A new type of methane steam reformer with a self-regulating structure

Methane steam reforming is a key technology for large-scale hydrogen production; however, its performance and lifetime are significantly influenced by carbon deposition. In this study, a new type of methane steam reformer with a self-regulating structure is proposed to inhibit carbon deposition and improve the lifetime of the reformer. By incorporating a main gas channel and branch gas channels within the reformer, the gas flow direction can be automatically adjusted, allowing the primary location of the reforming reaction to shift when partial blockages occur due to carbon deposition. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed new structure, numerical models are developed to simulate and compare a conventional reformer with the newly designed reformer. The simulation results show that the lifetime of the proposed novel structure reformer is increased by approximately 56.0% compared to that of the conventional reformer with a packed bed structure when β = 2 and L/R = 5. The hydrogen molar fraction at the outlet of the novel structure reformer (β = 2) is on average 5.41% higher than that of the conventional packed bed reformer (β = 3) when their lifetimes are similar. Additionally, the proposed novel structure reformer can achieve superior performance when applied to large L/R conditions. These findings suggest that the proposed design offers a promising strategy for developing a durable and high-performance methane steam reformer.