Tanks-in-series model for an auto-thermal reforming reactor with a channeled monolith

•A tanks-in-series-reactor model has been developed for auto-thermal reforming.•A simplified mechanism of the reforming agrees well with experimental data.•The technique of multi-step reaction simplification is suitable for various fuels. A novel tanks-in-series-reactor (TSR) model has been developed for auto-thermal reforming of hydrocarbons in a monolithic reactor carrying microchannels. The model is based on the dynamic mass and heat balance equations defined for the channel and catalyst layer. The description of chemical reactions is based on a simplified multi-step surface reaction mechanism under the assumption of the rate-determining step. The predicted steady-state concentration profiles are consistent with experimental literature data.