Mass transfer and reaction in methanol steam reforming reactor with fractal tree-like microchannel network

Abstract

A three-dimensional model of methanol steam reforming is developed and numerically analyzed to investigate the mass transfer and reaction in a fractal tree-like microchannel network. The effects of temperature, pressure and bifurcation angle on the reaction performance are examined and discussed. The reaction rate and “figure of merit” (FoM) in a tree-like network are evaluated and compared with corresponding serpentine channel. The results indicate that the existence of bifurcation plays an important role in the mass transfer and chemical reaction in a microreactor. The reaction rate and FoM in tree-like network are more superior to serpentine channel. In addition, in a tree-like network, the reaction rates are improved by increasing operating temperature and pressure. Interestingly, the role of branching angle on chemical reaction performance is less significant in a fractal microreactor.