Control of autothermal reforming reactor of diesel fuel

• A control system for autothermal diesel reformer was developed.
• It is a part of complete control system of diesel fuel cell auxiliary power unit.
• Two control objectives: hydrogen production rate and reforming reactor temperature.
• Decoupling of hydrogen production rate control and temperature control.
• The control system was evaluated in connection with auxiliary power unit prototype.

In this paper a control system for autothermal reforming reactor for diesel fuel is presented. Autothermal reforming reactors and the pertaining purification reactors are used to convert diesel fuel into hydrogen-rich reformate gas, which is then converted into electricity by the fuel cell. The purpose of the presented control system is to control the hydrogen production rate and the temperature of the autothermal reforming reactor. The system is designed in such a way that the two control loops do not interact, which is required for stable operation of the fuel cell. The presented control system is a part of the complete control system of the diesel fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU).