Microchannel Reactor with Low Oxygen Consumption For Highly Efficient Hydrogen Production from Liquid Hydrocarbons

InnovaTek will determine the feasibility of combining microchannel prereformer and reformer reactors with microchannel heat exchangers into a single novel component for advanced fuel processing in undersea vehicles. The unique design of the proposed integrated system is characterized by very high internal surface areas for heat exchange and a high proportion of internal flow channels for the catalytic reaction but with greatly reduced system volume. This innovative approach will improve thermal efficiency and resource utilization (principally fuel and oxygen) by reducing the amount of steam required for the reforming reaction and minimizing flow paths, piping, valves and component surfaces that can produce external sources of heat loss. Through computational modeling, the University of Florida will provide the critical numerical simulations of heat transfer, mass transfer, and kinetic reaction rates in microchannels, required to design the architecture and select the materials for the integrated components. Those simulation results will be validated and refined from experimental data generated using InnovaTek's microchannel reactors and heat exchangers. The key deliverable from Phase 1 is a feasibility assessment of the approach and a preliminary design that will form the basis for a detailed system design and cost estimate (Phase 1 Option).