Topology optimization of catalyst bed structure for a solar steam methane reforming reactor aiming at improved conversion efficiency and hydrogen yield

This study optimized the distribution of catalysts porosity for solar steam methane reforming (SMR) reactor using the topology optimization with different objective functions. The optimized structures were similar, wherein dense catalysts were filled in the high-temperature region at the front of the reactor which increased the contact area between reactants and catalysts, and sparse metal foam catalysts were filled at the rear, which was conducive to reducing the flow resistance and facilitating the collection of products. To facilitate the filling in the actual production process, the optimized structure was simplified, and the simplification structure improved the hydrogen production by 6.84%–22.33% and the methane conversion by 6.54%–11.49% under different working conditions compared with the uniform distribution structure. By adjusting the porosity distribution of the catalysts, the temperature field of optimized reactor conformed to the principle of minimum Gibbs free energy (Gmin) and provided guidance for improving the solar SMR reactor performance.