Question

can someone explain steam reforming to me? thanks.

Answer 1

What's to explain? It's a way to produce hydrogen by reducing alkanes or sometimes alkoxides with water, like so:
\[{\rm CH}_4(g) + {\rm H}_2{\rm O}(g) \rightarrow {\rm CO}(g) + 3 {\rm H}_2(g)\]
This is energetically uphill -- not a surprise, since you are generating a fuel with high energy density -- but the reaction can be driven to the right by running it at high temperature, where entropy favors the right-hand side (because you have four moles of gas instead of two), and by removing the H2 as it is produced.

You can run similar reactions with alkoxides, like methanol, and this has been studied as a way of generating H2 in situ for fuel cells that could stash away way more electrical power than can even the best batteries.

Answer 2

thank you!! :)