Development of Solar Micro-Reactors for Steam Methane Reforming

Hydrogen is often seen as an energy carrier that can support our growing need for greener energy. However, current methods to produce hydrogen are cost prohibitive or generate large volumes of CO2, namely by the combustion of natural gas (NG) to provide heat to the commonly used steam methane reforming (SMR) process. By using established concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to provide heat instead of combustion, it is possible to reduce CO2 emission and NG consumption. A solution developed at Université de Sherbrooke uses micro-reactors to harvest the heating power of the sun for SMR. This strategy could provide a method to produce large volumes of greener hydrogen while reducing its cost. The research project covered by this proposal aims at demonstrating the economic and technological viability of this approach and is split in 4 different tasks, each of them covered by an intern.

Faculty Supervisor:

David Rancourt

Student:

Jean-François Dufault;Jean-François Peloquin;Marianne Duverger;Dino Mehanovic

Partner:

CSAR Energy

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Energy

University:

Université de Sherbrooke