Reforming in Fixed-Bed Reactors

The famous HotSpot fuel processor developed by Johnson Matthey was actually a fixed-bed reactor. Platinum and chromium catalyst were applied for the reactor, which was able to start from ambient conditions when methanol was used as the feedstock [5,472]. Through the initial methanol combustion, the reactor was preheated and then able to produce hydrogen containing reformate under autothermal conditions. 

% carbon monoxide were detected in the dry reformate at 260 and 280 °C reactor temperature, respectively. 

Lindstrom et al. developed a fixed-bed autothermal methanol reformer designed for a 5-kWei fuel cell [ 168]. The system was started, without pre-heating, from ambient 

Fuel Processing for Fuel Cells. Gunther Kolb 

Copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim ISBN 978-3-527-31581-9 

---