A small stationary reformer is an on-site device used for the production of

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

from

hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic; their odor is usually faint, and may b ...

on a small scale.

Types

Plate-type steam methane reformers

Multi-tube steam reformer

Membrane reactor

A membrane reactor is a device where oxygen separation,

steam reforming Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly, natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is often hydrogen ...

and POX is combined in a single step. In 1997 Argonne National Laboratory and Amoco published a paper "Ceramic membrane reactor for converting methane to syngas" which resulted in different small scale systems that combined an ATR based oxygen membrane with a water-gas shift reactor and a hydrogen membrane.

POX reactor

Partial oxidation Partial oxidation (POX) is a type of chemical reaction. It occurs when a substoichiometric fuel-air mixture is partially combusted in a reformer, creating a hydrogen-rich syngas which can then be put to further use, for example in a fuel cell. A d ...

(POX) is a type of

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

. It occurs when a substoichiometric fuel-air mixture is partially combusted in a reformer, creating a hydrogen-rich

syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principally used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

which can then be put to further use, for example in a

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

. A distinction is made between ''thermal partial oxidation'' (TPOX) and ''catalytic partial oxidation'' (CPOX).

Steam methane reformers with catalyst beds

Research

*Microchannel Reformer *Ion transport membrane reforming.

Centralized hydrogen production

The

capital cost {{no footnotes, date=December 2016 Capital costs are fixed, one-time expenses incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction, and equipment used in the production of goods or in the rendering of services. In other words, it is the total ...

methane reformer A methane reformer is a device based on steam reforming, autothermal reforming or partial oxidation and is a type of chemical synthesis which can produce pure hydrogen gas from methane using a catalyst. There are multiple types of reformers in devel ...

plants is prohibitive for small to medium size applications because the technology does not scale down well. Conventional steam reforming plants operate at pressures between 200 and 600 psi with outlet temperatures in the range of 815 to 925 °C. However, analyses have shown that even though it is more costly to construct, a well-designed SMR can produce hydrogen more cost-effectively than an ATR.AIA: Software Analyzes Cost of Hydrogen Production - Archives - ASSEMBLY
/ref> To lower the costs both pressure and used temperature are lowered which allows for the use of cheaper materials.

References

{{reflist Hydrogen production Chemical equipment Fuel gas Catalysis Industrial gases