Methane steam reforming: Kinetics and modeling over coating catalyst in micro-channel reactor

•Ni-based catalytic coating was cold sprayed on stainless steel substrate.•Two types of kinetics were got on coating catalyst in micro-channel reactor.•Simulation of the reactor has been carried out at two boundary conditions.•Detailed inner character in micro-channel reactor has been obtained.

Kinetics of methane steam reforming for hydrogen production has been studied through experiment in a micro-channel reactor over coating catalyst. The catalyst coating prepared by cold spray on stainless steel substrate is based on a mixture of Ni–Al oxides which is normally employed in industry for methane primary steam reforming. Two kinetic laws namely parallel as well as inverse models have been derived at atmospheric pressure, and power law type kinetics have been established using non-linear least squares optimization. With the above kinetics, simulation study has been carried out to find out temperature distribution in the micro-channel over coating catalyst at two different types of boundary conditions. The results show a quite different “cold spot” character and reactants, products distribution character in the reaction channel due to its own distinct heat and mass transfer features. The kinetics and simulation study results can be applied in aid of micro-channel reactor design, and suggestion has been proposed for catalytic coating preparation and optimization.