MPNS COST Action 543
Research and Development of Bioethanol Processing for Fuel Cells (BIOETHANOL)

Descriptions are provided by the Actions directly via e-COST.

The main objective of the Action is developing new technologies for bioethanol (ethanol produced from ligno-cellulose materials) that can be used effectively in small-scale fuel cell systems of electric power output between 0.5 and 10 kW. The technologies cover low-temperature bioethanol reforming in hydrogen-selective membrane reactors and cleaning methods as well as their combinations with any type of low-temperature fuel cell. The COST Action aims to disseminate knowledge and to produce a practical design-support tool for a broader community, which will enable interaction between different actors (e.g. industrial players, researchers and specialists in many disciplines, and end-users of small-scale fuel cell systems). The Action focuses on the following specific objectives: 1. Increasing the awareness and commitment of different players and users to the bioethanol concept and promoting thermodynamic studies of appropriate biophysical processes for finding new models from nature for technical solutions. 2. Producing the equipment for bioethanol reforming and product gas processing and cleaning in selected small-scale fuel cell systems with acceptably low operating temperatures. 3. Producing operating low-temperature fuel cells (i.e. AFC, PEMFC and SOFC), which can be attached to the equipment mentioned in Objective 2.