Parametric sensitivity analysis to investigate heptane reforming in circulating fast fluidized bed membrane reactors

In this paper, we present mathematical modeling and numerical simulation tools in searching the high parameter space of steam reforming of heptane for the key design parameters, which have the potential to give high heptane conversion, high hydrogen yield and hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio within the industrial limits for the syngas used as a feedstock for the gas to liquid processes (GTL). The system under consideration is the novel circulating fast fluidized bed membrane reactor (CFFBMR). The simulation results show that the hydrogen membrane has a significant role in the displacement of the thermodynamic equilibriums of the reversible reactions and production of ultraclean hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel for the fuel cells. Also the results of the sensitivity analysis show that the best performance of the CFFBMR can be obtained by a proper selection of combination of several parameters of high feed temperatures, high steam to carbon feed ratios, high reaction side pressures coupled with a large permeation area of a composite thin film membrane. These parameters are interacting in a very complex manner to give 100% conversion of heptane and 496.94% increase in hydrogen yield compared to the reformer without hydrogen membrane. It was found that under these selected operating conditions a low H_2/CO ratio of 1.15 is achieved satisfying the practical recommended industrial range.