Integrating methane partial oxidation and thermoelectric generation in a Swiss-roll reactor: Hydrogen and electricity dual production and life cycle assessment

The increasing global demand for clean energy and decarbonized industrial processes has accelerated interest in compact systems capable of producing both hydrogen and electricity with minimal carbon emissions. Among various approaches, methane reforming offers a promising route for hydrogen production, but conventional systems often suffer from low thermal efficiency and underutilized waste heat. To address these challenges, this study presents an innovative integration of a Swiss-roll reforming reactor with thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for simultaneous hydrogen generation and electricity recovery. The Swiss-roll design enables enhanced thermal recirculation, while strategically embedded TEGs convert waste heat from the reactor walls into electrical power. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to simulate fluid flow, chemical reactions, and heat transfer within the system, and to identify optimal TEG placement based on 3D temperature gradients. The results show that at an O/C ratio of 1.2, the reactor achieves 1.84 mol H₂·(mol CH₄)−1 with >96 % methane conversion. Five optimal TEG sites on the outer wall produce a combined output of 11.09 W using Bi2Te3 materials, with only a 0.6 % reduction in hydrogen yield. A life cycle assessment reveals a global warming potential as low as 13.25 kg CO2-eq‧(kg H2)−1 at O/C = 1.2, and the electricity generated by TEG at location 30 can offset approximately 0.056 kg CO2-eq‧(kg H2)−1. This integrated system demonstrates a compact, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable solution for decentralized hydrogen-electricity co-production.