Hydrocarbon Reforming 2 Partial Methane Oxidation Heat Exchanger Reactor

4 Hydrocarbon Reforming 2 [HCR 2] Partial Methane Oxidation Heat Exchanger/Reactor 

Early work by Tonkovich et al. [46] dealt with a heat exchanger/reactor containing catalyst powder for the partial oxidation of methane for distributed hydrogen production. The intention was to run the reaction safely in a micro structured reactor owing to the short residence times applied and the improved heat removal avoiding hot-spot formation. 

A feed of 100 Ncm3 min-1 methane and 50 Ncm3 min-1 oxygen was introduced into the reactor at a pressure loss of 2.5 mbar. The residence time of the reaction was 50 ms. 60% conversion was achieved along with a high carbon monoxide selectivity of 70% at 700 °C reaction temperature. Owing to the short residence times applied, no coke formation was observed and carbon monoxide selectivity was higher than expected from the thermodynamic equilibrium [46], 

5 Hydrocarbon Reforming 3 [HCR 3] Micro Structured Autothermal Methane Reformer 

In the unidirectional flow mode, 70-80% selectivity towards hydrogen could be achieved along with 55-60% conversion at a mefhane/oxygen ratio between 0.7 and 0.9. In the reverse flow mode, the hydrogen selectivity could be improved by 5% while maintaining the degree of conversion [47]. 

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