Modeling and simulation of an integrated steam reforming and nuclear heat system

Abstract In this study, a dynamic and two-dimensional model for a steam methane reforming process integrated with nuclear heat production is developed. The model is based on first principles and considers the conservation of mass, momentum and energy within the system. The model is multi-scale, considering both bulk gas effects as well as spatial differences within the catalyst particles. Very few model parameters need to be fit based on the design specifications reported in the literature. The resulting model fits the reported design conditions of two separate pilot-scale studies (ranging from 0.4 to 10 MW heat transfer duty). A sensitivity analysis indicated that disturbances in the helium feed conditions significantly affect the system, but the overall system performance only changes slightly even for the large changes in the value of the most uncertain parameters.

[1]  Thomas A. Adams,et al.  Combining coal gasification, natural gas reforming, and external carbonless heat for efficient production of gasoline and diesel with CO2 capture and sequestration , 2013 .

[2]  Terje Hertzberg,et al.  Dynamic simulation and optimization of a catalytic steam reformer , 1999 .

[3]  H. S. Fogler,et al.  Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering , 1986 .

[4]  Anjana D. Nandasana,et al.  Dynamic Model of an Industrial Steam Reformer and Its Use for Multiobjective Optimization , 2003 .

[5]  S. N. Upadhyay,et al.  Particle-Fluid Mass Transfer in Fixed and Fluidized Beds , 1977 .

[6]  Thomas A. Adams,et al.  A dynamic two-dimensional heterogeneous model for water gas shift reactors , 2009 .

[7]  Michael C. Georgiadis,et al.  A heterogeneous dynamic model for the simulation and optimisation of the steam methane reforming reactor , 2012 .

[8]  Valerie Dupont,et al.  Kinetics study and modelling of steam methane reforming process over a NiO/Al2O3 catalyst in an adiabatic packed bed reactor , 2017 .

[9]  D. Saraf,et al.  Simulation of Side Fired Steam-Hydrocarbon Reformers , 1979 .

[10]  I. Dybkjaer,et al.  Tubular reforming and autothermal reforming of natural gas — an overview of available processes , 1995 .

[11]  Thomas A. Adams,et al.  A new power, methanol, and DME polygeneration process using integrated chemical looping systems , 2014 .

[12]  P. Lettieri,et al.  An introduction to heat transfer , 2007 .

[13]  Thomas A. Adams,et al.  Modelling, simulation and design of an integrated radiant syngas cooler and steam methane reformer for use with coal gasification , 2015 .

[14]  B. Höhlein,et al.  Experiments for combining nuclear heat with the methane steam-reforming process , 1975 .

[15]  Hassan Hajabdollahi,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of shell and tube heat exchangers , 2010 .

[16]  H. Niessen,et al.  Methane from synthesis gas and operation of high-temperature methanation , 1984 .

[17]  R. Mukherjee,et al.  Effectively design shell-and-tube heat exchangers , 1998 .

[18]  G. Froment,et al.  Methane steam reforming, methanation and water‐gas shift: I. Intrinsic kinetics , 1989 .

[19]  Charles N. Satterfield,et al.  Mass transfer in heterogeneous catalysis , 1969 .

[20]  Hiroyuki Sato,et al.  Study on control characteristics for HTTR hydrogen production system with mock-up test facility: System controllability test for fluctuation of chemical reaction , 2005 .

[21]  Don W. Green,et al.  Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook , 2007 .

[22]  Thomas A. Adams,et al.  A multi-scale dynamic two-dimensional heterogeneous model for catalytic steam methane reforming reactors , 2013 .

[23]  Rory F.D. Monaghan,et al.  A dynamic reduced order model for simulating entrained flow gasifiers: Part I: Model development and description , 2012 .

[24]  Donald Quentin Kern,et al.  Process heat transfer , 1950 .