Compact Resistive-Heating Catalytic Reactor for in-Situ Fuel Reforming to Hydrogen

With growing need for fuel flexibility in H-2 production for fuel cells, process intensification of fuel reforming using micro-reactors is essential. While significant development has been carried out in the literature towards hydrocarbon fuel reforming using micro-reactors using micro-channels, the supply of thermal energy needed for these endothermic reactions was restricted to heating from outside the reactor walls, or operation in autothermal mode using partial combustion. A novel pathway of utilizing thin-film catalytic heater to develop micro-reactors is studied in this paper. Dry methane reforming was demonstrated in a simplified micro-reactor where the thermal energy was provided via electric resistive heating of a thin carbon sheet with a test catalyst impregnated onto the surface of this heater. This thin catalytic heated layer was inside the reactor and thus, the energy losses can be minimized while the footprint of the overall reactor can be significantly reduced. Although micro-channels were not used in this paper, the tests were carried out with a power input intensity of 1.2 W/mL footprint with an improved scope and feasibility for further intensification compared to conventionally heated microreactors.