The chemical system investigated is

The chemical system investigated is the methane steam reforming coupled with catalytic combustion occurring in a microchannel reactor. A parallel plate with supported wash coat coatings on opposite sides separates the catalytic combustion channel from the reforming channel. A schematic diagram of the reactor modeled is given in Fig. 1. The endothermic reaction and the exothermic reaction take place on opposite sides of a wall. The separating wall serves as an efficient and compact heat exchanger. Under certain operating conditions, all the combustion (or reforming) channels behave essentially alike. The use of thin wash coats can maximize the potential for very high heat fluxes.48–50 Recent studies have demonstrated that the thermal coupling between the endothermic and exothermic reactions is important in the design of small-scale chemical systems,10,11,49,50 and the integration of multiple microchannel reactors presents significant challenges in thermal management.51,52 The primary focus of this research is on exploring reactor design for optimal thermal coupling and hydrogen production.