An investigation of a stratified catalyst bed for small-scale hydrogen production from methanol autothermal reforming

•A stratified catalyst bed was experimentally tested using a PGM/Cu-based catalyst.•Demonstrated an improved hydrogen selectivity compared to a single bed ATR system.•Lower O2/CH3OH were tested while maintaining high conversions.

This research project explored a methanol reforming system using a stratified catalyst bed. Commercially available catalysts were used within a single reactor and the system was run autothermally (fuel, steam and oxidizer). The investigation explored the fuel conversion and reactor temperature profile at various O2/CH3OH ratios. The experiments showed that the stratified system had fairly high conversions at low O2/CH3OH ratios. Additionally, it showed high selectivity towards hydrogen, and low selectivity for carbon monoxide. The experimental results gathered show a promising use of stratified catalyst beds for small-scale reforming systems.