Pumping systems, microreactor technology

The development of a methanol fuel processor prototype was described by Hdhlein et al. [556]. The methanol burner dedicated to this system has been described in Section 7.5. Later, a complete methanol reformer was developed by Wiese et al. [154]. It was operated at a S/C ratio of 1.5 and a pressure of 3.8 bar. The feed was evaporated and superheated to 280 °C. The reformer itself consisted of four pairs of concentric stainless steel tubes. In the annular gap between the tubes, steam was condensed at 65 bar and 280 °C for the heat supply, while the inner tube carried the copper/zinc oxide catalyst for steam reforming. The reformer response time to a load change from 40 to 100% was about 25 s, which was mainly attributed to the slow dynamics of the dosing pump. Because the dynamic behaviour of the reformer was too slow for an automotive drive system, which had been the target appUcation of the work, an additional gas storage system was considered. To improve the system dynamics, Peters et al. considered the application of microreactor technology for a subsequent improved fuel processor [569]. 

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