A Thermal Design of a 1 kW-Class Shell and Tube Methanol Steam Reforming System with Internal Evaporator

Abstract

Due to its low operating temperature, the performance of a methanol steam reformer depends on efficient thermal integration. In particular, the integration of the evaporator is crucial to enhance thermal efficiency. This paper presents two different configurations to utilize thermal energy for evaporation of methanol/water mixture. The reformer system is composed of a methanol steam reformer, a burner, and two different evaporators such as internal evaporator and external evaporator. Moreover, since the performance of the reforming system strongly depends on thermal utilization, a heat recovery module is designed for methanol reforming system with internal evaporator. The heat duty and steam to carbon ratio (S/C) are the variables for evaluation of its suitability. The experimental results indicate that the internal evaporator with the auxiliary heat recovery module provides stable conditions over wide operating ranges.