Integrated optimization of design and operation in an industrial steam methane reforming reactor

Integrated optimization of design and operation in an industrial steam methane reforming reactor | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Integrated optimization of design and operation in an industrial steam methane reforming reactor Ji-Hong An, Ju-Yeon Cho, Chul-Jin Lee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7007648/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Steam methane reforming (SMR) is the most widely employed method for industrial hydrogen production owing to its cost-effectiveness. Existing studies have primarily focused on operational conditions, with relatively less attention given to the structural configuration of the reformer. In this study, a computational framework integrating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling with Bayesian optimization (BO) is proposed to simultaneously optimize the design and operational variables of an SMR reactor. A CFD model was developed by coupling and iteratively solving the furnace and tube domains to accurately simulate the heat transfer characteristics. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the key design variables, followed by BO, to efficiently investigate the design space. Consequently, methane (CH 4 ) conversion improved 3.0% based on the optimization scope. When design variables were optimized, CH₄ conversion increased by 2.3%, while operating variables resulted in an improvement of 0.2%; the simultaneous optimization of both resulted in a total enhancement of 3.0%. The optimal steam-to-carbon ratio increased from 3.4 to 4.75 when design parameters such as tube spacing and diameter were also optimized, thereby highlighting the interdependence between reactor geometry and operating conditions. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of BO in optimizing high-fidelity CFD reactor models and highlights its applicability to other thermally driven systems. Steam methane reforming Computational fluid dynamics Model integration Bayesian optimization Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 10 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 03 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 29 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7007648","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":482438232,"identity":"82d90d73-295e-483d-a7e5-401a26c1ae2e","order_by":0,"name":"Ji-Hong An","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chung-Ang University - Seoul Campus: Chung-Ang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ji-Hong","middleName":"","lastName":"An","suffix":""},{"id":482438233,"identity":"01415b6b-327d-4029-8a3a-3c037ca9726d","order_by":1,"name":"Ju-Yeon Cho","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Chung-Ang University - Seoul Campus: Chung-Ang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ju-Yeon","middleName":"","lastName":"Cho","suffix":""},{"id":482438234,"identity":"84e9ba90-0a1d-4644-930a-a4f199c24fb0","order_by":2,"name":"Chul-Jin Lee","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCww0MDBUwzgGitBwEajlDmhbGBgbGNlK08DcebHzwcZ6dvMEB5ocfGM7cI6xF4sDBZsOZ25INNxxgM5ZguFFMWIsBw8E2ad5tBxg3HGAwY2D4kECUlvbff+ccsN9wgP0b0VramBkbDiRuOMADtOUGEVpAfpHsOZacPPMwT7FEwhkitPDPOHzww48aO9u+4+0bP3w4RoQWoDVQBjMQE6MBaE0DUcpGwSgYBaNgJAMA0F5AZvKFn/YAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1840-704X","institution":"Chung-Ang University - Seoul Campus: Chung-Ang University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chul-Jin","middleName":"","lastName":"Lee","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-30 07:41:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7007648/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7007648/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00609-8","type":"published","date":"2025-12-10T15:59:09+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":98244009,"identity":"1f689fd3-a7ae-4de1-8a12-5c5f8c4e64d8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-15 16:12:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1100256,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7007648/v1_covered_afafe0bc-2d6f-46e0-ac03-b2f3236e2d7a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Integrated optimization of design and operation in an industrial steam methane reforming reactor","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"korean-journal-of-chemical-engineering","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"kjce","sideBox":"Learn more about [Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering](http://link.springer.com/journal/11814)","snPcode":"11814","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/kjce/default2.aspx","title":"Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Subscription","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Steam methane reforming, Computational fluid dynamics, Model integration, Bayesian optimization","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7007648/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7007648/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSteam methane reforming (SMR) is the most widely employed method for industrial hydrogen production owing to its cost-effectiveness. 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