Numerical simulation of enhanced heat transfer in tubes using methane steam reforming

Convectional heat transfer with methane steam reforming was investigated in catalyst films on the walls of a tube.The study analyzed the effect of catalytic activity,film thickness,inlet gas flowrate,pressure,temperature and concentration on reaction and heat transfer.The results show that the heat transfer is efficiently enhanced by the endothermic reaction in the catalyst films,and the wall temperature is reduced.Increased catalytic activity and film thickness increase the reaction heat and reduce the wall temperature.However,the effect of the film thickness becomes less significant as the thickness reaches a certain value.As the inlet flowrate increases,the conversion rate and the ratio of reaction heat decrease.As the inlet pressure increases,the reaction heat decreases and the wall temperature increases.As the inlet temperature increases,the wall temperature near the inlet increases,but this effect is very small on the wall temperatures downstream.There is an optimal inlet concentration,which corresponds to the lowest wall temperature and the highest hydrogen fraction at the outlet.