Catalytic process and system for converting liquid fuels into syngas

A process of reforming a liquid fuel comprising:

• (a) providing a supply of a liquid fuel selected from the group consisting of diesel, kerosene, dodecane, light oil, JP-8, JP-5, and Jet A fuels;
• (b) providing a supply of an oxidant;
• (c) providing a supply of liquid water;
• (d) atomizing the liquid fuel through a nozzle into a mixer such that the fuel entering the nozzle and before exiting the nozzle is maintained at a temperature below the coking temperature of the fuel;
• (e) feeding the oxidant into the mixer and mixing the atomized fuel with the oxidant;
• (f) catalytically reacting the fuel-oxidant mixture in the presence of steam in a catalytic reactor thereby producing gaseous reformate;
• wherein the catalytic reactor comprises an ultra-short-channel-length metal substrate in a coiled configuration having an inner diameter and an outer diameter and a radial flow path, and having supported thereon one or more noble metals;
• wherein the catalytically reacting employs a ratio (O/C) of moles of oxygen in the oxidant to moles of carbon in the liquid fuel ranging from 0.8/1 to 1.4/1 and a ratio (S/C) of moles of steam to moles of carbon in the liquid fuel ranging from 0.8/1 to 2.0/1;
• (g) initiating the catalytic reaction of step (f) with an ignition source located proximate to the catalytic reactor but at a distance from the nozzle sufficient to maintain the temperature requirement of step (d);
• (h) contacting the gaseous reformate with a heat exchanger positioned downstream of and in fluid communication with the catalytic reactor, such that a hot side of the heat exchanger contacts the gaseous reformate and a cold side of the heat exchanger contacts the supply of water;
• and further such that heat exchanger is displaced radially with respect to a center axis of the catalytic reactor and wherein gaseous reformate exits through the radial flow path of the catalytic reactor and contacts the heat exchanger in a crossflow direction;
• (i) transferring heat from the gaseous reformate via the heat exchanger to the liquid water to produce steam;
• (j) providing the steam to the fuel-oxidant mixture in the catalytic reaction of step (f);
• and
• (k) feeding the gaseous reformate exiting the heat exchanger into a de-sulfurizer comprising a sulfur adsorbent.