Autothermal Reforming of Hydrocarbon Fuels

Nowadays, for many processes, high-quality-synthesis gas is required. For its generation, catalytic autothermal reforming of hydrocarbons, which is a combination of classic steam reforming (endothermic) and partial oxidation (exothermic), is a very capable method. Hence, it has been the focus of research in the past few years. The great advantage of autothermal reforming, in contrast to steam reforming or partial oxidation, is that there is no need to supply or dissipate thermal energy to or from the reaction. This feature makes it interesting for many applications, especially for smaller decentralized plants. The aim of this work is to explore the fundamentals of that process by practical experiments. According to the results of the experiments, comparisons with the gas composition gained from thermodynamic equilibrium are drawn. It can be shown that these equilibrium values nearly can be achieved by the use of a noble metal catalyst even at low temperatures. Furthermore, noble metal catalysts feature only marginal losses of the hydrocarbon-conversion by increasing the space velocity.