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Economically Optimal and Inherently Safe Design and Operation of Microreactor for Hydrogen Production in Portable Power Generation Devices Such as PEM Fuel Cell

Ghodba, Ali | 2018

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 51398 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Rashtchian, Davood; Sharifzadeh, Mehdi
  7. Abstract:
  8. Due to high efficiency and modular production ability of fuel cells, they have been used extensively in the power plants, especially in portable devices such as fuel cell vehicles. The commercialization of the equipment is dependent on ensuring the safety of their operations. Many of these platforms employ steam reforming reactions at very high temperature in order to produce the hydrogen, which is implemented as the fuel in the PEM fuel cell. The technique of miniaturization is a promising approach to design a chemical process in which the rate of transport phenomena such as the mass and heat transfer are intensified by reducing the size of the reactor and allowing the process to be run under more safe operating conditions. In this way, it is possible to obtain more inherently safe design, but complexity of the reduction of their geometric dimensions may pose some challenges in the design and operation of the equipment. For example, it may be impposible to install a temperature transmitter devices inside the microreactor. As a result, the controlling of the procceses occur in microreactor relies heavily on the way that the system is designed. The goal of this project is to study the procedures that result in power production in fuel cell vehicles. In the present work, hydrogen are obtained through steam reforming of methanol, leading to safer operation, more efficient and economical operation. Furthermore, steam reforming of methanol in the microreactor and a high-temperature polymer membrane fuel cell with external accessories are simulated. To achive an economically optimal and inherently safe system, different fluid stream patterns in the microreactor and fuel cell have been investigated. Optimal design and operational parameter are determined using the genetic algorithm, and results show that a pattern of counter current flows leads to more satisfactory performance
  9. Keywords:
  10. Microreactor ; High Temperature Fuel cell ; Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)Fuel Cell ; Inherenly Safer Optimum Design ; Energy Production

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