Hydrogen production by steam reforming of methanol in a reactor with comby fractal micro-channel network

• 1、School of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University

Abstract：According to the catalytic reaction of methanol steam reforming in a micro-channel reactor, a steady-state multi-component transport reaction model in the form of three-dimension was established. By numerical simulations, the reactions in rectangular parallel micro-channels and in comby fractal micro-channel network with catalyst Zn_Cr/CeO2/ZrO2 were studied. Based on the dual-rate model, the effect of the operating condition on the law of methanol steam reforming in these micro-channels was investigated, which reflected that these two micro-channels are conducive to the increase of the methanol conversion and the hydrogen production. Meanwhile, compared to the rectangular parallel micro-channels, comby fractal micro-channel network possesses several advantages. For example, its required pump power is much smaller. And under the same heating area, it is able to absorb more heat. Also, comby fractal micro-channel is more conducive to the uniformity of temperature distribution, in turn enhancing methanol conversion and reducing CO. Therefore, it is an ideal channel for hydrogen production in PEMFC.

Keywords： engineering thermophysics micro-channel methanol reforming PEMFC