Modeling of the helium-heated steam reformer for HTR-10

In this study, based on the pseudo-homogeneous one-dimensional model, a steady-state model of the helium-heated steam reformer planned to be connected with the 10MW high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTR-10) has been developed. Good agreement is shown between the simulating results and experimental data. The influence of main process parameters on the performance with respect to the methane conversion and the hydrogen yield is investigated and discussed. The performance increases remarkably with the increase in the inlet helium temperature when it is lower than 1,000 degrees C. Whereas, the effect. becomes weak when the temperature is higher than 1,000 degrees C. The influence of the inlet helium flow rate is not as evident as that of the temperature. The inlet helium pressure and inlet process gas temperature have almost no influence on the performance. The performance increases with the decrease in the inlet process gas pressure. The influence of the inlet process gas flow rate and steam-to-carbon ratio (S/C) is complicated. Optimal values should be chosen for them to obtain a high performance.