Numerical Study on Honeycomb Type Methanol Steam Reformer

Abstract

Experimental and numerical analysis of methanol steam reforming for a fuel cell have been carried out. The reforming catalyst is supported by metal honeycomb to decrease the heat capacity. Conversion performances are improved by segmenting the honeycomb catalyst into several blocks due to the enhancement of mixing of gases and heat transfer at the front edges of segmenting catalyst. Numerical simulation model for methanol steam reforming is developed by changing chemical reactions in the model for exhaust catalyst of internal combustion engines and using a smaller mass transfer coefficient for methanol steam reforming. The calculated results for a plate type methanol steam reformer which generates hydrogen of 7 kW (LHV) are also in good agreement with the measurements. The pattern of heat supply to catalysts and the reformer configuration affect conversion performances. It is predicted that the optimized methanol steam reformer for a 50 kW size fuel cell vehicle has a sufficient compactness.