Hydrogen Production by Noncatalytic Autothermal Reformation of Aviation Fuel Using Supercritical Water

The noncatalytic supercritical water reformation of military logistic aviation fuel was studied using a custom-designed 383 mL Haynes Alloy 230 tubular reactor. Experiments were performed at a constant pressure of 24.1 ± 0.1 MPa, a constant temperature of 767 ± 1 °C, and at a constant water-to-fuel ratio of 15 g of water per gram of fuel at various space times and oxygen flow rates. Increasing space time increases the gasification percentage and the resultant hydrogen and carbon dioxide yields; however, the gasification percentage reaches a limit of about 70% after a space time of 79 s when no oxygen was present. The addition of substoichiometric amounts of oxygen does not adversely affect the production of hydrogen gas under certain conditions while increasing carbon gasification and in situ heat generation. Carbon gasification percentages of 86−94 mol %, depending on the space time, were achieved with a molar oxygen-to-fuel ratio of 4.79. A hydrogen yield of 5.3 mol hydrogen per mole of jet fuel, which is 14% of the theoretical maximum, was obtained at a space time of 159 s with no air flow. At the longest space time and a 4.8 oxygen-to-fuel ratio, the hydrogen yield was 5.06, which is 19% of the theoretical maximum. The production of hydrogen from military grade jet fuel would enable armed forces personal to produce electricity on site from a fuel cell, greatly reducing the noise and heat signature compared to internal combustion generators.