Thermodynamic analysis and experiment of hydrogen generation by auto-thermal reforming of dimethyl ether

Thermodynamic analysis of hydrogen generation by auto-thermal reforming of dimethyl ether was carried out based on minimizing the Gibbs free energy of the system. The equilibrium composition of product gas was calculated at adiabatic condition as function of H2O/DME molar ratio(1~6), O2/DME molar ratio (0.2~0.8) and pressure (0.1MPa～0.6MPa). The result showed that the volume fraction of H2 decreased with the increase of pressure; with the increase of the H2O/DME ratio and the O2/DME ratio, the volume fraction of H2 increased first, then decreased at atmosphere pressure; with the increase of the H2O/DME ratio, the volume fraction of CH4 and CO decreased, while the volume fraction of CO2 increased. The model reliability was verified experimentally on self-designed equipment. The experimental data were very closed to calculated ones.