Control and experimental characterization of a methanol reformer for a 350 W high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system

This work presents a control strategy for controlling the methanol reformer temperature of a 350 W high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system, by using a cascade control structure for reliable system operation. The primary states affecting the methanol catalyst bed temperature is the water and methanol mixture fuel flow and the burner fuel/air ratio and combined flow. An experimental setup is presented capable of testing the methanol reformer used in the Serenergy H3 350 Mobile Battery Charger; a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell system. The experimental system consists of a fuel evaporator utilizing the high temperature waste gas from the cathode air cooled 45 cell HTPEM fuel cell stack. The fuel cells used are BASF P1000 MEAs which use phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes. The resulting reformate gas output of the reformer system is shown at different reformer temperatures and fuel flows, using the implemented reformer control strategy. The gas quality of the output reformate gas is of HTPEM grade quality, and sufficient for supporting efficient and reliable HTPEM fuel cell operation with CO concentrations of around 1% at the nominal reformer operating temperatures. As expected increasing temperatures also increase the dry gas CO content of the reformate gas and decreases the methanol slip. The hydrogen content of the gas was measured at around 73% with 25% CO₂.     

Investigation of a methanol processing system comprising of a steam reformer and two preferential oxidation reactors for fuel cells

Methanol steam reforming is able to produce hydrogen-rich syngas onsite for fuel cells and avoids the problems of hydrogen storage. Nevertheless, CO in the reformate needs to be further removed to ppm level before it can be fed into proton exchange membrane fuel cells. In this study, a methanol processing system consisting of a methanol reformer and two-stage preferential oxidation reactors is developed. The hydrogen production performance and scalability of the reformer are experimentally investigated under various operating conditions. The methanol reformer system shows stable methanol conversion rate and linearly increased H₂ flow rate as the number of repeating unit increases. Methanol conversion rate of 96.8% with CO concentration of 1.78% are achieved in the scaled-up system. CO cleanup ability of the two-stage preferential oxidation reactors is experimentally investigated based on the reformate compositions by varying the operating temperature and O₂ to CO ratios. The results demonstrate that the developed CO cleanup train can decrease the CO concentration from 1.6% to below 10 ppm, which meets the requirement of the fuel cell. Finally, stability of the integrated methanol processing system is tested for 180 h operation.     

Modelling and experimental investigation of compact packed bed design of methanol steam reformer

A comprehensive mathematical model was developed to analyse methanol steam reforming in catalytic packed-bed tubular reactor. All the important aspects of reaction kinetics of main reactions and thermodynamic terms of heat and mass transfer were studied for commercially available CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts from Süd-Chemie. This numerical model was simulated using Engineering Equation Solver (EES). Through the set of organized simulation studies, the basic operational boundary conditions of operating temperature (573 K) with respect to complete conversion of methanol and optimum hydrogen generation, optimum S/C ratio (1.4) of methanol water mixture feed and operating capacity of one tubular reactor array were discovered. At temperatures near 573 K it was found that the reformate gas does not require any purification/filtration to be supplied to a HT-PEMFC as the CO concentration in reformate gas was low (below 30000 ppm). The simulation work for understanding the effect of different operating condition(s) on the reformer performance generated design of experiment for investigation of the efforts carried out to evaluate, build and demonstrate a 0.25 kWe equivalent methanol reformer for HT-PEM fuel cell system.The paper discusses few of the important aspects on the experimental investigation of effect of operating conditions on methanol steam reformer design with packed bed configuration for hydrogen production. The basic investigation included the analysis of effect of design and operating parameters on the methanol conversion and quality of reformate gas generation (amount of CO). The investigation also covers the analysis of heat and mass transfer along with chemical reaction and generation of species to achieve optimum process parameters and system efficiency. These investigations led to finalise, the operating parameters and basic design philosophy of the packed bed tubular methanol steam reformer for 5 kWe HT-PEMFC system application.     

Performance of a miniaturized silicon reformer-PrOx-fuel cell system

A fuel cell made with silicon is operated with hydrogen supplied by a reformer and a preferential oxidation (PrOx) reactor those are also made with silicon. The performance and durability of the fuel cell is analyzed and tested, then compared with the results obtained with pure hydrogen. Three components of the system are made using silicon technologies and micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology. The commercial Cu-ZnO-Al₂O₃ catalyst for the reformer and the Pt-Al₂O₃ catalyst for the PrOx reactor are coated by means of a fill-and-dry method. A conventional membrane electrode assembly composed of a 0.375 mg cm⁻² PtRu/C catalyst for the anode, a 0.4 mg cm⁻² Pt/C catalyst for the cathode, and a Nafion™ 112 membrane is introduced to the fuel cell. The reformer gives a 27 cm³ min⁻¹ gas production rate with 3177 ppm CO concentration at a 1 cm³ h⁻¹ methanol feed rate and the PrOx reactor shows almost 100% CO conversion under the experimental conditions. Fuel cells operated with this fuel-processing system produce 230 mW cm⁻² at 0.6 V, which is similar to that obtained with pure hydrogen.     

The performance evaluation of an industrial membrane reformer with catalyst-deactivation for a domestic methanol production plant

Methane reforming is the most important and economical process for hydrogen and syngas generation. In this work, the dynamic simulation of methane steam reforming in an industrial membrane reformer for synthesis gas production is developed. A novel deactivation model for commercial Ni-based catalysts is proposed and the monthly collected data from an existing reformer in a domestic methanol plant is used to optimize the model parameters. The plant data is also employed to check the model accuracy. It was observed that the membrane reformer could compensate for the catalyst deactivating effect.In order to assure the long membrane lifetime and decrease the unit price, the membrane reformer with 5 μm thick Pd on stainless steel supports is modeled at the temperature below the maximum operating temperature of Pd based membranes (around 600 °C). The dynamic modeling showed that the methane conversion of 76% could be achieved at a moderate temperature of 600 °C for an industrial membrane reformer. The cost-effective generation of syngas with an appropriate H₂/CO ratio of 2.6 could be obtained by membrane reformer. This is while the conventional reformer exhibits a maximum conversation of 64 at 1200 °C challenging due to its high syngas ratio (3.7). On the other hand, the pure hydrogen from membrane reformer can supply part of the ammonia reactor feed in an adjacent ammonia plant.     

Intensification of hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming by catalyst segmentation and metallic foam insert

This paper is a numerical study about the catalyst morphology CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ effects on the hydrogen production from methanol steam reforming, for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PMEFC). The study is focused on the influences of the metal foam insert, catalyst layer segmentation, and metal foam as catalyst support on the reactor performance: hydrogen yield and methanol conversion. According to the carried simulations, it is found that these configurations improve the reformer performances compared to the continuous catalyst layer configuration. The insertion of metal foam increases the efficiency of up to 75.41% at 525 K. Also, at this reaction temperature, the segmentation of the catalyst layer in similar parts increases the reformer efficiency by 2.11%, 4.23%, 6.77%, and 8.6% for 2, 4, 8, and 16 identical parts, respectively. As well as, the metal foam as catalyst support is more efficient compared to the other configurations, the efficiency is equal to 64% at T = 495 k.     

Comparison between 1D and 2D numerical models of a multi-tubular packed-bed reactor for methanol steam reforming

The hydrogen-rich gas produced in-situ by methanol steam reforming (MSR) reactions significantly affects the performance and endurance of the high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell stack. A numerical study of MSR reactions over a commercial CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst coupling with the heat and mass transfer phenomena in a co-current packed-bed reactor is conducted. The simulation results of a 1D and a 2D pseudo-homogeneous reactor model are compared, which indicates the importance of radial gradients in the catalyst bed. The effects of geometry and operating parameters on the steady-state performance of the reactor are investigated. The simulation results show that the increases in the inlet temperature of burner gas and the tube diameter significantly increase the non-uniformity of radial temperature distributions in reformer tubes. Hot spots are formed near the tube wall in the entrance region. The hot-spot temperature in the catalyst bed rises with the increase in the inlet temperature of burner gas. Moreover, the difference in simulation results between the 1D and 2D models is shown to be primarily influenced by the tube diameter. With a methanol conversion approaching 100% or a relatively small tube diameter, the simplified 1D model can be used instead of the 2D model to estimate the reactor performance.     

Hydrogen generation by alcohol reforming in a tandem cell consisting of a coupled fuel cell and electrolyser

The performance of a novel electro-reformer for the production of hydrogen by electro-reforming alcohols (methanol, ethanol and glycerol) without an external electrical energy input is described. This tandem cell consists of an alcohol fuel cell coupled directly to an alcohol reformer, negating the requirement for external electricity supply and thus reducing the cost of operation and installation. The tandem cell uses a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) based fuel cell and electrolyser. At 80 °C, hydrogen was generated from methanol, by the tandem PEM cell, at current densities above 200 mA cm⁻², without using an external electricity supply. At this condition the electro-reformer voltage was 0.32 V at an energy input (supplied by the fuel cell component) of 0.91 kWh/Nm³; i.e. less than 20% of the theoretical value for hydrogen generation by water electrolysis (4.7 kWh/Nm³) with zero electrical energy input from any external power source. The hydrogen generation rate was 6.2 × 10⁻⁴ mol (H₂) h⁻¹. The hydrogen production rate of the tandem cell with ethanol and glycerol was approximately an order of magnitude lower, than that with methanol.     

Micro methanol reformer combined with a catalytic combustor for a PEM fuel cell

This paper presents the development of a micro methanol reformer for portable fuel cell applications. The micro reformer consists of a methanol steam reforming reactor, catalytic combustor, and heat exchanger in-between. Cu/ZnO was selected as a catalyst for a methanol steam reforming and Pt for a catalytic combustion of hydrogen with air. Porous ceramic material was used as a catalyst support due to the large surface area and thermal stability. Photosensitive glass wafer was selected as a structural material because of its thermal and chemical stabilities. Performance of the reformer was measured at various test conditions and the results showed a good agreement with the three-dimensional analysis of the reacting flow. Considering the energy balance of the reformer/combustor model, the off-gas of fuel cell can be recycled as a feed of the combustor. The catalytic combustor generated the sufficient amount of heat to sustain the steam reforming of methanol. The conversion of methanol was 95.7% and the hydrogen flow of 53.7 ml/min was produced including 1.24% carbon monoxide. The generated hydrogen was the sufficient amount to operate 4.5 W polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.     

Methanol reformer integrated phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) based compact plant for field deployment

Naval Material Research Laboratory (NMRL), based on the firm confidence of her core competence on material development, started an ambitious program on development of fuel cells for various Defense and non-Defense application in early nineties. The primary emphasis of this program is to develop phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) based power plants integrated with hydrogen generators along with other accessories. In the process of development, it is understood that online generation of hydrogen from a liquid fuel is the key to success. Methanol, a liquid fuel, can be reformed easily with few side products and the resultant hydrogen rich reformer gas can be directly fed to a PAFC. Such configuration keeps the basic system simple and free of complicated filters and instrumentation.NMRL has developed a series of catalytic burners with high efficiency as the primary heat transfer source from the hot catalytic surface is based on conduction rather than convection as is done normally. Vaporizer is a coiled arrangement and reformer is hollow sections filled with Cu/Al₂O₃/ZnO catalyst, and the same is integrated with catalytic burners. Such arrangement is modular in nature and each reformer has hydrogen generation capacity of 90 lpm and start-up time is around half an hour. Modular design of reformer reactor allow them to used in different capacity plants such as a 2 kW plant configured with a reformer reactor with two vaporizer and 15 kW plant configured with seven nos. of reformer reactors and seven no. of vaporizer. The waste heat of the fuel cell and the same from the reformer burner flue is used to meet most of the reformer heat load. The catalytic burner of the reformer burns both waste hydrogen and methanol with very little excess air. PAFC being tolerant to CO (up to 1%) can be directly operated with the hydrogen rich reformer gas and the lean gas from the fuel cell is burnt into the reformer system.The raw DC output power is converted into either 100 VDC or 220 V single phase, 50 Hz sinusoidal AC power through appropriate power electronics. These configurations give overall efficiency of the plant to around 35-40 % based on LHV of Hydrogen. A battery bank is also incorporated to cater for the plant start-up and other temporary auxiliary power which get charged from the fuel cell output. Such configuration lead to the development of methanol reformer integrated PAFC based power plants of capacity ranging from 2 kW to 15 kW. The system is designed for continuous power production in the field. These plants are suitable for remote area, distributed power generation and application such as battery charging, domestic load etc.     

Study on a compact methanol reformer for a miniature fuel cell

A compact methanol reformer for hydrogen production has been successfully fabricated, which integrated one reforming chamber, one water gas shift reaction chamber, two preheating chambers and two combustion chambers. It can be started-up at room temperature by the combustion of liquid methanol in the combustion chamber within 7 min without any external heating. The cold start response of the methanol reformer has been investigated using different parameters including methanol and air supply rate, and the experiments revealed that the optimum methanol and air flow rate were 0.55 mL/min and 3 L/min respectively. The results indicated that this methanol reformer can provide a high concentration of hydrogen (more than 73%) and the system efficiency is always maintained above 74%. It is further demonstrated in more than 1600 h continuous performance that the reformer could be operated autothermally and exhibited good test stability.     

Synergetic integration of a methanol steam reforming cell with a high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell

In this work an integrated unit, combining a methanol steam-reforming cell (MSR-C) and a high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) was operated at the same temperature (453 K, 463 K and 473 K) allowing thermal integration and increasing the system efficiency of the combined system. A novel bipolar plate made of aluminium gold plated was built, featuring the fuel cell anode flow field in one side and the reformer flow field on the other. The combined unit (MSR-C/HT-PEMFC) was assembled using Celtec^® P2200N MEAs and commercial reforming catalyst CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ (BASF RP60). The water/methanol vaporisation originates oscillations in the vapour flowrate; reducing these oscillations increase the methanol conversion from 93% to 96%. The MSR-C/HT-PEMFC showed a remarkable high performance at 453 K. The integrated unit was operated during ca. 700 h at constant at 0.2 A cm^?2, fed alternately with hydrogen and reformate at 453 K and 463 K. Despite the high operating temperature, the HT-PEMFC showed a good stability, with an electric potential difference decreasing rate at 453 K of ca. 100 μV h^?1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis revealed an overall increase of the ohmic resistances and charge transfer resistances of the electrodes; this fact was assigned to phosphoric acid losses from the electrodes and membrane and catalyst particle size growth.     

Effect of operating conditions and gas flow patterns on the system performances of IIR-SOFC fueled by methanol

Mathematical models of an indirect internal reforming solid oxide fuel cells (IIR-SOFC) fueled by methanol were developed to analyze the thermal coupling of the internal endothermic steam reforming with exothermic electrochemical reactions and predict the system performance. The simulations indicated that IIR-SOFC fueled by methanol can be well performed as autothermal operation, although slight temperature gradient occurred at the entrance of the reformer chamber. Sensitivity analysis of five important parameters (i.e. operating voltage, reforming catalyst reactivity, inlet steam to carbon ratio, operating pressure and flow direction) was then performed. The increase of operating voltage lowered the average temperature along the reformer chamber and improved the electrical efficiency, but it oppositely reduced the average current density. Greater temperature profile along the system can be obtained by applying the catalyst with lower reforming reactivity; nevertheless, the current density and electrical efficiency slightly decreased. By using high inlet steam to carbon ratio, the cooling spot at the entrance of the reformer can be reduced but both current density and electrical efficiency were decreased. Lastly, with increasing operating pressure, the system efficiency increased and the temperature dropping at the reformer chamber was minimized.     

Modelling of an HTPEM-based micro-combined heat and power fuel cell system with methanol

A fuel cell-based combined heat and power system using a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell has been modelled. The fuel cell is fed with the outlet hydrogen stream from a methanol steam reforming reactor. In order to provide the necessary heat to this reactor, it was considered the use of a catalytic combustor fed with methanol. The modelling aims to fit the hydrogen production to the demand of the fuel cell to provide 1 kW_e, maintaining a CO concentration always lower than 30,000 ppm. A system with 65 cells (45.16 cm² cell area) stack operating at 150 °C and hydrogen utilization factor = 0.9 (with O₂/methanol ratio = 2 at combustor; H₂O/methanol ratio = 2 and temperature = 300 °C at reformer) needed a total methanol flow of 23.8 mol h⁻¹ (0.96 L h⁻¹) to reach 1 kW_e, with a system power efficiency (LHV basis) ca. 24% and a CHP efficiency over 87%. The ability to recycle the non-converted hydrogen from the fuel cell anode to the combustor and to use the heat produced at the fuel cell for obtaining hot water increased the global energy efficiency.     

Performance assessment and evaluation of catalytic membrane reactor for pure hydrogen production via steam reforming of methanol

The steam reforming of methanol was investigated in a catalytic Pd–Ag membrane reactor at different operating conditions on a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. A comprehensive two-dimensional non-isothermal stationary mathematical model has been developed. The present model takes into account the main chemical reactions, heat and mass transfer phenomena in the membrane reactor with hydrogen permeation across the PdAg membrane in radial direction. Model validation revealed that the predicted results satisfy the experimental data reasonably well under the different operating conditions. Also the impact of different operating parameters including temperature, pressure, sweep ratio and steam ratio on the performance of reactor has been examined in terms of methanol conversion and hydrogen recovery. The modeling results have indicated the high performance of the membrane reactor which is related to continuous removal of hydrogen from retentate side through the membrane to shift the reaction equilibrium towards formation of hydrogen. The obtained results have confirmed that increasing the temperature improves the kinetic properties of the catalyst and increase in the membrane's H₂ permeance, which results in higher methanol conversion and hydrogen production. Also it is inferred that the hydrogen recovery is favored at higher temperature, pressure, sweep ratio and steam ratio. The model prediction revealed that at 573 K, 2 bar and sweep ratio of 1, the maximum hydrogen recovery improves from 64% to 100% with increasing the steam ratio from 1 to 4.     

Transient behaviour of a small methanol reformer for fuel cell during hydrogen production after cold start

The cold start transient characteristics of a small methanol reformer for a fuel cell were investigated. The main parameters studied were the oxygen to methanol mol ratio (O/C), fuel supply rate, heating power and heating temperature. The composition of the gas produced by the reformer was analysed. The main aim of this paper was to determine a favorable combination of the parameters for obtaining rapid hydrogen production during the transient behaviour of the reformer.A small methanol reformer with fuel, air and water injectors, heaters and a catalyst was constructed. Vaporised methanol was injected into the reformer, which then flowed into the catalyst. For the purpose of enhancing the response of the cold start transient reaction, eight glow plugs were mounted at the inlet of the catalyst to control the flow temperature together with the adjustment of the oxygen to methanol mol ratio.The best response from cold start was obtained with 960 W heating power, 80 °C heating temperature, 14 mL/min methanol and 70 L/min air supply rates among the experimented parameters. Under this operation setting, hydrogen was produced after 220 s from cold start with the production rate stabilising after 4–5 min and eventually reaching the highest concentration at 350 °C. Generally, hydrogen commenced production at a catalyst outlet temperature of 100 °C and stabilised at 350 °C.     

Hydrogen production by reforming of liquid hydrocarbons in a membrane reactor for portable power generation—Model simulations

One of the most promising technologies for lightweight, compact, portable power generation is proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. PEM fuel cells, however, require a source of pure hydrogen. Steam reforming of hydrocarbons in an integrated membrane reactor has potential to provide pure hydrogen in a compact system. In a membrane reactor process, the thermal energy needed for the endothermic hydrocarbon reforming may be provided by combustion of the membrane reject gas. The energy efficiency of the overall hydrogen generation is maximized by controlling the hydrogen product yield such that the heat value of the membrane reject gas is sufficient to provide all of the heat necessary for the integrated process. Optimization of the system temperature, pressure and operating parameters such as net hydrogen recovery is necessary to realize an efficient integrated membrane reformer suitable for compact portable hydrogen generation. This paper presents results of theoretical model simulations of the integrated membrane reformer concept elucidating the effect of operating parameters on the extent of fuel conversion to hydrogen and hydrogen product yield. Model simulations indicate that the net possible hydrogen product yield is strongly influenced by the efficiency of heat recovery from the combustion of membrane reject gas and from the hot exhaust gases. When butane is used as a fuel, a net hydrogen recovery of 68% of that stoichiometrically possible may be achieved with membrane reformer operation at 600 °C (873 K) temperature and 100 psig (0.791 MPa) pressure provided 90% of available combustion and exhaust gas heat is recovered. Operation at a greater pressure or temperature provides a marginal improvement in the performance whereas operation at a significantly lower temperature or pressure will not be able to achieve the optimal hydrogen yield. Slightly higher, up to 76%, net hydrogen recovery is possible when methanol is used as a fuel due to the lower heat requirement for methanol reforming reaction, with membrane reformer operation at 600 °C (873 K) temperature and 150 psig (1.136 MPa) pressure provided 90% of available combustion and exhaust gas heat is recovered.     

Methanol reformation for hydrogen production from a single channel with cavities

This paper proposes a novel design concept to enhance the methanol conversion rate in a single channel plate type microreformer with cavities. Detailed numerical studies have been carried out to understand the steam reforming of methanol for hydrogen production. The effects of operating parameters such as steam-to-methanol molar ratio, reforming temperature, reformer gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), channel wall conductivity, wall thickness and catalyst layer thickness on reforming characteristics are investigated. The effect of cavities on microreformer performance is discussed in terms of cavity aspect ratio and its spacing. For a reforming temperature of 250 °C, steam–methanol molar ratio of 1.1, average inlet fluid temperature of 120 °C and catalyst thickness of 30 μm, a methanol conversion of ∼98% with product gases consisting of 75% H₂, 23% CO₂ and 928 ppm CO have been obtained at the outlet of the channel. Present studies show that higher methanol conversion rates can be achieved within a shorter channel length with cavities. The proposed design can overcome the issue of shape and size of manifolds and flow equi-distribution for multiple microchannels type design and also suitable from fabrication viewpoint and practical applications.     

Dynamic analysis of a PEM fuel cell hybrid system with an on-board dimethyl ether (DME) steam reformer (SR)

Low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) acts as a promising energy source due to the non-pollution and high-energy density. However, as hydrogen supply is a major constraint limiting the wide spread of fuel cell vehicles, a dimethyl ether (DME)-steam on-board reformer (SR) based on catalytic reforming via a catalytic membrane reactor with a channel structure is a possible solution to a direct hydrogen supply. The DME-SR reaction scheme and kinetics in the presence of a catalyst of CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃+ZSM-5 are functions of the temperature and hydrocarbon ratio in the hydrogen-reforming reaction. An electric heater is provided to keep the temperature at a demanded value to produce hydrogen. As there is no available analysis tool for the fuel cell battery hybrid vehicle with on-board DME reformer, it is necessary to develop the tool to study the dynamic characteristics of the whole system. Matlab/Simulink is utilized as a dynamic simulation tool for obtaining the hydrogen production and the power distribution to the fuel cell. The model includes the effects of the fuel flow rate, the catalyst porosity, and the thermal conductivity of different subsystems. A fuel cell model with a battery as a secondary energy storage is built to validate the possible utilization of on-board reformer/fuel cell hybrid vehicle. In consideration of time-delay characteristic of the chemical reactions, the time constant obtained from the experiment is utilized for obtaining dynamic characteristics. The hydrogen supplied by the reformer and the hydrogen consumed in the PEMFC prove that DME reformer can supply the adequate hydrogen to the fuel cell hybrid vehicle to cope with the required power demands.     

Autothermal reforming of n-dodecane and desulfurized Jet-A fuel for producing hydrogen-rich syngas

Catalytic reforming is a technology to produce hydrogen and syngas from heavy hydrocarbon fuels in order to supply hydrogen to fuel cells. A lab-scale 2.5 kW_t autothermal reforming (ATR) system with a specially designed reformer and combined analysis of balance-of-plant was studied and tested in the present study. NiO–Rh based bimetallic catalysts with promoters of Ce, K, and La were used in the reformer. The performance of the reformer was studied by checking the hydrogen selectivity, CO_x selectivity, and energy conversion efficiency at various operating temperatures, steam to carbon ratios, oxygen to carbon ratios, and reactants' inlet temperatures. The experimental work firstly tested n-dodecane as the surrogate of Jet-A fuel to optimize operating conditions. After that, desulfurized commercial Jet-A fuel was tested at the optimized operating conditions. The design of the reformer and the catalyst are recommended for high performance Jet-A fuel reforming and hydrogen-rich syngas production.