Recently, China's first 200 Nm3/h bioethanol reforming hydrogen production unit was successfully put into operation. The device is invested by State Development and Investment Corporation Co., Ltd., and jointly developed by SDIC Biotechnology Investment Co., Ltd. and the Ecological Environment Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. So far, it has been running continuously for over 400 hours and the hydrogen purity has reached 5N.

Bioethanol is one of the most widely used renewable energy sources in the world, and the operation of the first device for reforming bioethanol to produce hydrogen has added a new track to the green hydrogen industry. At present, most of the green hydrogen in China is produced in the western region, while the hydrogen energy and fuel cell industries in the eastern region are developed. However, hydrogen prices remain high and it is difficult to achieve green hydrogen supply. The bio ethanol reforming hydrogen production unit can be directly put into the hydrogenation station to supply green hydrogen with reasonable price for fuel cell vehicles nearby, which can not only obtain economic benefits in the short term, but also be more conducive to the realization of carbon neutrality goals.

Bioethanol is one of the most widely used renewable energy sources at present, with an annual global output of about 90 million tons. It plays an important role in coping with the Energy crisis and protecting the ecological environment. It is also considered as one of the ideal hydrogen production raw materials because of its ease of transportation and storage, non-toxic, high energy density, etc. For many years, many state-owned institutions of the two major bioethanol producers in the United States and Brazil have been committed to the development of bioethanol reforming technology. However, factors such as catalyst stability and raw material prices constrain the industrial development of this technology.

This device adopts an efficient hydrogen production catalyst developed by Academician He Hong from the Ecological Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for over ten years, which integrates the oxidation reforming hydrogen production process and the analytical gas catalytic oxidation technology, and can operate stably at high energy efficiency. SDIC Biotech, in accordance with the requirements of the carbon peak and carbon neutral 1+N policy system, focuses on tackling the choking technology of Cellulosic ethanol, actively explores the demonstration and large-scale application of advanced biological liquid fuels in the field of transportation, and speeds up the research, development and demonstration application of renewable energy hydrogen production technology. The successful operation of this first bioethanol reforming hydrogen production device can promote the development of container mounted skidded equipment, accelerate the realization of green hydrogen energy supply, and assist in achieving the dual carbon goal. Editor/Xie Li