Comparisons between methane and methanol steam reforming in thermally integrated microchannel reactors for hydrogen production: A computational fluid dynamics study

Abstract

This paper addresses the issues related to the design and operation of steam reforming combined with catalytic combustion in thermally integrated microchannel reactors for hydrogen production. Comparisons were made between methanol and methane steam reforming, representing a low and a high temperature process respectively, under the same operating conditions to determine whether methanol-based thermally integrated systems can be more energy-efficient than methane-based ones. Computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed to gain insight into the reactor performance and thermal behavior. The effect of various design parameters was investigated to identify suitable ranges of operating conditions, and an analysis of heat and mass transfer was performed to design a highly efficient system. It was shown that steam reforming of both fuels is feasible in millisecond reactors under a variety of conditions, but very careful design is necessary. Methanol reforming can be more efficient, offering a better solution not only to simplify design but also to improve power and efficiency. The wall thermal conductivity is essential to the design and optimization of these systems, as it can significantly affect the overall energy balance. There is no significant difference in reactor performance between different channel heights at the same flow rate. The ratio of the flow rates on opposite sides of the reactor is an important design parameter and must be carefully adjusted to improve efficiency and eliminate hot spots. Finally, a simple operating strategy was proposed to achieve variable power output, and design recommendations were made.