| This study investigates the enhancement of heat transfer in steam reformation reactors through the application of flow impingement in the catalyst bed. For steam reformation, it is known that the ability to convert hydrocarbons to hydrogen can be limited by heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical kinetics. In this study, it is presented that flow impingement can be used to increase heat transfer in steam reformation through reduction of boundary layers and passive mixing. It is also presented that flow impingement could benefit mass transfer limitations through the same passive mixing, as well as increase chemical kinetics through enhanced heat transfer to reaction sites. As such, this study analyzes and compares the performance of a flow impinging catalyst, which consists of a novel structure, to that of a typical pelletized catalyst. The effects of flow impingement are experimentally investigated in conjunction with varied feedstock flow rates and reactor volumes. Their effects on reactor fuel conversion, temperature profile, heat transfer, characteristic time, and pressure drop are analyzed and studied. An empirical model for reactor performance was also developed and verified.;The data collected by this study quantified the effects of flow impingement on steam reformation. Comparative test results found that utilization of flow impingement resulted in fuel conversion improvements of 1.1%-2.6%. In addition, experimental results also found improvements to the average heat transfer coefficients between reactors were 12%-21% when flow impingement was used. As such, it was determined that flow impingement could enhance heat transfer within the catalyst bed of a reactor, but this did not directly correlate with a similar improvement to fuel conversion. However, the application of flow impingement resulted in a 5%-15% decrease in characteristic conversion times, thus, confirming an overall improvement. It was concluded by this study that flow impingement could be an effective mechanism for enhancing heat transfer within steam reformation reactors; however, additional research on the efficacy of the employed flow schemes was recommended for enhancing overall performance of the process. |
