Development of a Non-Catalytic JP-8 Reformer

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) has been developing a Swiss-roll type, non-catalytic, thermal partial oxidation JP-8 reformer. The principle is using effective heat recirculation to increase the partial oxidation reaction temperature, which maximizes the H₂ and CO yield without using catalyst. The gas phase reaction eliminates catalyst-associated issues, such as poisoning, coking, degradation, etc. Since the process uses only air and JP-8 fuel as the reactants, and is self-sustained (no external energy input), minimum balance-of-plant is required. One challenge of this reforming technology is the “out-of-center” reaction. Due to being highly preheated, the fuel and air mixture from the inlet is auto-ignited before entering the designed center reaction zone. The out-of-center reaction causes low reforming efficiency and potentially damages the inlet channel walls. In the previous study, direct injection of JP-8 fuel into the center reaction zone is able to avoid the out-of-center reaction. However, without proper mixing of fuel and air, the reaction happens in a non-premixed fashion that results in a large amount of soot formation in the reformate. To overcome this issue, a center mixing chamber is designed. JP-8 fuel is directly injected in this mixing chamber and mixed with preheated air before entering the center reaction zone. Experimental results show a significant improvement in the reformate quality after the implementation of the mixing chamber. Test data of syngas (H₂ and CO) yield and reforming efficiency (chemical enthalpy in the reformate compared to the parent fuel) are also reported.