Modeling and simulation of circulating fast fluidized bed reactors and circulating fast fluidized bed membrane reactors for production of hydrogen by oxidative reforming of methane

Modeling and simulation of circulating fast fluidized bed reactors (CFFBR) and circulating fast fluidized bed membrane reactors (CFFBMR) for hydrogen production by oxidative reforming of methane are presented in this paper. The results show that the CFFBR suffers from serious problems of hot spot temperatures. The combined effect of the oxygen distribution and the hydrogen membrane in the CFFBMR eliminates the hot spot temperatures and the danger of the reactor thermal runaway and mitigates nicely the temperature along the length of the CFFBMR. The investigation shows that the oxidative reforming of methane in the CFFBMR with oxygen distribution is cost-effective and inexpensive alternative route to the conventional steam reforming of methane processes due to the in situ heat integration of exothermic and endothermic reactions. The key role of the design parameters on the performance of the reactors are recognized through sensitivity analysis. The simulation results indicate that almost complete conversion of methane (99.99%), high exit hydrogen yield of 3.00 and low exit temperature of 569.8 degrees C are obtained by proper selection of design parameters of the CFFBMR with oxygen distribution. This achievement occurs at low feed temperature of 350.0 degrees C, which does not have destructive effects on the catalyst, reactor and membrane. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.