Methane carbon dioxide reforming for hydrogen production in a compact reformer - a modeling study

Methane carbon dioxide reforming (MCDR) is a promising way of utilizing greenhouse gas for hydrogen-rich fuel production. Compared with other types of reactors, Compact Reformers (CRs) are efficient for fuel processing. In a CR, a thin solid plate is placed between two porous catalyst layers to enable efficient heat transfer between the two catalyst layers. In this study, the physical and chemical processes of MCDR in a CR are studied numerically with a 2D numerical model. The model considers the multi-component gas transport and heat transfer in the fuel channel and the porous catalyst layer, and the MCDR reaction kinetics in the catalyst layer. The finite volume method (FVM) is used for discretizing the governing equations. The SIMPLEC algorithm is used to couple the pressure and the velocity. Parametrical simulations are conducted to analyze in detail the effects of various operating/structural parameters on the fuel processing behavior.