The operation of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based micro-reformer was investigated for application in a cell phone. Different aspects like the time required to attain the desired temperature of the system, the time required to get the required hydrogen flow, catalyst durability, flow uniformity of the mixture of methanol and water and volume of the total system were considered. A loading procedure for the catalyst in the micro-reformer was developed. Catalyst deactivation was observed after operating continuously for 8 h, but it regained its original activity after the reformer was shut down for at least 2 h. The deactivation of the catalyst was analyzed by catalyst characterization. The comparison of the performance between a parallel channeled and serpentine channeled micro-reformer was carried out. The performance with the serpentine channeled micro-reformer was always higher than with parallel channeled micro-reformer. The shorter residence time in the parallel-channeled micro-reformer may be one of the reasons behind its low activity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.