A review of recent advances in numerical simulations of microscale fuel processor for hydrogen production

Microscale (<5 W) reformers for hydrogen production have been investigated for over a decade. These devices are intended to provide hydrogen for small fuel cells. Due to the reformer's small size, numerical simulations are critical to understand heat and mass transfer phenomena occurring in the systems and help guide the further improvements. This paper reviews the development of the numerical codes and details the reaction equations used. The majority of the devices utilized methanol as the fuel due to methanol's low reforming temperature and high conversion, although, there are several methane fueled systems. The increased computational power and more complex codes have led to improved accuracy of numerical simulations. Initial models focused on the reformer, while more recently, the simulations began including other unit operations such as vaporizers, inlet manifolds, and combustors. These codes are critical for developing the next generation systems. The systems reviewed included plate reactors, microchannel reactors, and annulus reactors for both wash-coated and packed bed systems.