Numerical Simulation and Process Optimization of Production from Dimethyl Ether Steam Reforming
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 3
Abstract
A numerical study was conducted to optimize the process of hydrogen production from dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming. The reforming system was composed of a DME steam reforming reactor, a high-temperature water–gas shift reactor, a low-temperature water–gas shift reactor, and a preferential oxidation reactor. The mathematical model of the DME steam reforming reactor was set up and validated by a self-designed experimental equipment. Based on the model of the reforming reactor, a process optimization model accomplished by waste heat recovery was established by using commercial software. By using the model, the effects of various parameters on system thermal efficiency and the hydrogen flow rate were analyzed. The hydrogen flow rate and the system thermal efficiency increased with the increase of ratio and the temperature of the steam reforming reactor. The hydrogen flow rate and the thermal efficiency changed little with the increase of temperature of the high-temperature water–gas shift reactor and low-temperature water–gas shift reactor. The system thermal efficiency decreased and the hydrogen flow rate increased with the increase of the DME inlet flow rate. The results will provide useful data to design and operate a production system.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 51505275.
References
Aicher, T., Full, J., and Schaadt, A. (2009). “A portable fuel processor for hydrogen production from ethanol in a 250 W fuel cell system.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 34(19), 8006–8015.
Aspen Plus version 7.2 [Computer software]. AspenTech, Inc., Bedford, MA.
Feng, D. M., Wang, Y. Y., Wang, D. Z., and Wang, J. F. (2009). “Steam reforming of dimethyl ether over : A kinetic study.” Chem. Eng. J., 146(3), 477–485.
Hossean, M. R., Byun, D., and Dutta, P. (2010). “Analysis of microwave heating for cylindrical shaped objects.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 53(23–24), 5129–5138.
Jung, U. H., Kim, W., Koo, K. Y., and Wang, L. Y. (2014). “Genuine design of compact natural gas fuel processor for 1-kW e class residential proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems.” Fuel Process. Technol., 121(5), 32–37.
Khan, F. A., and Siddiqui, K. (2014). “Numerical investigation of thermal disassociation of ZnO for hydrogen production: Parametric study and reactor configuration.” Int. J. Energy Res., 38(1), 78–93.
Kim, K. H., Shim, J. H., and Lee, B. J. (2012). “Effect of alloying elements (Al, Co, Fe, Ni) on the solubility of hydrogen in vanadium: A thermodynamic calculation.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 37(9), 7836–7847.
Kimura, M., Miyao, T., Komori, S., and Chen, A. (2010). “Selective methanation of CO in hydrogen-rich gases involving large amounts of over Ru-modified Ni-Al mixed oxide catalysts.” Appl. Catal. A Gen., 379(1), 182–187.
Kou, S. Y., Wang, X. L., Ren, K. W., Pan, X. M., and Ma, J. X. (2009). “Thermodynamic analysis of hydrogen production from dimethyl ether steam reforming.” Nat. Gas Chem. Ind., 34(1), 35–40.
Lei, J., Yue, H. R., and Tang, H. (2015). “Heat integration and optimization of hydrogen production for a 1 kW low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell.” Chem. Eng. Sci., 123, 81–91.
Li, C., Gao, Y., and Wu, C. (2015). “Modeling and simulation of hydrogen production from dimethyl ether steam reforming using exhaust gas.” Int. J. Energy Res., 39(9), 1272–1279.
Liberatore, R., Lanchi, M., Giaconia, A., and Tarquini, P. (2012). “Energy and economic assessment of an industrial plant for the hydrogen production by water-splitting through the sulfur-iodine thermochemical cycle powered by concentrated solar energy.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 37(12), 9550–9565.
Liu, Q., Liu, Z., Liao, L. W., and Dong, X. (2010). “Selective CO methanation over amorphous catalyst for hydrogen-rich gas purification.” J. Nat. Gas Chem., 19(5), 497–502.
Oar-Arteta, L., Remiro, A., and Vicente, J. (2014). “Stability of and catalysts in dimethyl ether steam reforming operating in reaction-regeneration cycles.” Fuel Process. Technol., 126(10), 145–154.
Park, S. H., and Jo, T. H. (2013). “Performance evaluation of natural gas based steam reformer for PEMFC.” Int. J. Precis. Eng. Man., 14(9), 1661–1665.
Pasdag, O., Kvasnicka, A., Steffen, M., and Heinzel, A. (2012). “Highly integrated steam reforming fuel processor with condensing burner technology for maximised electrical efficiency of CHP-PEMFC systems.” Energy Procedia, 28(28), 57–65.
Rossetti, I., Compagnoni, M., and Torli, M. (2015). “Process simulation and optimization of production from ethanol steam reforming and its use in fuel cells. II: Process analysis and optimization.” Chem. Eng. J., 281, 1036–1044.
Semelsberger, T. A., and Borup, R. L. (2005). “Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations of dimethyl ether steam reforming and dimethyl ether hydrolysis.” J. Power Sources, 152(1), 87–96.
Yan, C. F. (2014). “Numerical simulation and experimental study of hydrogen production from dimethyl ether steam reforming in a micro-reactor.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 39(32), 18642–18649.
Zhang, Q. J., Li, X. H., Fujimoto, K., and Asami, K. (2005). “Hydrogen production by partial oxidation and reforming of DME.” Catal. Lett., 102(3–4), 197–200.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 3 • June 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 19, 2017
Accepted: Oct 24, 2017
Published online: Mar 13, 2018
Published in print: Jun 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Aug 13, 2018
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.