Abstract
Hydrogen production by autothermal methane steam reforming in a catalytic fixed bed membrane reactor has been analyzed and simulated. The two-compartment reactor indirectly couples the endothermic steam reforming with methane oxidation, while hydrogen is separated by a permselective Pd membrane. Simulations of the reactor, using published kinetics, map the acceptable domain of operation and the optimal set of operating parameters. The simulations exhibit slow-moving thermal fronts and the steady-state operation domains bounded by stationary fronts, separating domains of upstream and downstream-moving fronts. Front velocity depends on thermal coupling and hydrogen separation. An analytical approximation for the thermal front velocity in a thermally balanced reactor has been developed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2735-2750 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | AICHE Journal |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Autothermal reforming
- Hydrogen
- Membrane reactor
- Steam reforming
- Thermal front
