An onboard fuel cell hydrogen car reformer is a device that can take hydrocarbon liquid fuels (such as gasoline, propane, biodiesel, ethanol and biobutanol) and “convert” them into hydrogen gas that can be used to power a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The trick is to make them small enough to fit within the confines of a vehicle without sacrificing cargo and/or passenger space. Further, they need to have quick enough startup-to-hydrogen-production-speed to make them useful and acceptable for normal everyday transportation. No one wants to sit motionless in the driveway for 5 or 10 minutes waiting for the fuel to be made so the car can go.
Steam Reformers
One approach, and perhaps the most common is traditional steam reforming. With this method, fuel high in hydrocarbons is reacted with a supply of steam over a catalyst bed. The ensuing reaction strips hydrogen atoms from the steam/fuel mixture and they are then fed to the fuel cell stack for electricity generation. Though the steam method has traditionally been plagued by slow startup times and occasional fouling by “dirty” fuel feedstock, continual developments have brought these times (yes that’s the “waiting for the fuel to be made so the car can go times”) from highs of 12 or more minutes down to as low as 10 seconds. Not fantastic, but reasonably close to acceptable.
Proprietary Methods
Research by independent labs and private companies has presented other interesting types of hydrogen reformation. For example, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a derivative of the steam method that houses the catalyst inside a ceramic container. Though still limited by necessarily high temperature conditions, this device can more readily handle crude feedstock.
Also, Exxon Mobil, along with QuestAir technologies has devised a small-scale unit for a process they call Rapid Cycle Pressure Swing Adsorption. The device supplies feedstock through rotary valves. This open/closed cycle causes rapid pressure changes that create an enriched gas stream across structured adsorbents that separate out the purified hydrogen gas.
Intense R&D has steadily improved hydrogen reformers, and certainly the increasing need for clean alternatives will keep the pressure on for even better methods. Just as surely, methods for storing hydrogen directly onboard, as well as a robust hydrogen-fueling infrastructure, will grow and mature. Perhaps when the two finally meet, viable everyday, real-world hydrogen powered transportation will be a reality.