Operation Conditions Optimization of Hydrogen Production by Propane Autothermal Reforming for PEMFC Application1

Autothermal reforming (ATR) is one of the leading methods for hydrogen production from hydrocarbons. Liquefied petroleum gas, with propane as the main component, is a promising fuel for on-board hydrogen producing systems in fuel cell vehicles and for domestic fuel cell power generation devices. In this article, propane ATR process is studied and operation conditions are optimized with PRO/II® from SIMSCI for proton exchange membrane fuel cell application. In the ATR system including water gas shift and preferential oxidation, heat in the hot streams and cold streams is controlled to be in balance. Different operation conditions are studied and drawn in contour plots. The region for ATR reforming with the highest efficiency can thus be identified. One operation point was chosen with the following process parameters: feed temperature for the ATR reactor is 425°C, steam to carbon ratio S/C is 2.08, air stoichiometry is 0.256. Thermal efficiency for the integrated system is calculated to be as high as 84.0% with 38.27% H2 and 3.2μl.L−1 CO in the product gas.