Temperature oscillations in methanol partial oxidation reactor for the production of hydrogen

Methanol partial oxidation (POX) is a well-known reforming reaction for the production of hydrogen from methanol. Since POX is relatively fast and highly exothermic, this reforming method will be efficient for the fast start-up and load-following operation. However, POX generates hot spots around catalyst and even oscillations in the reactor temperature. These should be relieved for longer operations of the reactor without catalyst degradations. For this, temperature oscillations in a POX reactor are investigated experimentally. Various patterns of temperature oscillations according to feed flow rates of reactants and reactor temperatures are obtained. The bifurcation phenomena from regular oscillations to chaotic oscillations are found as the methanol flow rate increases. These experimental results can be used for theoretical analyses of oscillations and for designing safe reforming reactors.