SIMULATION STUDY ON THE TUBULAR MICROREACTOR FOR HYDROGEN PRODUCTION BY STEAM REFORMING OF METHANOL

In order to reduce the carbon emissions of fuel vehicles, hydrogen has received extensive attention as a new clean energy. In this paper, a packed-bed microreactor for hydrogen production from methanol steam is designed for use in hydrogen fuel cells. By considering the heating gas velocity in the heating tubes, the inlet temperature of the microreactor, the size and number of heating tubes, inlet pressure, pellet porosity and thermal conductivity, parameters such as methanol conversion rates and hydrogen concentration were evaluated. First, the rate at which the gas is heated has a great influence on the reaction results. Choosing a larger heating gas velocity leads to an increase in the temperature inside the microreactor, thereby increasing the CH3OH conversion, resulting in a higher H-2 concentration at the outlet. Changing the inlet temperature of the microreactor affects the reaction speed, but has little effect on the H-2 concentration at the outlet. By studying the radius and number of heating tubes, we selected three different sets of data to compare the conversion rate of reactants and the concentration of products, and finally determined the optimal parameters as R = 4 mm and N = 8. Second, the inlet pressure has little effect on the H-2 concentration at the outlet, but has a significant effect on the reaction speed. Particle porosity has no effect on the reaction results. Finally, the larger the thermal conductivity, the higher the temperature in the microreactor, which is more conducive to the reaction.