Development of multi-layered microreactor with methanol reformer for small PEMFC

The effects of geometric and operating conditions on the hydrogen production performance of a micro-methanol steam reformer

“…This is mainly because the micro-channel reactors merit a higher surface to volume ratio, which might be several orders of magnitude higher compared to the traditional steam reformer, and hence, the heat and mass transfer inside the micro-reformer can be greatly enhanced (Ehrfeld et al, 2000). To give a basic understanding for the size of the micro-channel reactors, Table 1 gives the dimensions of some existing micro-reformers (Jensen, 2001;Stefanie et al, 1999;Tanaka et al, 2004;Kawamura et al, 2006;Terazaki et al, 2005a;Holladay et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2004). In accordance with the information of this table, it is observed that the total length and the width of the micro-reformers are ranged within 10-80 mm, and its thickness is within 1-10 mm.…”

A low-temperature partial-oxidation-methanol micro reformer with high fuel conversion rate and hydrogen production yield

“…However, the reaction is not only endothermic requiring external heat input; but also produces a considerable amount of CO (>100 ppm) which poisons Pt catalyst in the PEMFC to deteriorate fuel cell performance. As a result, SRM reactor is often equipped with an external heating system and CO remover (by watergas-shift reaction (WGSR) for CO oxidation), which greatly increases the cost and extra space for system integration accordingly [6,7]. An alternative way to produce hydrogen with relatively lower amount of CO is by using POM reaction.…”

Parametric study of hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming in a membrane microreactor

“…The microreformer fuel cell combination has the advantage of avoiding the tedious charging cycles needed by conventional rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Also, the energy storage density per unit weight of this system is higher than that of batteries (Palo et al, 2002;Pattekar et al, 2001;Terazaki et al, 2005). Thus, less frequent recharging in terms of refilling with ethanol fuel is necessary.…”