Thermodynamic Design and Performance Calculation of the Thermochemical Reformers

Thermodynamic design methods and performance calculation models for chemical reformers that can be used to recuperate exhaust heat and to improve combustion quality are investigated in this paper. The basic structure of the chemical reformer is defined as series-wound reforming units that consist of heat exchangers and cracking reactors. The CH4-steam reforming reaction is used in the chemical reformers and a universal model of this reaction is built based on the minimization of Gibbs free energy method. Comparative analyzes between the results of the calculation and a plasma-catalyzed CH4-steam reforming reaction experiment verify that this universal model is applicable and has high precision. Algorithms for simulation of series-wound reforming units are constructed and the complexity of the chemical reformers is studied. A design principle that shows the influence of structural complexity on the quantity of recovered heat and the composites of the reformed fuel can be followed for different application scenarios of chemical reformers.