Reforming of liquid fuel has become important for a variety of applications such as remote power production via PEMFC and SOFC, ICE combustion enhancement with syngas. To understand the performance issues associated with logistical fuel reforming a series of experiments were performed on a Monolith, for steam to carbon (S/C) ratios between 1.8 and 2.2 and oxygen to carbon (O/C) ratios between 0.8 and 1.1. Afterword the 10 in. long and 4 in. wide finned wall reactor was tested. The reactor, preheated with air and steam from the feed delivery system, lit off and performed auto-thermally without the need for external heating. Heat losses at 300oC were estimated ∼ 1/4 kW. At operation the reactor’s losses amount to 0.5 kW, 5%of the thermal energy content of the system. The reactor, equipped with 12 axial temperature probes in the fins and 12 skin temperatures allowed to measure the local heat flux from the reactor to the surroundings. The results show a temperature rise starting from the inlet of 330oC at the entrance to a peak temperature of 831oC 1 inch into the reactor. A temperature drop was observed from 831oC to 605oC for the remaining portion of the reactor. The last portion of the reactor exhibits a linear temperature decay, indicating that the temperature drop is dominated by heat loss to the surrounding rather than the impact of endothermic reactions. Temperature profiles were also measured at different radial positions, showing a maximum of ∼20oC difference. To understand the reactions occurring within the unit, results from equilibrium calculations were compared to the product distribution measured via gas chromatograph. The comparison shows that the product distribution for the benchmark case of S/C=2 and O/C=1 closely matches thermodynamic equilibrium distribution at 770oC. This temperature takes place in the middle of the reactor, suggesting that the last half of the reactor length does not impact product distribution. The local heat flux measurements provided the necessary data to design a heat exchanger to be etched on the unit, which would allow direct heat transfer from the catalytic wall to preheat water, fuel and air prior to their introduction to the reactor. This work in progress will show the results to date and next steps to better understand the reactor performance and design an integrated fuel delivery-reactor system.
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