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A fluidized bed membrane reactor for the steam reforming of methane
Author(s) -
Adris A. M.,
Elnashaie S. S. E. H.,
Hughes R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450690504
Subject(s) - steam reforming , fluidized bed , endothermic process , process engineering , exothermic reaction , hydrogen production , heat transfer , chemical engineering , materials science , nuclear engineering , membrane reactor , methane , waste management , hydrogen , thermodynamics , chemistry , engineering , adsorption , physics , organic chemistry
In the present investigation a realistic two‐phase model accounting for the change in the total number of moles accompanying the reaction is utilized to explore a novel reactor configuration suggested for the methane steam reforming process. The suggested design is basically a fluidized bed reactor equipped with a bundle of membrane tubes. These tubes remove the main product, hydrogen, from the reacting gas mixture and drive the reaction beyond its thermodynamic equilibrium. The proposed novel design is also equipped with sodium heat pipes which act as a thermal flux transformer to provide the large amount of heat needed by the endothermic reaction through a relatively small heat transfer surface, assuring better reactor compactness. Two options for fluid routing through the membrane tubes are proposed; each is suitable for a certain industrial application. The performance of this novel configuration is compared with that of an industrial fixed bed steam reformer and the comparison shows the potential advantages of the suggested configuration.