Optimizing a steam-methane reformer for hydrogen production

Jong de, M. and Reinders, A.H.M.E. and Kok, J.B.W. and Westendorp, G. (2009) Optimizing a steam-methane reformer for hydrogen production. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34 (1). pp. 285-292. ISSN 0360-3199

PDF
Restricted to UT campus only: Request a copy
449Kb

Abstract:	By means of steam reforming, natural gas is converted to carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The reactions take place in reactor tubes which are covered with catalyst at the inside, where the reactive mixture flows. At the outside they are heated by combustion of natural gas with air. In this paper the conversion process is modeled for a single reactor tube by both chemical reaction models and heat transfer models. The model yields data of temperature, heat transfer and concentrations of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and natural gas along a reactor tube. Simulated temperatures have been validated with measured data from a prototype reformer. Next, the model was used to evaluate the performance of the reformer for six design modifications. It was found that the most promising improvements are created by increasing the air fraction in the burner and the thickness of the insulation shield.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2009 Elsevier
Faculty:	Engineering Technology (CTW)
Research Group:	Design, Production and Management (DPM) Thermal Engineering (TE)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/60622
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.09.084
Export this item as:	BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager

Show download statistics for this publication

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Metis ID: 254665