• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.411-418
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• 2020

A reformer is a device for producing hydrogen used in fuel cells. Among them, methanol steam reformer uses methanol as fuel, which is present as a liquid at room temperature. It has the advantage of low operating temperature, high energy density, and high hydrogen production. The purpose of this study is to improve the internal flow of the pressure vessel when a bundle of methanol steam reformer in the pressure vessel goes out to a single outlet. An analysis of equilibrium reaction to methanol steam reforming reaction was conducted using Aspen HYSYS^® (Aspen Technology Inc., Bedford, USA), and based on the results, computational analysis was conducted using ANSYS Fluent^® (ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, USA). For comparison of the results, the height of the pressure vessel, outlet diameter, and fillet was set as variables, and the optimum geometry was selected by comparing the effects of gravity and the amount of negative pressure.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.277-285
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• 2001

We developed a compact, 10 kWe, purifier-integrated reformer which supplies hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles. Our proprietary technologies regarding hydrogen purification by palladium alloy membrane and catalytic combustion by noble metal coated wire-mesh catalyst were combined with the conventional methanol steam reforming technology, resulting in higher conversion, excellent quality of product hydrogen, and better thermal efficiency than any other systems. In this system, steam reforming, hydrogen purification, and catalytic combustion take place all in a single reactor so that the whole system is compact and easy to operate. The module produces $8.2Nm^3/hr$ of 99.999% or higher purity hydrogen with CO impurity less than 10 ppm, which is equivalent to 10 kWe when PEMFC has 45 % efficiency. Thermal efficiency of the module is 81 % and the power density of the module is 1.6 L/kWe. As the results of experiments, cold-start time has been measured about 20 minutes. Response time of hydrogen production to the change of the feed rate has been within 1 minutes.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.340-343
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• 2006

In this paper, heat and mass transfer characteristics through experimental and numerical study are extensively investigated in steam reform ins reactor under given operating conditions. In order to get simulated data at outlet of the reformer, heterogeneous reactor model is incorporated. As the reaction also takes place in porous media, two medium approach is used to take into account thermally non-equilibrium phenomena between catalyst and bulk gas. In steam reforming reaction, heat transfer issue is so significant that geometrical configuration study is also conducted.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.256-259
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• 2005

본 연구에서는 기존 니켈 활성성분만의 알루미나담지 촉매에 비해 고온에서의 수소를 사용한 환원 전처리 과정을 거치지 않고도 높은 반응활성을 나타내며, 반응 중 탄소침적에 대한 촉매 저항성에서도 우수한 결과를 나타낸 루테늄-니켈 촉매에 대해보고 하고자 한다. 메탄 수증기 개질 반응을 통해, 루테늄을 최종적으로 담지한 알루미나 담지니켈계 촉매는 별도의 전처리과정 없이 $650^{\circ}C$에서부터 높은 반응성을 보였으며, 루테늄과 니켈을 동시에 담지한 경우보다 더 우수한 활성을 나타내었다. Ru의 담지량을 달리한 실험에서는$RU(0.5)/Ni(20)/Al_2O_3$ 촉매가 가장 높은 활성을 보였다. $H_2-TPR$ 분석 결과, $Ru(0.5)/Ni(20)/A1_2O_3$촉매의 경우 세 가지 환원 피크가 나타났으며, $Ni(20)/A1_2O_3$촉매와 비교해 볼 때, 저온(<$130^{\circ}C)$에서 환원가능한 $RUO_2$의 존재를 확인할 수 있었다. 담지된 RU은 분산도가 높아, XRD분석 결과에서 Ru이나 $RuO_2$의 특성 피크가 존재하지 않았다. 또한 $650^{\circ}C$에서 10시간 개질반응 후 얻어진 촉매에 대해 $O_2-TGA$를 분석한 결과, $Ni(20)/Al_2O_3$촉매는 $-7.2wt\%$ 정도의 큰 무게 감소를 보였으며, 이는 촉매 표면에 생성된 carbon tube에 의한 것임을 SEM 분석을 통해 알 수 있었다 이에 반해, $Ru(0.5)/Ni(20)/Al_2O_$ 촉매는 $O_2-TGA$시 $0.3wt\%$ 정도 무게 증가에 그쳤으며, SEM 분석상 carbon tube의 생성이 크게 억제되었음을 알 수 있었다.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.497-503
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• 2008

Hydrogen is considered as a fuel of the future for its renewability and environmental compatibility. The reforming of hydrocarbon fuels is currently the most important source of hydrogen, which is expected to continue for next several decades. In this study, extensive CFD simulations on the steam-methane reforming process were conducted to study the performance of four reaction models, i.e. three Arrhenius-type models and a user-defined function (UDF) model. The accuracies of different reaction models for various operating temperatures and steam carbon ratios (SCRs) were evaluated by comparing their CFD results with zero-dimensional intrinsic model of Xu and Froment. It was found that the UDF model generally produced more accurate results than Arrhenius-type models. However, it was also shown that Arrhenius-type models could be made sufficiently accurate by choosing appropriate reaction coefficients, and thus could also be useful for the simulation of the steam-methane reforming process.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.156.1-156.1
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• 2011

It is of great importance to predict operating parameter characteristics of an integrated fuel processor by the increased life-time and system performance. In this study, computational analysis is performed to gain fundamental insights on transport phenomena and chemical reactions in reformer which consists of preheating, steam reforming, and water gas shift reaction beds. Also, a top-fired burner locates inside of the reforming system. The combustor is providing thermal energy necessary for the steam reforming bed which is a endothermic catalytic reactor. Two-dimensional numerical model of the integrated fuel processing system is introduced for the analysis of heat and mass transport phenomena as well as surface kinetics and catalytic process. A kinetic model was developed and then computational results were compared with the experimental data available in the literature. Subsequently, parameter study using the validated steam methane reforming model was conducted by considering operating parameters, i.e. steam to carbon ratio and temperature.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2009

The steam reformer for hydrogen production from methane is studied by a numerical method. Langmuir- Hinshelwood model is incorporated for catalytic surface reactions, and the pseudo-homogeneous model is used to take into account local equilibrium phenomena between a catalyst and bulk gas. Dominant chemical reactions are Steam Reforming (SR) reaction, Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reaction, and Direct Steam Reforming (DSR) reaction. The numerical results are validated with experimental results at the same operating conditions. Using the validated code, parametric study has been numerically performed in view of the steam reformer performance. As increasing a wall temperature, the fuel conversion increases due to the high heat transfer rate. When Steam to Carbon Ratio (SCR) increases, the concentration of carbon monoxide decreases since WGS reaction becomes more active. When increasing Gas Hourly Space Velocity (GHSV), the fuel conversion decreases due to the heat transfer limitation and the low residence time. The reactor shape effects are also investigated. The length and radius of cylindrical reactors are changed at the same catalyst volume. The longer steam reformer is, the better steam reformer performs. However, system energy efficiency decreases due to the large pressure drop.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.156-163
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• 2015

The fuel cells have been investigated in the applications of marine as the high efficient and eco-friendly power generating systems. In this study, modeling of IR Type molten carbonate fuel cell (Internal Reforming Type molten carbonate fuel cell) has been developed to analyze the feasibility of thermal energy utilization. The model is developed under Aspen plus and used for the study of system performances over regarding fuel types. The simulation results show that the efficiency of MCFC system based on NG fuel is the highest. Also, it is also verified that the steam reforming is suitable as pre-reforming for diesel fuel.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.73-82
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• 2012

A 2-dimensional heterogeneous reactor model was developed and simulated for a tube reactor of packed bed where the steam-$CO_2$ combined reforming reaction of natural gas proceeded to produce synthesis gas. Under the reactor feeding rate, 45 $Nm^3$/h, of the reactant gas stream, the 2-dimensional heterogeneous reactor model showed the similar results to those from the ASPEN simulator although there were some discrepancies between the two in the temperature and the $H_2$/CO ratio of the reformed gas at the reactor exit. The calculated enthalpy difference between the reformed gas at the reactor exit and the reactant gas fed to the reactor was closely correspondent to the total amount of heat transferred to the reactor interior from the furnace. This supports that the 2-dimensional heterogeneous reactor model was reasonably established and the numerical solution was properly obtained.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.44-49
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• 2009

Steam reforming of methane in the high temperature solar chemical reactor bas advantage in its heating method. Using concentrated solar energy as a heating source of the reforming reaction can reduce the $CO_2$ emission by 20% compared to hydrocarbon fuel. In this paper, the simulation result of methane-steam reforming on a high temperature solar chemical reactor(SCR) using Fluent 6.3.26 is presented. The high temperature SCR is designed for the Inha Dish-1, a Dish type solar concentrator installed in Songdo city. Basic SCR performance factors are referred to the former researches of the same laboratory. Inside the SCR porous metal is used for a receiver/reactor. The porous metal is carved like a dome shape on the incident side to increase the heat transfer. Also, ring-disc set of baffle is inserted in the porous metal region to increase the path length. Numerical and physical models are also used from the former researches. Methane and steam is mixed with the same mole fraction and injected into the SCR. The simulation is performed for a various inlet mass flow rate of the methane-steam mixture gas. The result shows that the average reactor temperature and the conversion rate change appreciably by the inlet mass flow rate of 0.0005 kg/s.