An investigation of the effect of catalyst separation in stratified autothermal reforming was conducted. A reactor containing two catalyst beds - a platinum group metal monolith followed by a pelletized copper-based steam reforming catalyst - was investigated under four different configurations corresponding to different distances between the catalyst beds. Heat shields were utilized in some trials to promote reactant mixing and increase radial heat transfer through the reactor. Reactor performance, as measured by conversion, hydrogen yield, and selectivity was quantified for each configuration. Results confirm that the reaction is heat transfer limited, with the short-distance, high-temperature configuration corresponding to an improved reactor performance. This was indicated by a 4–5% drop in methanol conversion as well as in the hydrogen yield and selectivity upon the addition of spacing between the catalysts. Visual inspection of the catalyst revealed suspected signs of potential degradation due to high temperatures, indicating the need for longer-duration experiments to determine the long-term effects of sustained high temperatures on catalyst performance.

对分层自热重整中催化剂分离的影响进行了研究。在对应于催化剂床之间不同距离的四种不同配置下研究了包含两个催化剂床的反应器 - 铂族金属整料，然后是粒状铜基蒸汽重整催化剂。在一些试验中使用隔热罩来促进反应物混合并增加通过反应器的径向传热。通过转化率、氢气产率和选择性测量的反应器性能对每种配置进行了量化。结果证实，该反应是传热受限的，短距离、高温配置对应于改进的反应器性能。这表明，在催化剂之间增加间距后，甲醇转化率以及氢气产率和选择性下降了 4-5%。对催化剂的目视检查发现，由于高温可能存在潜在降解的迹象，这表明需要进行更长时间的实验来确定持续高温对催化剂性能的长期影响。