Fully Autothermal Reforming

In the extreme case the whole reforming reaction could be performed without a tubular reformer by autothermal catalytic reforming in a design similar to a secondary reformer. In this case it would be necessary to use oxygen or oxygen-enriched air instead of air [402], [489]-[491], [1485]. 

Unlike the secondary reformer, which is fed with partially reformed gas, the autothermal reformer is fed directly with hydrocarbon feedstock. Because of the higher heat of reaction in the internal combustion (temperatures of 2000 °C and higher), the flow conditions, heat release characteristics and the risk of soot formation are very different from the situation in the normal secondary reformer, and special considerations in the 

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Unlike the methane steam reformer, the autothermal reformer requires no external heat source and no indirect heat exchangers. This makes autothermal reformers simpler and more compact than steam reformers, resulting in lower capital cost. In an autothermal reformer, the heat generated by the POX reaction is fully utilized to drive the SR reaction. Thus, autothermal reformers typically offer higher system efficiency than POX systems, where excess heat is not easily recovered. 

Economics Tubular reforming technology is attractive at capacities >2,500-3,000 mtpd methanol, where the economy of scale of alternative technologies such as two-step or autothermal reforming cannot be fully utilized. 

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