A reformer suitable for micro-scale design has horizontal catalyst tube(s) passing through a baffled radiant section for convective and radiant heat transfer to the tube(s). To reduce the footprint and/or to facilitate field assembly a combustion chamber and convection section can be oriented transversely with respect to the radiant section; the tube(s) can be horizontal and/or include structured catalyst; and/or the combustion chamber provides flameless combustion or produces a flame without impinging on the tubes. Also, a skid frame-mountable version of the reformer; and a process for transporting, assembling, and/or operating the steam methane reformer.

A device includes: a storage section which stores a solution containing an organic compound; a catalyst holding section to hold a solid catalyst; and a microwave irradiation mechanism which irradiates the solution passing through the catalyst holding section with a microwave, wherein the solid catalyst is a molded catalyst containing a noble metal supported on a carrier that has an average particle diameter larger than 100 m. A hydrogen production method includes irradiating a solution containing an organic compound, the solution passing through a catalyst holding section holding a solid catalyst, with a microwave, the solid catalyst being a molded catalyst containing a noble metal supported on a carrier that has an average particle diameter larger than 100 m. Both device and method do not require a high-temperature heat source, enable easy collection, replacement, of the catalyst, and can be used for production of hydrogen.

Provided is a hydrogen production reactor as a reactor producing a reforming gas including hydrogen, in which a burning unit and a reforming unit are sequentially arranged and spaced apart from each other in a concentric structure based on a raw material transfer pipe positioned at a central axis of the reactor, including a heating raw material transfer pipe supplying a raw material to the burning unit, a burning unit burning the supplied raw material and supplying heat to the reforming unit, a reforming raw material phase change pipe positioned within the burning unit and heating the supplied raw material, and a reforming unit reforming the phase-changed raw material supplied from the reforming raw material phase change pipe, wherein the reforming raw material phase change pipe is provided as a coil surrounding an outer circumferential surface of a lower end of the heating raw material transfer pipe.

A dielectric barrier discharge reactor for catalytic nonthermal plasma production of hydrogen from methane. The dielectric barrier discharge reactor includes two end pieces connected by a dielectric tube, two steam generators, two catalyst cages, two perforated tube center electrodes, a center electrode rod, a grounding electrode. In one aspect, the end pieces and the dielectric tube are fabricated from ceramic and fused quartz respectively. In another aspect, the dielectric barrier discharge reactor further includes catalyst cages. In yet another aspect, the catalyst cages contain catalysts in form of pellets. In an alternate aspect, the dielectric barrier discharge reactor acts to cause a reaction between incoming reactant gases. The reaction is achieved under a plasma which is generated between the perforated tubular center electrode and the ground electrode. In yet another alternate aspect, the dielectric barrier discharge reactor is used at home to generate hydrogen from methane.

The reaction rate of hydrocarbon pyrolysis can be increased to produce solid carbon and hydrogen by the use of molten materials which have catalytic functionality to increase the rate of reaction and physical properties that facilitate the formation and contamination-free separation of the solid carbon. Processes, materials, reactor configurations, and conditions are disclosed whereby methane and other hydrocarbons can be decomposed at high reaction rates into hydrogen gas and carbon products without any carbon oxides in a single reaction step. The process also makes use of specific properties of selected materials with unique solubilities and/or wettability of products into (and/or by) the molten phase to facilitate generation of purified products and increased conversion in more general reactions.

The present invention relates to reactor tubes packed with a catalyst system employed to deliberately bias process gas flow toward the hot tube segment and away from the cold segment in order to reduce the circumferential tube temperature variation.

The present invention relates to reactor tubes packed with a catalyst system employed to deliberately bias process gas flow toward the hot tube segment and away from the cold segment in order to reduce the circumferential tube temperature variation.

A structured catalyst for steam reforming of the present disclosure is used for producing reformed gas containing hydrogen from a reforming raw material containing hydrocarbon, and includes a support having a porous structure constituted of a zeolite-type compound, and at least one catalytic substance present inside the support. The support includes channels connecting with each other, and the catalytic substance is metal nanoparticles and present at least in the channels of the support.

Heterogeneous catalytic reactors and methods of their use. The reactors include heat transfer features that help establish a temperature gradient along an axial length of the reactors during use. The inventive reactors also include two or more different species of catalyst materials that are arranged within the reactors such that a given species of catalyst material is positioned at a temperature that will provide for improved or optimal catalytic performance.

In an apparatus, a gas containing CH.sub.4 and CO.sub.2 is supplied from a first supply unit to a synthetic gas production unit which generates a synthetic gas containing CO and H.sub.2 while heating a first catalytic structure; the synthetic gas is supplied to a gas production unit which generates a lower olefin-containing gas including propylene while heating a second catalytic structure; and a detection unit detects propylene discharged from the gas production unit. The first catalytic structure includes first supports having a porous structure and a first metal fine particle that is present in first channels of the first supports. The second catalyst structure includes second supports having a porous structure and a second metal fine particle in the second supports. The second supports have a second channels, a portion of which have an average inner diameter of 0.95 nm or less.