Group Assignment 1

UEMK3153 Chemical Reaction Engineering II Assignment 1 for May 2016

Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
Submission Date: 28 July 2016
3 4 person in a group

Introduction
Methanol steam reforming is an important industrial process that can produce hydrogen and
other gases such as CO2 by reacting methanol and steam. The hydrogen can be separated from
the other gases through pressure swing adsorption.
For your assignment, you are required to answer the following questions by referring to
scientific literature or information provided by manufacturer. Be as specific as possible when
citing references. General guideline for writing is about half page for 10 marks question at 1.15
spacing.

1) Discuss the importance of hydrogen in the chemical industry

(10 marks)

2) Discuss the difference between the steam reforming of methane, methanol, and other
types of hydrocarbons.
(10 marks)
3) Please look up the common types of commercial catalyst for methanol steam reforming.
Describe the catalysts in terms of their form and structure.
(10 marks)
4) Using Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst, propose a set of reaction mechanisms involved during the
methanol steam reforming.
(5 marks)
5) Derive a Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson type rate expression with reference to
the above reaction mechanisms you have proposed.
(15 marks)