Numerical Simulation of a Counter-flow Heat Exchanger Micro reactor for Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide

Liquid hydrocarbons are entered to a fuel processor to generate hydrogen for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). One of the important parts of the fuel processor is a preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide micro reactor. In this micro reactor the amount of CO is reduced to 10 ppm by use of various catalysts. In this paper, a numerical simulation of a micro reactor for preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in the fuel processor is set up. The approach is by use of a counter-flow heat exchanger micro reactor to prevent heat losing. Three parameters are introduced to determine the performance of the micro reactor: efficiency, reactive length and CO conversion. Then, the effects of several parameters such as reactor channel diameter, control channel outer diameter, and ambient temperature are studied. The results indicated that the ambient temperature and reactor channel diameter are the most effective parameters, which can enhance the system performance.