Spiral Methanol to Hydrogen Micro-Reformer for Fuel Cell Applications

Abstract

A spiral microchannel methanol reformer has been developed to provide power in conjunction with a micro fuel cell for a portable, low-power device. The design is optimized for low pumping power and rapid operation as well as thermal efficiency, overall size, and complete generation of the available hydrogen. An iterative, implicit, finite-element solution code, which locates the boundaries between liquid, two-phase, and gaseous flow, provides a complete solution of the fluid and heat transfer properties throughout the device. The solution employs experimentally verified available microchannel fluid dynamics relations to develop accurate results. Based on this analysis, the proposed microreformer design will have an overall maximum energy efficiency of 70%.