Steam reforming of dimethyl ether with temperature-controlled catalytic combustion in a small volume

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Recently, hydrogen has attracted much attention as a fuel, particularly for fuel cells. If small equipment that can supply hydrogen is realized, its applications can be greatly extended. The steam reforming of dimethyl ether (DME) is expected to be used for the production of hydrogen. In this study, we fabricated a small DME reformer. Catalytic combustion is used as a heat source because the steam reforming of DME is an endothermic reaction. The reformer has the structure of a double tube, in which steam reforming of DME occurs in the outer channel, and the catalytic combustion occurs in the inner channel. At a sufficiently high temperature, DME was almost completely reformed. However, it is necessary to avoid an excessively high temperature because the formation of CO and CH4 increases. Thus, temperature control is important for the steam reforming of DME.