COMPACT CHEMICAL REACTION VESSEL

摘要

The vessel (2) is a fuel/steam reformer which has an annular chamber containing a catalyst bed (44). The annular chamber is surrounded by a heating zone and heat pipes (52) from the heating zone extend through the interior of the catalyst bed (44) whereby the catalyst is concurrently heated from inside and outside of the bed. A burner (12) is positioned coaxially of the annular chamber to supply the required heat. Raw fuel is fed into a vaporizing chamber (50) below the catalyst bed and after vaporization, rises through the catalyst bed (44) for conversion to a hydrogen rich fuel gas. The fuel gas is collected in a chamber above the catalyst bed. The device is particularly useful for compact methanol fuel cell power plants.