Design and Optimization of Dimethyl Ether Steam-Reforming Reactor
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 2
Abstract
In this paper, a numerical model of the dimethyl ether (DME) steam reformer was developed. The established numerical model was solved using commercially available software. An experimental platform was set up to validate the simulation results, which were consistent with experimental data. The size and shape of the reactor was optimized by means of a structural optimization model to achieve a higher conversion of DME. The effect of reaction conditions on DME conversion and hydrogen production was analyzed. The topology optimization of the DME reactor was carried out to obtain the optimal distribution of porous catalysts in the reactor to obtain the maximum total reaction rate. A simulation of the reforming to hydrogen industrial system was established to obtain the thermal efficiency of the reforming reactor with different structures under different operating conditions. The structural optimization results showed that the DME steam-reforming system achieved 91% DME conversion and 89% hydrogen production at a conversion bed temperature of 673 K, mixed gas inlet flow rate of , and steam-ether ratio of 3.5. Topological optimization has obtained an optimal porous catalyst distribution with a nearly 1.3-fold increase in DME conversion and achieved the highest system thermal efficiency of up to 79%. The model can be used for the optimal design of DME steam-reforming reactors and provide a reference for the optimization method of DME steam reformers.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by national Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 51505275.
References
Chen, S. Y., C. Li, and H. J. Ren. 2021. “Design and optimization of reforming hydrogen production reaction system for automobile fuel cell.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 46 (49): 25252–25263.
Chen, Z., R. Zhang, G. Xia, Y. Wu, H. Li, Z. Sun, and Z. Sun. 2021. “Vacuum promoted methane decomposition for hydrogen production with carbon separation: Parameter optimization and economic assessment.” Energy 222 (May): 119953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.119953.
Elewuwa, F. A., and Y. T. Makkawi. 2015. “Hydrogen production by steam reforming of DME in a large scale CFB reactor. Part I: Computational model and predictions.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 40 (46): 15865–15876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.10.050.
Elewuwa, F. A., and Y. T. Makkawi. 2016. “A computational model of hydrogen production by steam reforming of dimethyl ether in a large scale CFB reactor. Part II: Parametric analysis.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 41 (44): 19819–19828. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.08.072.
Faungnawakij, K., N. Viriya-Empikul, and W. Tanthapanichakoon. 2011. “Evaluation of the thermodynamic equilibrium of the autothermal reforming of dimethyl ether.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 36 (10): 5865–5874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.02.027.
Feng, D., Y. Wang, D. Wang, and J. Wang. 2009. “Steam reforming of dimethyl ether over CuO–ZnO–Al2O3–ZrO2+ ZSM-5: A kinetic study.” Chem. Eng. J. 146 (3): 477–485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2008.11.005.
Gribovskiy, A. G., L. L. Makarshin, D. V. Andreev, O. P. Klenov, and V. N. Parmon. 2015. “Thermally autonomous microchannel reactor to produce hydrogen in steam reforming of methanol.” Chem. Eng. J. 273 (Aug): 130–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.03.036.
Kim, D., G. Park, B. Choi, and Y.-B. Kim. 2017. “Reaction characteristics of dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming catalysts for hydrogen production.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 42 (49): 29210–29221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.10.020.
Kim, D. H., S. H. Kim, and J. Y. Byun. 2015. “A microreactor with metallic catalyst support for hydrogen production by partial oxidation of dimethyl ether.” Chem. Eng. J. 280 (Nov): 468–474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.06.038.
Kubo, S., K. Yaji, T. Yamada, K. Izui, and S. Nishiwaki. 2017. “A level set-based topology optimization method for optimal manifold designs with flow uniformity in plate-type microchannel reactors.” Struct. Multidiscip. Optim. 55 (4): 1311–1327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-016-1577-0.
Li, C., Y. Gao, and C. Wu. 2015. “Modeling and simulation of hydrogen production from dimethyl ether steam reforming using exhaust gas.” Int. J. Energy Res. 39 (9): 1272–1279. https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3330.
Park, J., S. Lee, S. Lim, and J. Bae. 2009. “Heat flux analysis of a cylindrical steam reformer by a modified Nusselt number.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 34 (4): 1828–1834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.11.099.
Pashchenko, D., M. Gnutikova, and I. Karpilov. 2020. “Comparison study of thermochemical waste-heat recuperation by steam reforming of liquid biofuels.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 45 (7): 4174–4181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.11.202.
Semelsberger, T. A., and R. L. Borup. 2005. “Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations of dimethyl ether steam reforming and dimethyl ether hydrolysis.” J. Power Sources 152 (Dec): 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.01.056.
Song, J., M. Choi, J. Lee, and J. M. Kim. 2020. “Improvement of fuel economy and greenhouse gases reduction in gasoline powered vehicles through the TWC-NOx trap catalyst.” Int. J. Automot. Technol. 21 (2): 441–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-020-0041-8.
Suh, J. S., M. T. Lee, R. Greif, and C. P. Grigoropoulos. 2007. “A study of steam methanol reforming in a microreactor.” J. Power Sources 173 (1): 458–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.04.038.
Sun, Z., Y. Tian, P. Zhang, G. Yang, N. Tsubaki, T. Abe, A. Taguchi, J. Zhang, L. Zheng, and X. Li. 2019. “Sputtered Cu-ZnO/γ- bifunctional catalyst with ultra-low cu content boosting dimethyl ether steam reforming and inhibiting side reactions.” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 58 (17): 7085–7093. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01214.
Wang, S., T. Ishihara, and Y. Takita. 2002. “Partial oxidation of dimethyl ether over various supported metal catalysts.” Appl. Catal., A 228 (1–2): 167–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0926-860X(01)00985-1.
Yamasaki, S., A. Kawamoto, A. Saito, M. Kuroishi, and K. Fujita. 2017. “Grayscale-free topology optimization for electromagnetic design problem of in-vehicle reactor.” Struct. Multidiscip. Optim. 55 (3): 1079–1090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-016-1557-4.
Yan, C. F., W. Ye, C. Q. Guo, S. L. Huang, W. B. Li, and W. M. Luo. 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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.02.133.
Zhang, T., K. Ou, and S. Jung. 2017. “Reaction characteristics of dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming catalysts for hydrogen production.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 42 (29): 29210–29221.
Zhang, T., K. Ou, S. Jung, B. Choi, and Y. B. Kim. 2018. “Dynamic analysis of a PEM fuel cell hybrid system with an on-board dimethyl ether (DME) steam reformer (SR).” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 43 (29): 13521–13531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.05.098.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 2 • April 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 10, 2021
Accepted: Nov 16, 2021
Published online: Jan 13, 2022
Published in print: Apr 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jun 13, 2022
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.
Cited by
- ShiPing Wei, Cong Li, Design and optimization of spiral heated tubular dimethyl ether (DME) steam reforming reactor, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.09.295, 48, 6, (2231-2246), (2023).