College of Engineering

Computational modelling for microchannel reactor design was conducted in the attempt to fully understand autothermal reforming phenomena in continuous flow reactors. The effects of pressure and flow rate on the efficiency and performance were evaluated by performing computational fluid dynamics under different design conditions. The reactor efficiency and performance were assessed by means of the reactant conversion, product yield, reaction rate, hydrogen productivity, and output power. Recommendations for designing an autothermal reforming system were made and strategies for performing efficient operation were set forth. The results indicated that the pressure and flow rate set strict limits on operation, and there is a trade-off between high productivity and low conversion. The pressure and flow rate play competing roles in the reactor efficiency and performance. Lower pressures and flow rates can increase the conversion and yield, but higher pressures and flow rates can significantly improve the hydrogen productivity and output power, which is essential to the success of start-up and acceleration of the downstream equipment. There may exist an optimum pressure and flow rate in terms of both efficiency and performance. The calculated output power is of the order of thousands of kilowatts per cubic meter.