A structured catalyst for catalyzing an endothermic reaction of a feed gas to convert it to a product gas Including at least one macroscopic structure of an electrically conductive material and at least one connector attached to the at least one macroscopic structure, wherein the macroscopic structure supports a catalytically active material.

The present invention is to provide a method for refining hydrogen with a hydrogen refining device in which the inside of a cell is divided into a primary side space and a secondary side space by palladium alloy capillaries each having one end being closed and a tube sheet supporting the open end of the palladium alloy capillaries, in which impurity-containing hydrogen is introduced from the primary side space to allow hydrogen to permeate the palladium alloy capillaries so as to collect pure hydrogen from the secondary side space. The method for refining hydrogen has a capability of decreasing the removed amount of gas containing impurities and efficiently collecting pure hydrogen from the secondary side space. From hydrogen with 1000 ppm or less of impurities as raw material hydrogen, gas containing impurities that does not penetrate the palladium alloy capillaries is removed from the primary side space at the flow rate of 10% or less of the introduction flow rate of the raw material hydrogen. Furthermore, gas containing impurities that does not penetrate the palladium alloy capillaries is removed from the primary side space at a flow rate based on the content of impurities contained in raw material hydrogen.

Catalytic preparation of hydrogen and aldehyde(s) from alcohols, including bioalcohols, without production of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide.

A reactor suitable for a reaction containing an exothermic reaction is provided. The reactor includes the following components. A reaction channel has an inlet and an outlet, and has a front-end reaction zone, middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end reaction zone from the inlet to the outlet. A front-end catalyst support and a front-end catalyst are located in the front-end reaction zone, a middle-end catalyst support and a middle-end catalyst are respectively located in the middle-end reaction zones, and a back-end catalyst support and a back-end catalyst are located in the back-end reaction zone. The concentration of the front-end catalyst is less than the concentration of the back-end catalyst, and the concentration of the middle-end catalyst is decided via a computer simulation of reaction parameters. The reaction parameters include size and geometric shape of the reaction channel.

A method of obtaining paraffinic hydrocarbons from fat, by an exemplary method, whereby the method is performed in two stages, in a coupled flow-type system, under atmospheric pressure conditions, in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts, after their thermal activation, so that in Stage I the fat and/or waste fat is heated at a temperature range of 100-500° C., in the presence of an inert gas, in the presence of a catalyst in the form of a metal oxide on an oxide support or in the form of a mixture of at least two metal oxides on an oxide support. The product obtained in Stage I is treated, in the presence of an inert gas, at a temperature range of 100-500° C., in the presence of a metallic catalyst on an oxide support, with hydrogen gas or with a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, obtained in the selective decomposition of methanol.

A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The system provides an enhanced system for evaporating the liquid fuel using a pre-evaporator, which partly evaporates the fuel, followed by a nozzle, which atomizes the fuel into a fine mist, before being passed to the final evaporation zone. This configuration ensures minimal fuel accumulation in the system and fast load transition's.

A fuel cell system comprising a fuel cell stack, an evaporator for evaporating a mixture of methanol and water to be forwarded through a catalytic reformer for producing portions of free hydrogen. The fuel cell stack being composed of a number of proton exchange membrane fuel cells each featuring electrodes in form of an anode and a cathode for delivering an electric current. The liquid fuel using a. pre-evaporator, which. partly evaporates the fuel, followed by a. nozzle, which atomizes the fuel into a fine mist, before being passed to the final evaporation zone. This configuration ensures that liquid fuel for producing thermal, neat is converted into a form that facilitates a burner to achieve a quick heating up of the fuel, cell system into production mode.

A catalyst system includes a complex having formula I which advantageously has a sterically protecting N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) carbene-pyridine ligand to handle harsh reactions conditions than many prior art catalysts:

##STR00001##

wherein M is a transition metal; o is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4; R.sub.1 is a C.sub.1-6 alkyl, a C.sub.6-18 aryl, or an optionally substituted C.sub.5-18 heteroaryl. In a refinement, R.sub.1 is methyl, ethyl, butyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, or t-butyl; R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.3′ are independently an optionally substituted C.sub.1-6 alkyl, halo (e.g., Cl, F, Br, etc), NO.sub.2, an optionally substituted C.sub.6-18 aryl, or an optionally substituted C.sub.5-18 heteroaryl; R.sub.4, R.sub.4′ are independently an optionally substituted C.sub.1-6 alkyl, halo, NO.sub.2, an optionally substituted C.sub.6-18 aryl, or an optionally substituted C.sub.5-18 heteroaryl; and X.sup.− is a negatively charge counter ion and L.sub.1, L.sub.2 are each independently a neutral ligand.

A hydrogen permeable membrane device is provided that includes a porous ceramic layer having a material that includes zirconia, Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), γ/Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and/or YSZ— γ/Al.sub.2O.sub.3, and a porous Pd film or porous Pd-alloy film deposited on the a mesoporous ceramic layer.

Hydrogen purification devices and their components are disclosed. In some embodiments, the devices may include at least one foil-microscreen assembly disposed between and secured to first and second end frames. The at least one foil-microscreen assembly may include at least one hydrogen-selective membrane and at least one microscreen structure including a non-porous planar sheet having a plurality of apertures forming a plurality of fluid passages. The planar sheet may include generally opposed planar surfaces configured to provide support to the permeate side. The plurality of fluid passages may extend between the opposed surfaces. The at least one hydrogen-selective membrane may be metallurgically bonded to the at least one microscreen structure.