Numerical analysis of heat transfer and fuel conversion for MCFC preconverter

Do Hyun Byun, Chang Hyun Sohn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, a preconverter of an MCFC for an emergency electric power supplier is numerically simulated to increase the hydrogen production from natural gas (methane). A commercial code is used to simulate a porous catalyst with a user subroutine to model three dominant chemical reactions-steam reforming, water-gas shift, and direct steam reforming. To achieve a fuel conversion rate of 10% in the preconverter, the required external heat flux is supplied from the outer wall of the preconverter. The calculated results show that the temperature distribution and chemical reaction are extremely nonuniform near the wall of the preconverter. These phenomena can be explained by the low heat conductivity of the porous catalyst and the endothermic reforming reaction. The calculated results indicate that the use of a compact-size preconverter makes the chemical reaction more uniform and provides many advantages for catalyst maintenance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)425-430
Number of pages6
JournalTransactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers, B
Volume36
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2012

Keywords

  • CFD
  • Fuel conversion
  • Heat transferee
  • Preconvertere
  • Stream reforming reaction

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