Design of a Microchannel Based Solar Receiver/reactor for Methane-steam Reforming

This study investigates use of solar thermochemical processing of clean fuels using biomass products (in particular CH4, H2O). To address technological feasibility of a microchannel-based solar receiver/reactor, a combined numerical and experimental study of methane-steam reforming is carried out on a single microchannel with Palladium-deposited channel walls and heat input to facilitate endothermic heterogeneous reactions producing hydrogen. A simple one-dimensional model solving steady state species mass fraction, energy, and overall conservation of mass equations is developed, calibrated and validated against concurrent experimental data [1, 2]. Methane-steam reforming is modeled by three reduced-order reactions occurring on the reactor walls. The effects of the total heat input, heat flux profile, and inlet flow rate on production of hydrogen are investigated to assess the effectiveness of the microchannel configuration for production of hydrogen. A coupled shape-constrained optimization and Monte-Carlo radiative heat transfer model is developed to design a receiver shape that can yield a desired heat flux distribution on the channel walls for improved yield of hydrogen. ∗[email protected] †[email protected]