POISON RESISTANT CATALYST DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING
The Alternative Fuels Field Test Unit (AFFTU) is a portable laboratory designed specifically to provide on-site evaluation of potential feedstocks for processes that produce alternative fuels from indigenous raw materials such as coal, natural gas or environmentally disadvantaged carbonaceous feedstocks. Since conversion of these raw materials into feed gas streams can produce a variety of bulk gas compositions, which furthermore can contain a myriad of trace components, it is necessary to evaluate each new feedstock on an individual basis. While it is possible to prepare blended gas mixtures to simulate the bulk composition of a known feedstock, it is neither possible nor cost-effective to simulate adequately the variety of trace chemicals present in that feedstock--some of which may not even be detected by routine analysis. Additionally, the transient composition of the gas during upsets or routine process changes may have an impact on the proposed process that is not foreseen in standard design. To address these concerns, the AFFTU was constructed with the following experimental capabilities: (1) A state-of-the-art gas chromatograph system to perform semi-continuous monitoring of both bulk composition and the concentration of key trace poisons down to one part per billion (ppb). (2) A 30-mL reactor system that can accept up to two feed streams from the customer, allowing a true life test with the actual gas projected for use in the proposed facility. (3) A manifold of four adsorbent beds, located upstream of the reactor, which permits the testing of adsorbents for the removal of contaminants from the feed stream. The effectiveness of these adsorbents may be evaluated either by analysis of the gas upstream and downstream of the bed (or at an intermediate point within the bed) or by observing the impact of the presence or absence of that bed on the actual stability of the catalyst activity. To achieve portability, the AFFTU was constructed in a commercial 48-foot trailer. Roughly half of the trailer is dedicated as ''office'' space, and it contains three personal computers that serve as an interface to the process control and handles data acquisition and analysis. The other half houses the laboratory, which is highly automated and designed for unattended operation. When not in use at a customer's site, the AFFTU is located at Air Products' Iron Run research facility, where it becomes an effective extension of the Alternative Fuels research laboratories.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC22-95PC93052
- OSTI ID:
- 794368
- Report Number(s):
- FC22-95PC93052-44; TRN: US200210%%18
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 29 Mar 2001
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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