Abstract
The use of Hydrogen as a fuel is receiving considerable attention and as a result, research on novel methods of hydrogen production is necessary so that the hydrogen demands in the future can be satisfied. This study presents experimental data on methanol Autothermal Reformation that quantifies the relationship between the oxygen-to-methanol ratio ($O_2/CH_3OH$) and reformer efficiency. For each catalyst configuration, the $O_2/CH_3OH$ was varied from 0.1 to 0.4, with an increment of 0.05, to investigate the effects of $O_2/CH_3OH$ on the reactor performance, including temperature profile, conversion, and efficiency. $O_2/CH_3OH$ was increased from 0.15 to 0.20, and the catalyst bed temperature increased by $235^{\circ}C$ to approximately $550^{\circ}C$. The catalyst bed temperature increased with increasing $O_2/CH_3OH$ as the reaction shifted from endothermic to exothermic reaction and as a result, excess heat, which raised the reactor temperature, was generated. The reactor performance was shown to be highly dependent on $O_2/CH_3OH$. The optimum $O_2/CH_3OH$ = 0.30 found in the experimental tests is 30% higher than the theoretical optimum of 0.23. This is attributed to a combination of factors such as the concentrations of the $O_2$ and $CH_3OH$ gas, reaction rate, catalyst effects, heat loss from the reactor, and the difference between the actual amounts of reaction products formed and the theoretical amounts of the reaction products.
수소가 매력적인 연료로 각광받기 시작하면서 수요가 급증하였으며 이에 대응하여 수소 생산 기술에 대한 연구가 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 산소-메탄올 비율에 따른 연료전지용 메탄올 개질기의 반응 효율을 알아보았다. 각각의 촉매 배열에 따른 산소-메탄올의 비율($O_2/CH_3OH$)의 영향을 알아보기 위해 $O_2/CH_3OH$를 0.1에서 0.4까지 0.05씩 증가시켜 반응기의 온도, 변환율, 효율에 관한 실험을 수행하였다. $O_2/CH_3OH$가 0.15에서 0.2로 증가할 때 촉매층(catalyst bed)의 온도도 증가하며, 흡열 반응이 발열반응으로 변하여 반응기의 온도를 상승시켜 촉매 점화에 따라 온도는 $235^{\circ}C$정도 급상승한 $500^{\circ}C$가 된다. 반응기의 성능은 $O_2/CH_3OH$에 크게 의존하며 이론적 연구에서 $O_2/CH_3OH$는 0.23이었으나 실험 결과는 30 % 높은 0.30일 때 최적의 성능을 나타내었다. 이것은 혼합기체의 농도차이, 반응속도, 촉매, 반응기의 열손실, 반응 시 생성된 생성물 등의 변화 때문인 것으로 여겨진다.
