Steam Reforming

Steam reforming, sometimes called Fossil fuel reforming is a method for hydrogen production or other useful products from hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas. This is achieved in a processing device called a reformer which reacts steam at high temperature with the fossil fuel. The steam methane reformer is widely used in industry to make hydrogen. There is also interest in the development of much smaller units based on similar technology to produce hydrogen as a feedstock for fuel cells. Small-scale steam reforming units to supply fuel cells are currently the subject of research and development, typically involving the reforming of methanol or natural gas but other fuels are also being considered such as propane, gasoline, autogas, diesel fuel, and ethanol.