Page : 1 of 97

KLM Technology
Group Rev: 01
Engineering Solutions
Practical Engineering
Guidelines for Processing
Plant Solutions Consulting, Guidelines and Training Rev 01 March 2025

[Link]

KLM Technology Group Co Author

P. O. Box 281 Kolmetz Handbook
Bandar Johor Bahru, of Process Equipment Design Rev 01 – Apriliana Dwijayanti
80000 Johor Bahru,
Johor, West Malaysia
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
STEAM METHANE REFORMING Editor / Author

Karl Kolmetz
(ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES)

KLM Technology Group has developed highly rated engineering

documentation that has many hours of engineering development. We have
developed over 150+ technical documents.

1. Process Engineering Equipment Design Guidelines with examples of

sizing,
2. Project Engineering Standards and Specifications,
3. Best Practices
4. Unit Operations Manuals
5. Engineering Practice Magazine
6. Technical Articles
 Page 2 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 02

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

KLM can assist your team in providing Senior Engineering and Operations Staff
to provide support for your local team in many areas.

1. Process Equipment Design,

a. Distillation
b. Heat Exchangers
c. Vessels
d. Reactors
e. Modular Plants
f. Pilot Plants
2. Unit Commissioning,
3. Distillation Tower Inspections,
4. HAZOP Facilitation,
5. Facility Siting,
6. Process Engineering Consulting
7. Specialty Training
8. Sustainability
9. Energy Studies

KLM provides specialty equipment in

1. Distillation Columns Vessels and Pressure Vessels,

2. Distillation Tower Internals, Structured Packing, Random Packing,
Distributors, Trays and Demister Pads,
3. Heat Exchangers
4. Pumps.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 3 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 02

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Testimonials for Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design

Gautam Meshram - Very informative book and this book is very beneficial for my
career

Muhammad Bilal Aslam - this is the best encyclopedia for pipe design, Thanks
to Karl Kolmetz for providing comprehensive insights in their encyclopedias on
topics like these. Their resources make complex calculations accessible and
support engineers in selecting the right pipe sizes for efficient operations.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 7

Scope ....................................................................................................................... 7

General Design Consideration ............................................................................... 8

DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................. 20

NOMENCLATURE ..................................................................................................... 29

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 30

THEORY ..................................................................................................................... 39

PROCESS DESCRIPTION STEAM METHANE REFORMING .............................. 39

REACTOR............................................................................................................... 49
These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 4 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 02

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

CO SHIFT................................................................................................................ 68

CO2 CAPTURE........................................................................................................ 71

CATALYST ............................................................................................................. 80

STRATEGIES ......................................................................................................... 84

COKE FORMATION ............................................................................................... 85

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................ 86

APPLICATION............................................................................................................ 95

Example 1 : Steam Methane Reformer Design Reactor and PSA 95

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 5 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 02

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Hydrogen classification on the basis of their production source and

methodology. .............................................................................................................. 9
Figure 2. Selected shades of hydrogen .................................................................. 10
Figure 3. Hydrogen Production Pathways Diagram ............................................... 11
Figure 4. Main H2 production processes................................................................. 12
Figure 5. Flow diagram of the steam methane reforming process ....................... 13
Figure 6. Flow diagram of the autothermal reforming of methane process. ....... 14
Figure 7. Auto-thermal reactor................................................................................. 15
Figure 8. The GHR + ATR in series concept. .......................................................... 17
Figure 9. Flow diagram of the partial oxidation process. ...................................... 19
Figure 10. Non-Catalytic Partial Oxidation with dual syngas coolers to generate
high-pressure steam (Shell) ..................................................................................... 32
Figure 11. Thermochemical of SMR and POX differences .................................... 34
Figure 12. Flowsheet for a conventional SMR process ......................................... 41
Figure 13. Steam methane reforming process diagram Othmer........................... 42
Figure 14. Conventional small scale steam methane reformer design ................ 45
Figure 15. Compact, tubular, small scale steam methane reformer designed for
fuel cell applications, with convective heat transfer ............................................. 47
Figure 16. Schematic of a compact plate reformer ................................................ 48
Figure 17. Integrated-membrane reactor separator ............................................... 51
Figure 18. Sorption Enhanced Methane steam Reformer ..................................... 54
Figure 19. Tubular Packed Bed Reactor. ................................................................ 55
Figure 20. Micro-channel Reactor ........................................................................... 56
Figure 21. Comparison of reactors on the basis of applications, advantages and
limitations. ................................................................................................................. 59
Figure 22. Different configurations for Fired tubular reactors .............................. 64
These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 6 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 02

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 23. Heat Exchanger Reformer ...................................................................... 65

Figure 24. Heat exchanger reformer in two-step configuration ............................ 66
Figure 25. PSA beds in operation and regeneration modes. ................................ 78
Figure 26. Core-shell configuration with the Ni-Fe alloy core surrounded by a
superparamagnetic g-Fe2O3 shell .......................................................................... 82
Figure 27. Coke Formation ....................................................................................... 85

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Recent Studies for Hydrogen Production using Methane 36

Table 2. Advanced reactors: Performance, advantages and limitations. 61
Table 3. CO Shift Technology 69
Table 4. Technologies available for CO2 capture. 73

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 7 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

INTRODUCTION

Scope

Hydrogen is considered as the next generation energy carrier that can offer a
nonpolluting, inexhaustible, efficient, and potentially cost effective energy source for
the future. The most important aspect of hydrogen as a fuel is that it reduces
greenhouse gas effect: a problem that is now more pronounced with the recent
concern about global warming. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel for powering internal
combustion engines or electric motors via hydrogen fuel cell (hydrogen gas vehicles).
Hydrogen can be used in major industries such as food, petrochemicals and
explosives.

Hydrogen economy involves producing hydrogen from different energy sources

(natural gas, coal, etc.), transportation and storage in an efficient manner, and effective
coupling of production/storage strategy with the end use applications. The changes in
the legislation for fossil fuels have affected the hydrogen balance in the refinement
industry. The hydrogen demand has increased significantly due to the high
hydrotreating degree demanded to fulfill the environmental regulations. This demands
that the existing methods for H2 production should be reviewed extensively for energy
efficiency, environmental concerns, and economics.

Among existing H2 production technologies, the thermal method, specifically steam

methane reforming (SMR), in which methane reacts with steam to produce a mixture of
hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, is the most widely used. More than
50% of the global hydrogen production is provided by methane steam reforming, while
30% is obtained from oil/naphtha reforming and 18% from coal gasification. The plants
that produce hydrogen by steam reforming process diverse feeds ranging from natural
gas to mild distillates (gas oils) and residuals. The steam reforming of methane is the
most economic and more broadly used process

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 8 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

General Design Consideration

Hydrogen (H2), the lightest of all gases, is an important chemical feedstock, that
undergoes many reactions, forming compounds with almost all elements. Since H2 is
an energy carrier, it has been considered for stationary power and transportation
applications. Hydrogen may be stored as compressed gas or cryogenic liquid,
adsorbed on solid materials (e.g. carbon) and in metal hydrides (chemically bound
Hydrogen). It is worth noting that the vast majority of Hydrogen production is for captive
use (e.g. ammonia and methanol synthesis, hydrotreating processes), where the
Hydrogen is produced onsite for immediate consumption.

Hydrogen is widely used in the chemical industry, in a number of hydrogenation and

reduction processes, including: hydroprocessing operations in petroleum refineries;
Fischer – Tropsch synthesis; oxo synthesis; and coal refinement (coal hydrogenation,
hydropyrolysis and hydrogenating coal gasification). To a lesser extent, Hydrogen is
also employed as reducing agent in metallurgy, metal processing, in semiconductors,
among others.

Hydrogen as a chemical is highly useful for various purposes. A few examples are: It
acts as the robust backbone for the ammonia-based fertilizer industry and is highly
useful for hydro-treating and hydro-cracking in petroleum industries. Moreover, over
the last few years, hydrogen has developed as a fuel due to two major reasons (for
example, in fuel cells) 1) zero emissions creating no environmental hazards and 2) as
a byproduct gives cleaning drinking water. The demand for pure hydrogen has
increased over a decade.

Hydrogen production technologies are separated into three main categories: thermal,
electrolytic and photolytic. In thermal processes, such as reforming and gasification, H2
is produced from biomass and fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. In electrolytic
processes, H2 is obtained from water-splitting, using electricity that can be generated
from a variety of sources, such as wind. In photolytic processes, light energy allows
Hydrogen production using novel photo-electrochemical and photo-biological water-
splitting processes.

Hydrogen can be classified into four major types based on their production source and
methodology. Figure 1 shows the classification of hydrogen on the basis of their
production methodology and source. Green hydrogen is based on the production of

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 9 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

hydrogen from electrolysis of water. Grey Hydrogen and Blue Hydrogen are produced
from same raw material as natural gas which majorly consists of methane and from
same process of steam reforming. The only difference between them is that the latter
has the carbon capturing technologies while the former does not. Black hydrogen is
obtained from coal gasification.

Figure 1. Hydrogen classification on the basis of their production source and

methodology.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 10 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 2. Selected shades of hydrogen

Nowadays, most of Hydrogen commercial production is based on steam reforming,

partial oxidation (coal, coke, hydrocarbons), or electrolysis of water. This chemical is
also produced as a by-product of eletrochemical processes and production of gasoline
and chemicals such as ethylene, styrene and MTBE. . To a smaller extent, this
chemical is produced through electrolytical processes and as a byproduct of
electrochemical processes. The diagram below presents different pathways for
Hydrogen production

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 11 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 3. Hydrogen Production Pathways Diagram

There are two main technologies for producing H2 from fossil fuels, which are
hydrocarbon reforming and pyrolysis. These techniques are the most progressive and
normally used, meeting almost all H2 markets. Mainly, up to date, H2 was produced
48% from natural gas, 30% from heavy oils and naphtha, and 18% from coal.
Nowadays, fossil fuels retain their dominant role in the world's H2 supply as the
production costs are highly correlated to fuel prices that are still kept to acceptable
levels.

Several technologies produce H2 from fossil fuels. Currently, the leading technologies
are:
 Steam methane reforming (SMR)
 Auto thermal reforming (ATR)
 Partial oxidation (POX)

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 12 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 4. Main H2 production processes

1. Steam reforming

The feed from the adiabatic pre-reformer enters the primary reforming section. At this
point is important to point out the main distinctions among all the different technologies
and solutions for performing Steam Methane Reforming. The steam reforming (SR)
method concerns a catalytic conversion of the hydrocarbon and steam to H2 and
carbon oxides and consists of the main steps of reforming or synthesis gas (syngas)
generation, water-gas shift (WGS), and gas purification.

Raw materials range from methane to natural gas and other methane containing gases
through light hydrocarbons, including ethane, propane, butane, pentane, and light and
heavy naphtha. To produce the desired purified H2 product and prevent coking
formation on the catalyst surface, the operation parameters of the reforming reaction

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 13 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

are selected at high temperatures, pressures up to 3.5 MPa, and steam-to-carbon

ratios of 3.5. After the reformer, the gas mixture passes through a heat recovery step
and is fed into a WGS reactor where the CO reacts with steam to produce additional
H2, and then, the mixture passes either through a CO2-removal and methanation or
through a pressure swing adsorption (PSA), leaving H2 with a purity of near 100%. The
CO2 emissions can be strongly reduced by CO2 capture and storage (CCS), through
which CO2 is captured and injected into geological reservoirs or the ocean

Figure 5. Flow diagram of the steam methane reforming process

2. Combined GHR and SMR

A Gas Heated Reformer (GHR) makes use of the heat available in the process gas
outlet of the SMR to drive the endothermic reforming reactions required to convert
heavier hydrocarbons and some of the methane in the feed gas into CO and hydrogen.
The GHR comprises a series of catalyst filled vertical tubes, and boasts a more
compact footprint and better heat transfer characteristics than the SMR, acting both as
a heat exchanger and reactor. Hot syngas exiting the main reformer is fed back into the
GHR shell-side to heat the reforming tubes. This facilitates the improvement of the
overall energy efficiency of the hydrogen production process compared to a solo SMR
flowsheet.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 14 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

3. Autothermal reforming

Figure 6. Flow diagram of the autothermal reforming of methane process.

Autothermal reforming, as presented in Figure 7, combines a catalytic combustion

reaction with a catalytic reaction in an adiabatic vessel. The heat necessary to sustain
the reforming reactions is delivered due to partial oxidation in a sub-stoichiometric
environment of part of the natural gas inserted as a feed, as illustrated in Figure

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 15 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 7. Auto-thermal reactor

The ATR reactor is made up of a burner, a combustion chamber in which a flame is

generated, and a catalyst bed, isolated by ceramic plates to protect it from the radiating
heat of the flame; all of the components are held in a refractory lined pressure shell.
The global reactor is adiabatic.

The partial oxidation reactions occur in the homogeneous phase in the combustion
chamber, while in the catalytic zone, reactions become heterogeneous. The
combustion chamber temperature is about 1100 - 1300°C next to the catalyst bed,
while it can reach more than 2500°C in the core of the flame. Steam methane
reforming and water gas shift happens in the catalytic zone and the combustion zone
without the need for catalysts due to the high temperatures. In order not to consume all
the feed, combustion is sub-stoichiometric with overall oxygen to hydrocarbon ratio of
0.55 - 0.6

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 16 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

4. Combined GHR and ATR

The GHR + ATR configuration is more common than the GHR + SMR. This is due to
the exothermic nature of the ATR reactions; higher ATR syngas temperatures better
serve the purpose of internally supplying the heat for the GHR reactions. These
reactors can be arranged either in series (in a figure-of-eight) or in parallel (feed gas is
split proportionately between the two reformers to achieve the desired syngas
composition).

Arranging the reactors in series facilitates a lower methane slip through the reforming
section, and hence a higher CO2 capture potential for the hydrogen production plant.
Lower temperatures in the GHR call for greater steam injection to mitigate against high
methane slip

The GHR + ATR concept involves passing the feed gas through a GHR reactor to
begin reforming a portion of the hydrocarbon content to CO and H2. The heat required
to drive these reactions is supplied by the high temperature outlet stream of the ATR,
shown in Figure 6-1. This optimized heat integration facilitates higher thermal efficiency
and reduced external heating duty in the process as a whole.

Hydrogen purification is via pressure swing adsorption to meet purity close to 100
mol% with the off-gas stream used to fuel an auxiliary heater and boiler. CO2 capture
from the process upstream of hydrogen purification uses activated MDEA solvent.
There is a requirement for the import of electrical power. The core reforming
technology of ATR+GHR can be coupled with other CO2 removal technologies

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 17 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Figure 8. The GHR + ATR in series concept.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 18 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

5. Partial oxidation

The partial oxidation (POX) method involves the transformation of steam, oxygen, and
hydrocarbons into H2 and carbon oxides. Partial Oxidation of methane can be
employed to produce hydrogen without any additional reforming reactions taking place.
In this case, methane is partially oxidized with oxygen typically sourced from a
cryogenic ASU. The catalytic process, which happens at about 950°C, works with
feedstock ranging from methane to naphtha. In contrast, the non-catalytic process,
which occurs at 1150 – 1315°C, can operate with hydrocarbons, including methane,
heavy oil, and coal.

After sulfur removal, pure O2 is used to partially oxidize hydrocarbon feedstock, and
the syngas produced is treated in the same way as the product gas of the SR process.

CH4 + ½ O2 ↔ CO + 2 H2

The CO shift reaction is then used as in previous technologies to increase the

hydrogen yield and maximise CO2 available for capture in the process stream. Heat
released from this exothermic reaction is used to generate steam for downstream
process use and for more general pre-heating of other processes.

CO + H2O ↔ CO2 + H2

The cost of the oxygen plant and the further costs of desulphurization steps make such
a plant overly capital intensive. In the catalytic process, the heat is delivered by
controlled combustion, and from methane, the thermal efficiency is 60–75%.

As is the case with many industrially mature chemical processes, POX units can be
designed as thermal partial oxidation reactors, or catalytic partial oxidation reactors.
The main difference between the two is the operating temperature, with catalytic POX
requiring significantly lower temperatures at the cost of being vulnerable to poisoning
by sulphur species in the feed.

Soot formation and deposition on catalyst beds is a risk associated with feed
composition, temperature, pressure, burner design, and flow conditions in the
combustion zone, resulting in less effective heat transfer and reduction in catalyst
performance. This can be controlled and mitigated against by the use of catalysts

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 19 of 97
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KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

which ensure the destruction of soot precursors, as well as optimizing burner design
and flow control solutions. In thermal POX units, soot formation is tolerated in the
reactor to a degree determined by downstream equipment, and can be removed by a
water wash to prevent carryover into the CO Shift reactors.

A typical flow sheet for H2 production via the partial oxidation (POX) method is
illustrated in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Flow diagram of the partial oxidation process.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 20 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

DEFINITIONS

Absorption - a physical or chemical phenomenon or a process in which atoms,

molecules or ions enter the liquid or solid bulk phase of a material.

Accident management - a system or process used to avoid, prevent, or minimize the

impact of an accident or unwanted event. In a business context, accident management
aims to maintain smooth operations and minimize the negative impact on the business
if an accident occurs.

Adiabatic reactors - a type of chemical reactor where no heat is exchanged with the
surroundings during a reaction. This means the system's internal energy change is
solely due to the work done by or on the system, and no heat enters or leaves. In
essence, the reaction proceeds without any temperature control, and the temperature
changes are driven by the reaction's heat of reaction

Adsorption - the process where molecules from a gas, liquid, or dissolved solid
adhere to the surface of a solid or liquid, creating a thin layer on the surface. This
process is driven by the attraction between the molecules of the substance being
adsorbed (adsorbate) and the surface of the material doing the adsorbing (adsorbent)

Air Compression - the process of forcing air into a smaller volume, increasing its
pressure and, consequently, its density. This process effectively stores energy in the
compressed air, which can then be released and used for various applications.

Auto thermal reforming (ATR) - combines a catalytic combustion reaction with a

catalytic reaction in an adiabatic vessel. The heat necessary to sustain the reforming
reactions is delivered due to partial oxidation in a sub-stoichiometric environment of
part of the natural gas inserted as a feed

Black hydrogen - hydrogen produced from black coal via a process called coal
gasification. This process involves breaking down hydrocarbons to release hydrogen,
and it is considered a less sustainable method compared to renewable sources due to
its reliance on fossil fuels and the release of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide

Blue Hydrogen - a term for hydrogen produced from natural gas, where carbon
dioxide emissions from the process are captured and stored, mitigating the overall

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 21 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

environmental impact. This is achieved using technologies like steam methane

reforming (SMR) or autothermal reforming (ATR) in conjunction with carbon capture
and storage (CCS)

Burner - a device which produces heat or a flame, especially as part of a cooker,

stove, or heater.

Calcination - a high-temperature heat treatment process, typically used for solid

materials, aimed at removing volatile components, oxidizing a portion of the material,
or transforming it into a more desirable form. It involves heating the material to a high
temperature, often below its melting point, in a controlled environment with limited air
or oxygen

CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) - This is an expenditure made by a company to

acquire, repair, or improve fixed assets that have economic benefits for more than one
accounting period. Examples of assets included in CAPEX are land, buildings,
machinery, factory equipment, and infrastructure

Capture and storage (CCS) - technology that aims to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from various sources, transporting it, and
then permanently storing it underground. This process helps mitigate climate change
by preventing CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide - a chemical compound with the chemical formula CO2. A colorless,
odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration.
It is naturally present in air (about 0.03 %) and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis.

Carbon monoxide - a colorless, odorless, toxic flammable gas formed by incomplete

combustion of carbon.

Carbonation - the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates,

bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of
carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.

Catalyst bed - a layer of catalyst material, typically in the form of pellets or particles,
within a reactor where a chemical reaction is taking place. The catalyst speeds up the

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 22 of 97
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for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

reaction without being consumed itself. It's a crucial component in catalytic reactors,
facilitating various chemical processes like hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, and
oxidation

Catalyst - a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself
undergoing any permanent chemical change

Catalytic combustion - a process where a catalyst facilitates and speeds up the

oxidation of a fuel, typically in the presence of air, at a lower temperature than
conventional combustion. This process leads to a more complete burn of the fuel and
can help reduce pollutants like nitrogen oxides

Catalytic process - a chemical reaction where the rate is accelerated by a substance

called a catalyst. The catalyst remains unchanged during the reaction, but it lowers the
activation energy, making the reaction proceed faster and potentially at lower
temperatures or pressures

CO Shift - refers to the water-gas shift reaction, a catalytic reaction which converts
carbon monoxide and water in the syngas exiting the reformer into CO2 and additional
hydrogen

CO2 Capture - Removing CO2 and other acid gases such as H2S from the hydrogen
product

Coal - a combustible black or dark brown rock consisting mainly of carbonized plant
matter, found mainly in underground deposits and widely used as fuel.

Coke - the residue of coal left after destructive distillation and used as fuel. A similar
residue left by other materials (such as petroleum) distilled to dryness

Conversion - the extent to which reactants are transformed into products during a
chemical reaction. It's essentially the fraction or percentage of a reactant that is
consumed or converted into a different substance. Conversion can also refer to the
rate at which a reactant is transformed, which is synonymous with reaction rate

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 23 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Cryogenic - a process involving the use of very low temperatures, usually below -
150°C, for various purposes. This process can be used for cooling, preserving, or even
separating materials at these temperatures

Electrolysis of water - using electricity to split water into oxygen (O2) and hydrogen
(H2) gas by electrolysis. Hydrogen gas released in this way can be used as hydrogen
fuel, but must be kept apart from the oxygen as the mixture would be extremely
explosive.

Emissions - The production and discharge of something, especially gas or radiation.

Endothermic - a chemical or physical process that absorbs heat from its surroundings.
The heat that a system absorbs is thermal energy transfer into the system

Enthalpy balance - a thermodynamic calculation that equates the total energy

entering a system to the total energy leaving the system, including changes in internal
energy, pressure-volume work, and heat transfer. Essentially, it's an application of the
first law of thermodynamics in the context of systems where energy can be
exchanged.

Exothermic - energy is released to the surroundings. The reaction between hydrogen

and oxygen is highly exothermic

Fired tubular reactors- consists of a furnace in which many catalysts-filled tubes are
placed. The tubes placed in the radiant part of the heater are heated thanks to
radiation and convection and transfer heat by conduction to the catalysts that fill the
tubes.

Flow sheet - a diagram that visually represents the sequence of operations or steps in
a process, often used in engineering, computer science, and other fields. It helps to
illustrate the flow of data, materials, or actions within a system

Flue gas - the exhaust gas produced by combustion processes, like burning fuel in a
furnace, boiler, or other equipment. It consists of the reaction products of fuel and air,
plus any residual substances like particulate matter, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and
carbon monoxide. Essentially, it's the gas that exits through a flue or chimney

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 24 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Fossil fuels - a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) formed in the earth from plant or
animal remains

Fuel cells - an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often
hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox
reactions.

Furnace - an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to generate steam, destroy

refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc ꞏ a very hot or stifling place.

Gas Heated Reformer (GHR) - makes use of the heat available in the process gas
outlet of the SMR to drive the endothermic reforming reactions required to convert
heavier hydrocarbons and some of the methane in the feed gas into CO and hydrogen

Green hydrogen - a sustainable energy carrier produced through electrolysis, where

water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity from renewable sources like
wind or solar. This process results in near-zero greenhouse gas emissions. It's a key
part of transitioning to a sustainable energy future, offering a clean and potentially
scalable way to power various sectors.

Grey Hydrogen - a type of hydrogen produced from fossil fuels, primarily natural gas,
through a process called steam methane reforming (SMR). This process releases CO2
into the atmosphere, making grey hydrogen a carbon-intensive source of hydrogen

Heat exchange - the transfer of heat energy between systems. It's driven by
temperature differences and can occur through various mechanisms like conduction,
convection, radiation, and even evaporation. In engineering, a heat exchanger is a
device that facilitates this transfer, usually between two fluids, often without direct
mixing

Heat Exchanger - a device that facilitates the transfer of thermal energy between two
fluids, such as liquids or gases, without allowing them to mix. It's a crucial component
in various industries and applications, including heating, cooling, and industrial
processes

Heat integration - a process technology that minimizes external heating and cooling
requirements in industrial processes by recovering and reusing thermal energy. It

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 25 of 97
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KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

involves identifying and utilizing hot and cold streams within a system to reduce the
need for additional utility consumption. This is achieved by transferring heat from hotter
process streams to colder streams, effectively using waste heat.

Heavy oils - any of the relatively dense hydrocarbons (denser than water) derived from
petroleum, coal tar, and similar materials.

High-pressure steam - steam that operates at a pressure exceeding 15 pounds per

square inch gauge (psig). In practice, industrial high-pressure boilers often operate at
pressures exceeding hundreds of psi and considerably higher temperatures than low-
pressure boilers. This type of steam is valuable because it offers higher energy transfer
and is used in various industrial processes like food processing and manufacturing

High-temperature steam - also known as superheated steam, steam that has been
heated beyond its saturation point, meaning it's at a higher temperature than the
temperature at which it would boil at its given pressure. Unlike saturated steam,
superheated steam doesn't contain any liquid water droplets and has a higher
temperature and lower density. It's primarily used for power generation and in steam
turbines

Hydrocarbons - a compound of hydrogen and carbon, such as any of those which are
the chief components of petroleum and natural gas.

Hydrogen (H2) - a nonmetallic gaseous chemical element with atomic number 1 that is
the simplest and lightest of the elements and that is used especially in the processing
of fossil fuels and the synthesis of ammonia
Membrane

Methane - a chemical compound with the chemical formula CH4 (one carbon atom
bonded to four hydrogen atoms). a colorless, odorless flammable gas which is the
main constituent of natural gas. It is the simplest member of the alkane series of
hydrocarbons.

Naphtha - a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons, obtained by the dry

distillation of organic substances such as coal, shale, or petroleum.

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 26 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Natural gas - flammable gas, consisting largely of methane and other hydrocarbons,
occurring naturally underground (often in association with petroleum) and used as fuel.
a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%),
small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen
sulfide and helium

Oil refining - the process of converting crude oil into useful products such as gasoline,
diesel, and various other fuels. This process is carried out in oil refineries, which are
industrial plants that refine crude oil into various petroleum products.

OPEX (Operational Expenditure) - all costs incurred by the company to run the daily
operations of its business. This cost is different from "CAPEX" (Capital Expenditure)
which is capital expenditure for long-term assets.

Optimisation - the process of finding the best conditions or parameters for a chemical
process or reaction to achieve a desired outcome, such as maximizing yield, purity, or
efficiency. This often involves systematically adjusting factors like reaction
temperature, pressure, catalyst, or time to optimize the performance of a chemical
system

Partial oxidation (POX) - involves the transformation of steam, oxygen, and

hydrocarbons into H2 and carbon oxides. Partial Oxidation of methane can be
employed to produce hydrogen without any additional reforming reactions taking place.
Methane is partially oxidized with oxygen typically sourced from a cryogenic ASU.

Plant design - encompasses the conceptualization, planning, and creation of industrial

facilities, including the arrangement of equipment, layout, and related infrastructure, to
optimize production efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability. It involves
integrating various processes, equipment, and systems while adhering to regulatory
standards and ensuring the economical use of building space.

Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) - a technology used to separate some gas species
from a mixture of gases under pressure occurring to the species molecular
characteristics and affinity for an adsorbent material. It operates near ambient
temperature and so differs from cryogenic distillation techniques of gas separation.
Special adsorptive materials (example zeolite) can be used as a molecular sieve,

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 27 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

preferentially adsorbing the target gas species at high pressure points. The process
then swings to low pressure to desorb the adsorbent material.

Pyrolysis - a process involving the separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by

thermal decomposition within an inert environment without oxyge

Reactant - a substance that enters into and is altered in the course of a chemical
reaction.

Reactor - an enclosed volume in which a chemical reaction takes place. A process

vessel used to carry out a chemical reaction, which is one of the classic unit operations
in chemical process analysis

Waste - any discarded substance that contains or is contaminated with chemicals. It

can exist as a liquid, solid, or gas and is often a byproduct of various industries and
processes. This waste can be further classified as hazardous or non-hazardous, with
hazardous waste posing significant risks to human health and the environment

Steam - water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This
may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water
reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is invisible;
however, wet steam, a visible mist or aerosol of water droplets, is often referred to as
"steam"

Steam methane reforming (SMR) - concerns a catalytic conversion of the

hydrocarbon and steam to H2 and carbon oxides and consists of the main steps of
reforming or synthesis gas (syngas) generation, water-gas shift (WGS), and gas
purification. Raw materials range from methane to natural gas and other methane
containing gases through light hydrocarbons, including ethane, propane, butane,
pentane, and light and heavy naphtha.

Steam reforming - a chemical process where hydrocarbons (like methane) react with
steam at high temperatures, producing a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide,
known as syngas. This process is a primary method for hydrogen production,
especially for use in fuel cells and other industrial applications

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 28 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Stoichiometric - the relationships between the masses of reactants and products

before, during, and following chemical reactions

Sulphur poisoning - The deactivation or reduction in activity of a catalyst due to the

presence of sulfur or sulfur-containing compounds. This phenomenon occurs because
sulfur compounds strongly adsorb onto the metal catalyst surface, blocking active sites
and hindering the catalytic process

Syngas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide,in various ratios. The gas often
contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principally used for producing
ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as a fuel

Tail gas - gases and vapors released into the atmosphere from an industrial process
after all reaction and treatment has taken place.

Thermal processes - any procedure that utilizes heat to modify the physical or
chemical properties of a substance, material, or product. These processes can be high-
temperature operations like heat treating or lower-temperature ones like drying.

Thermodynamic equilibrium - a state where a system is in balance across

mechanical, thermal, and chemical aspects. In this state, there's no net change in the
system's properties over time, meaning it's stable and doesn't spontaneously change

Tubular fixed bed reactor - a type of chemical reactor characterized by a cylindrical

or tubular structure containing a stationary, packed bed of catalyst particles. Reactants
flow through the bed, where they react with the catalyst to produce desired products.
Heat transfer is managed via a cooling medium surrounding the tubes.

Waste heat - heat that is produced during various industrial or energy production
processes but is not utilized and is instead released into the environment. This unused
heat represents a potential energy source that can be recovered and used for other
purposes, like preheating combustion air or space heating

Water wash - the act of washing something with water. It can also be a term used in
industrial settings or specific fields like chemistry or biodiesel production to describe a
process of using water to separate or purify substances

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 29 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Water-gas shift - The carbon monoxide and steam are reacted using a catalyst to
produce carbon dioxide and more hydrogen CO + H2O ↔ CO2 + H2

Yields - reaction yield or chemical yield, refers to the amount of product obtained in
a chemical reaction. Yield is one of the primary factors that scientists must consider in
organic and inorganic chemical synthesis processes. In chemical reaction engineering,
"yield", "conversion" and "selectivity" are terms used to describe ratios of how much of
a reactant was consumed (conversion), how much desired product was formed (yield)
in relation to the undesired product (selectivity)
NOMENCLATURE

Apv Cross sectional area of voids of single PSA. (m2)

Atpv Total cross sectional area of PSA voids, (m2)
Avoid Cross sectional area of the voids, (m2)
D Tubular reactor of diameter (m)
Dpsa Diameter of column (voids), (m)
GF Volumetric flow rate of feed, (m3/h)
GH2 Volume flow rate of hydrogen (m³/h)
L Length tube (m)
Lpsa Length of the PSA, (m)
nad Number of adsorber
ntubes Number of tubes, tubular reactor, (tubes)
v Assume hydrogen velocity through the pores (m/h)
vFo Speed of feed through the void, (m/s)
vFv Speed of the feed through the empty vessel (Superficial velocity) (m/s)
Vp Volume of packing, (m3)
Vpv Volume of packed void, (m3)
VR Volume of reactor, (m3)
vs Space velocity (/h)
Vvoid Volume of voids, (m3)
W Mass Flow rate of feed (kg/h)
Wc Mass of catalyst, (kg)

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 30 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

Greek Letters

ρfeed Feed density (kg/m³)

ρc Bulk density of a catalyst (kg/m³)
ε Void fraction

REFERENCES

1. Jack Walden. Blue Hydrogen Production Technology Review. Progressive

Energy Ltd. 2002
2. IRENA. Green hydrogen strategy: A guide to design, International Renewable
Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi. 2024
3. Othmer, K., . Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. John Wiley
and Sons Inc
4. Siqi Wang, Seyed A. Nabavi, Peter T. Clough. A review on bi/polymetallic
catalysts for steam methane reforming. International Journal of Hydrogen
energy. 2023
5. P. van Beurden. On The Catalytic Aspects Of Steam-Methane Reforming. ECN-
I--04-003. 2004
6. L. Barelli et al. Hydrogen production through sorption-enhanced steam methane
reforming and membrane technology: A review. Energy 33. 554–570. 2008
7. Shrikant A. Bhat and Jhuma Sadhukhan. Process Intensification Aspects for
Steam Methane Reforming: An Overview. American Institute of Chemical
Engineers AIChE Journal Vol. 55, No. 2. 2009
8. K. Eyalarasan et al. Design of Process Plant for Producing Hydrogen from
Steam Reforming of Natural Gas. International Journal of Engineering Research
& Technology (IJERT) Vol. 2 Issue 12. 2013
9. Mehran Akbarzadeh. Plant Design and Optimization of Hydrogen Production
from Non-Condensable Gas of Plastic Pyrolysis. Politecnico Milano. 2022
10. Arijit Ganguli* and Viraj Bhatt Hydrogen production using advanced reactors by
steam methane reforming: A review. Thermal Science and Energy Systems, a
section of the journal Frontiers in Thermal Engineering. 2023

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

This document is entrusted to the recipient personally, but the copyright remains with us. It must not be copied,
reproduced or in any way communicated or made accessible to third parties without our written consent.
 Page 31 of 97
Kolmetz Handbook
KLM Technology of Process Equipment Design
Group Rev: 01

Practical Engineering
HYDROGEN PRODUCTTION
Guidelines STEAM METHANE REFORMING March 2025
for Processing Plant Solutions

ENGINEERING DESIGN GUIDELINES

11. Dr. Joan M. Ogden. Review Of Small Stationary Reformers For Hydrogen
Production. Center for Energy and Environmental Studies Princeton University.
2002
12. K Kolmetz et al, Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design, Carbon
Capture, Engineering Design Guidelines, 2023
13. K Kolmetz et al, Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design, Ammonia
Manufacturing, Engineering Design Guidelines, 2023
14. K Kolmetz et al, Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design, Catalyst
Systems, Engineering Design Guidelines, 2021
15. K Kolmetz et al, Kolmetz Handbook of Process Equipment Design, Safety in
Process Equipment Design, Engineering Design Guidelines, 2014

These design guidelines are believed to be as accurate as possible, but are very general and not for specific design
cases. They were designed for engineers to do preliminary designs and process specification sheets. The final
design must always be guaranteed for the service selected by the manufacturing vendor, but these guidelines will
greatly reduce the amount of up front engineering hours that are required to develop the final design. The guidelines
are a training tool for young engineers or a resource for engineers with experience.

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