Mini-reformed hydrogen fuel cell

Accordingly, serious commercially oriented attempts are currently being made to develop special gas-phase micro and mini reactors for reformer technology [91, 247-259], This is a complex task since the reaction step itself, hydrogen formation, covers several individual processes. Additionally, heat exchangers are required to optimize the energy balance and the use of liquid reactants demands micro evaporators [254, 260, 261], Moreover, further systems are required to reduce the CO content to a level that is no longer poisonous for a fuel cell. Overall, three to six micro-reactor components are typically needed to construct a complete, ready-to-use micro-reformer system. 

In a number of papers, the development of mini-plants for reforming was reported. Seo et al. (2004) developed such a mini-reformer for the steam conversion of methanol. This reformer contained a methanol evaporator and the reactor proper. The unit was built from stainless steel plates. These plates contained 20 parallel channels that were 0.5 mm wide, 0.6 mm deep, and 30 mm long. A Cu-Zn0-Al203 steam-conversion catalyst was deposited in these channels. A mixture of methanol and water was placed in the evaporator. The conversion process occurred at a temperature of 200 to 260°C. The full unit measured 7x4x3 cm (84 cm ). The unit generated hydrogen sufficiently fast for a 10-W fuel cell. 

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