Radial Micro-Channel Reactor (RMR) for generating Syngas by reforming of fossil and bio-fuels

Power & Energy’s patented Radial Microchannel Reactor (RMR) is transformational in advancing the state of the art for efficient low cost generation of syngas. The RMR design can be used to reform a wide variety of fossil and bio fuels.

A reactor using RMR channels is scalable from a single channel to more than 1000 channels in a single unit.. The design of a single RMR channel configured for steam reforming is shown in the figure below, each channel in a steam reformer can have a thermal output exceeding 2kW.

Each RMR channel operates independently performing the endothermic and exothermic reactions with high efficiency because of the close coupling of the heat transfer between the outer surface of the outer tube and the inner surface of the outer tube, which make up the two reaction zones. The individual micro-channels are arranged in a close packed array with more than a 1000 RMR fitting in a 6” OD manifold. The RMR is capable of producing power densities > 50MW/M3, heat transfer rates > 15W/cm2, heat transfer rates > 2kW/gm of catalyst and volumetric heat transfer rates > 500W/cc.