Recent Advances in Hydrogen Production Via Autothermal Reforming Process (ATR): A Review of Patents and Research Articles

This review examines recent patents and research articles in autothermal reforming (ATR) of fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel, JP-8 along with renewable fuels such as methanol, ethanol, glycerol, butanol, bio-oils and biodiesel into H2 gas. The focus of the research was the recent developments in terms of ATR reformer design, ATR fuel processors, reformer start up, and reforming catalysts to determine the opportunities for R&D in this area. The production of H2 by ATR of fossil fuels has been widely investigated; several catalytic studies based on various noble and non-precious metals like Rh and Ni are available, restricting new investigations. In contrast, H2 production from bio feedstock like bio-oils, biodiesel, ethanol, and butanol are very recent and offer considerable room for further investigation.