Modeling and analysis of miniaturized methanol reformer for fuel cell powered mobile applications

In this paper a miniaturized packed bed reactor is analyzed, in which autothermal reforming of methanol occurs to produce sufficient hydrogen for generating 100 W of power. Mass balance equations are developed for each species in the reactor and an energy balance is developed for modeling non-isothermal operation. The pressure drop is modeled via the Ergun equation. Simulations are conducted in MATLAB to determine the effect of process parameters (e.g. steam to methanol ratio, inlet pressure, inlet temperature) on the production of hydrogen. It is shown that the pressure drop is negligible. Simulation results are compared with experimental results from the literature and it shown that there is excellent agreement between the simulation results and experimental results. Process conditions that lead to the generation of sufficient hydrogen for generating 100 W of power are developed.