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Butane (ˈbjuːteɪn) or n-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature and pressure. The name butane comes from the root but- (from butyric acid, named after the Greek word for butter) and the suffix -ane. It was discovered in crude petroleum in 1864 by Edmund Ronalds, who was the first to describe its properties, and commercialized by Walter O. Snelling in early 1910s. Butane is one of a group of liquefied petroleum gases (LP gases). The others include propane, propylene, butadiene, butylene, isobutylene, and mixtures thereof. Butane burns more cleanly than both gasoline and coal. History The first synthesis of butane was accidentally achieved by British chemist Edward Frankland in 1849 from ethyl iodide and zinc, but he had not realized that the ethyl radical dimerized and misidentified the substance. The proper discoverer of the butane called it "hydride of butyl", bu

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A nanoparticle bed micro-reactor with high syngas yield for moderate temperature micro-scale SOFC power plants

Bo Jiang, Thomas Maeder, Paul Muralt, Dimos Poulikakos

This work introduces and investigates the a novel compact catalytic nanoparticle bed micro-fabricated reactor suitable for utilization in small-scale intermediate-temperature micro-SOFC systems. It is shown that the presented micro-reactor is able to produce syngas (CO + H2) efficiently from n-butane and propane at temperatures between 550 – 620 °C by means of catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) using Rh-doped nanoparticles embedded in a foam-like porous ceramic bed as a catalyst. The novel micro-fabricated reactor system is experimentally tested using a carrier specially designed for heating the reactor as well as feeding the fuel and receiving the reaction product gases. Optimization of the syngas production is performed by varying fuel dilutions and reactor temperatures. The performance of the micro-reactor was investigated in two modes: (1) Continuous heating mode, in which two built-in heaters underneath the carrier are kept on throughout the reforming reaction. This simulates the operating state of a micro-SOFC system where the post-combustor provides heat to the micro-reformer continuously. (2) Thermally self-sustained mode, in which the heaters are turned off after the CPOX has been ignited. An estimation of the heat losses of both testing modes is also given. The present micro-reactor is able to achieve syngas yield as high as 60 % for n-butane and 50 % for propane in the continuous heating mode, which is a substantial improvement to state-of-the-art micro-reactors.

Elsevier2012

Syngas generation from n-butane with an integrated MEMS assembly for gas processing in micro-solid oxide fuel cell systems

Bo Jiang, Thomas Maeder, Paul Muralt, Dimos Poulikakos

An integrated system of a microreformer and a carrier allowing for syngas generation from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for micro-SOFC application is discussed. The microreformer with an overall size of 12.7 mm × 12.7 mm × 1.9 mm is fabricated with micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technologies. As a catalyst, a special foam-like material made from ceria-zirconia nanoparticles doped with rhodium is used to fill the reformer cavity of 58.5 mm3. The microreformer is fixed onto a microfabricated structure with built-in fluidic channels and integrated heaters, the so-called functional carrier. It allows for thermal decoupling of the cold inlet gas and the hot fuel processing zone. Two methods for heating the microreformer are compared in this study: a) heating in an external furnace and b) heating with the two built-in heaters on the functional carrier. With both methods, high butane conversion rates of 74%–85% are obtained at around 550 °C. In addition, high hydrogen and carbon monoxide yields and selectivities are achieved. The results confirm those from classical lab reformers built without MEMS technology (N. Hotz et al., Chem. Eng. Sci., 2008, 63, 5193; N. Hotz et al., Appl. Catal., B, 2007, 73, 336). The material combinations and processing techniques enable syngas production with the present MEMS based microreformer with high performance for temperatures up to 700°C. The functional carrier is the basis for a new platform, which can integrate the micro-SOFC membranes and the gas processing unit as subsystem of an entire micro-SOFC system.

Royal Soc Chemistry2012

Design, Fabrication and Characterization of a Gas Processing Unit Testing Platform for Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Bo Jiang, Thomas Maeder, Paul Muralt, Dimos Poulikakos

Micro-scale solid oxide fuel cell is a promising power generation technology for portable devices such as laptop, medical devices and personal electronics. One of the key goals in design of μ-SOFC systems is to use common hydrocarbon fuels such as propane/butane, which requires an additional micro-scale gas-processing unit (GPU) to reform the fuel, avoiding the coking on the μ-SOFC membranes. However, no integrated micro-fabricated testing platform has been reported for evaluating the stability, thermal management and efficiency of GPU devices as far. Therefore we present such a GPU testing platform, which features integrated heating function and temperature control as well as convenient and reliable fluidic and mechanical interconnects.

Elsevier Science, Reg Sales Off, Customer Support Dept, 655 Ave Of The Americas, New York, Ny 10010 Usa2011

Propane

Propane (ˈproʊpeɪn) is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas pro

Ethanol

Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH

Liquefied petroleum gas

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane, and n-butane. LPG is used as

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L'objectif de ce cours est de fournir les connaissances et le moyen de comprendre, au niveau moléculaire, le fonctionnement des réactions chimiques organiques. Pendant le cours, l'étudiant réfléchira et résoudra de nouveaux problèmes.

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This course introduces modern computational electronic structure methods and their broad applications to organic chemistry. It also discusses physical organic concepts to illustrate the stability and reactivity of organic molecules.

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