Optimization design and performance analysis of methanol reforming reactor for exhaust waste heat recovery of marine engine

In order to improve the heat utilization of exhaust from the small or medium-sized ships without exhaust boilers, four types of methanol reforming reactors were designed and optimized via the field synergy principle. The effect of the operating parameters on the performance of optimized reactor under typical loads was also investigated. The analysis based on the field synergy principle shows that the R(S,1) reactor has higher heat transfer synergy performance, better evaporation performance, and more uniform vapour distribution at the inlet of the reaction section, which is more beneficial to the reforming reaction. The effect of the operating parameters on reactor performance shows that the reactor performs better at 75% load with hydro-alcohol molar fraction ratios (S/C) of 1.2 or 1.3. The engine load affects the reactor performance by influencing the temperature of the evaporation and reaction sections. The S/C of the mixed solution at the inlet of the reactor were set at 1.2 and 1.3 to explore the effect of engine loads on the reforming performance under E3 test cycle. The results show that the reactor performs better at S/C = 1.3 under the loads of 100, 75, and 25%; at S/C = 1.2, the reactor performed better under 50% load.