Chandra Sethu

Ph.D. Candidate
B.S.: Mechanical Engineering 2002, University of Madras, India
M.S.: Chemical Engineering 2006, University of Michigan

csethu@umich.edu

Hydrogen has the potential to be a flexible energy carrier for a variety of energy applications in the future. Due to the impending crisis of global warming and the depletion of hydrocarbon fuel resources, the promotion of increased energy efficiency and the diversification of fuel sources are essential. Advanced technology already exists for the large scale production of hydrogen for the petrochemical industry and others via steam reforming of natural gas. Though infrastructure exists, the safe and efficient transportation of hydrogen has many technical issues. Therefore small scale, distributed hydrogen generation has excellent promise for meeting future energy requirements.

My project involves the design, implementation and experimentation of a thermally integrated fuel processor which utilizes a variety of fuels like Methane, Ethanol and Biodiesel. Catalyst selection and evaluation are an integral part of research as these help to optimize the reformer performance by increasing efficiency and reducing CO concentrations. CO concentrations of less than 50 ppm are considered optimal for a fuel cell quality reformate.