Investigation of the benefits of diabatic microreactors for process intensification of the water-gas shift reaction within the steam reforming process

Title Investigation of the benefits of diabatic microreactors for process intensification of the water-gas shift reaction within the steam reforming process
Publication Type Journal Article
Authors
Keywords
Abstract
Currently, the steam reforming process is the largest industrial source of hydrogen. Improving its efficiency can help to reduce associated carbon emissions and hydrogen production costs. Intensifying the water-gas shift reaction using microreactors with integrated cooling is one way of achieving this. In this study, a 2-D computational model of one of these microreactors is developed, validated with experimental data, and then used to demonstrate how microreactors can enhance the conversion of the water-gas shift reaction beyond what can be achieved using conventional packed bed reactors. These results are then generalized into a full system model of the steam reforming process to demonstrate how microreactors can reduce hydrogen production costs. The results suggest that microreactors can significantly reduce the required reactor volume and catalyst loading for the water-gas shift reaction and can similarly reduce the hydrogen production costs associated with the steam reforming process.
Year of Publication
2020
Journal
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Volume
45
Number of Pages
31507-31522
Date Published
sep
ISSN Number
URL
DOI
Download citation