Publication Detail

An Investigation of a Stratified Catalyst Bed for Small-Scale Hydrogen Production from Methanol Autothermal Reforming 

UCD-ITS-RP-14-88

Journal Article

Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways (STEPS)

Suggested Citation:
Erickson, Paul A. and Nadia Richards (2014) An Investigation of a Stratified Catalyst Bed for Small-Scale Hydrogen Production from Methanol Autothermal Reforming  . International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 39 (31), 18077 - 18083

This research project explored a methanol reforming system using a stratified catalyst bed. Commercially available catalysts were used within a single reactor and the system was run autothermally (fuel, steam and oxidizer). The investigation explored the fuel conversion and reactor temperature profile at various O2/CH3OH ratios. The experiments showed that the stratified system had fairly high conversions at low O2/CH3OH ratios. Additionally, it showed high selectivity towards hydrogen, and low selectivity for carbon monoxide. The experimental results gathered show a promising use of stratified catalyst beds for small-scale reforming systems.