electrochemistry, thermodynamics and transport phenomena (fluid mechanics, heat transfer and mass transfer) concepts to convert hydrogen in water, and generate electrical energy, has been designed and tested by researchers and big companies over the world. However, hydrogen is considered dangerous e expensive due to the storage requirements, which is usually made in spherical containers under high pressure. In order to overcome these drawbacks, on-board bioethanol reforming reactor (ESR), which converts bioethanol in hydrogen, is being integrated on board fuel cell systems to produce clean energy efficiently and safely. Moreover, the design of the control system for the reactor is fundamental once temperature and conversion profiles must be kept in profitable range front eventual disturbance. Therefore, a dynamic model is required in order to predict the behavior of the bioethanol steam reforming reactor when such disturbance takes place and to evaluate the controller parameters. This work has as purpose to develop a dynamic model for the ESR; to predict the dynamic behaviour front to usual industrial disturbance as well as to consider the pressure drop along the reactor; create a SIMULINK model that represents the process as a block diagram common used in process control loops, and to develop a Guide User Interface (GUI) in order the user can run the simulation outside the programming environment.