Integration of a reformer and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is problematic due to the presence in the gas from the reforming process of a slight amount of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide poisons the catalyst of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell subsequently degrading the fuel cell performance, and necessitating the sublimation of the reaction gas before supplying to fuel ce...

Compact reformers (CRs) are promising devices for efficient fuel processing. In CRs, a thin solid plate is sandwiched between two catalyst layers to enable efficient heat transfer from combustion duct to the reforming duct for fuel processing. In this study, a 2D heat and mass transfer model is developed to investigate the fundamental transport phenomenon and chemical reaction kinetics in a CR ...

Our goal in this paper is the description and analysis of new findings and results on membrane reactors and catalytic reactors/heterogeneous processors for the steam reforming reactions of methane, natural gas, and methanol for use in power generation systems and fuel cells. The current communication continues this research by giving emphasis in the so-called “Improved Reaction” and “ReformingF...

In this work, an experimental study of biomass gasification in different operation conditions has been carried out in an updraft gasifier combined with a porous ceramic reformer. The effects of gasifier temperature, steam to biomass ratio (S/B), and reforming temperature on the gas characteristic parameters were investigated with and without porous ceramic filled in reformer. The results indica...

A compact reformer to generate hydrogen for portable fuel cell applications is presented. This reformer is a conventional type single-path tubular reactor packed with granular catalyst particles in which steam reforming and catalytic partial oxidation reactions take place in series using a mixture of methanol and water as a feed. The novel feature of this reformer is in the interlacing of the f...

The potential for efficient production of hydrogen-rich gas from hydrocarbon fuels using thermal plasmas has been investigated both analytically and experimentally. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the most efficient production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons can be achieved by partial oxidation (lambda = 0.25); at optimal conditions, the availability of the output fuel mixture is 83 percent of ...

We studied steam reforming of ethanol at room temperature and atmospheric pressure using low energy pulse (LEP) discharge. In this study, we employed characteristic novel reformer, one electrode was made of carbon fibers (o.d. 7.0 μm) bundle. So fuel was supplied to discharge region by capillary action of the fibers and reformed directly by LEP plasma without any pump or heater. When using this...

Combustion in homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine is controlled auto ignition of well-mixed fuel, air and residual gas. Since onset of HCCI combustion depends on the auto ignition of fuel/air mixture, there is no direct control on the start of combustion process. Therefore, HCCI combustion becomes unstable rather easily especially at lower and higher engine load. Charge strati...

Homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion is spontaneous multi-site combustion of a nominally premixed air/fuel mixture that exhibits high rate of pressure rise and short combustion duration. To avoid excessive pressure rise rate and knocking, HCCI engines are fueled with highly diluted mixture using a combination of excess air and/or EGR. HCCI combustion is attractive due to ...

A model for pressurised steam/O2-blown fluidised-bed gasification of biomass with catalytic reforming of hydrocarbons and tars was developed using Aspen Plus simulation software. Seven main blocks were used to model the fluidised-bed gasifier and two for the catalytic reformer. Modelling blocks were complemented with FORTRAN subroutines to simulate the observed non-equilibrium behaviour of the ...