Modeling of Laboratory Steam Methane Reforming and CO2 Methanation Reactors

Abstract

To support the interpretation of the experimental results obtained from two laboratory-scale reactors, one working in the steam methane reforming (SMR) mode, and the other in the CO2 hydrogenation (MCO2) mode, a steady-state pseudo-homogeneous 1D non-isothermal packed-bed reactor model is developed, embedding the classical Xu and Froment local kinetics. The laboratory reactors are operated with three different catalysts, two commercial and one homemade. The simulation model makes it possible to identify and account for thermal effects occurring inside the catalytic zone of the reactor and along the exit line. The model is intended to guide the development of small size SMR and MCO2 reactors in the context of Power-to-X (P2X) studies.

Heterogeneous Catalysis in (Bio)Ethanol Conversion to Chemicals and Fuels: Thermodynamics, Catalysis, Reaction Paths, Mechanisms and Product Selectivities

“…Thus, while it seems likely that on cobalt catalysts ethanol steam reforming implies first a dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde, and later the steam reforming of acetaldehyde, on nickel it is still not known what is the origin of residual methane and what is the real molecule being steam reformed. To unravel this point, we investigated three reactions over a commercial catalyst: methane steam reforming (MSR), CO 2 methanation [13,69] and ethanol steam reforming (ESR).…”

A Study on CO2 Methanation and Steam Methane Reforming over Commercial Ni/Calcium Aluminate Catalysts

“…Catalytic Experiments. Additional details on the catalytic reactor volumes involved and section sizing can be found in Reference [23].…”

“…In the context of our studies on hydrogen production and CO 2 methanation [19][20][21][22], this work aims at testing industrial steam reforming catalysts, both with and without potassium, as well as a home-made methanation catalyst (HMMC), in both SMR and MCO2. The experimental results are interpreted through the support of a simulation model developed for the laboratory reactors employed [23]. The model implements local mass and energy balances.…”

“…For the local kinetics, the model proposed by Xu and Froment [24] is implemented, based on the assumption that the SMR, WGS and GRR reactions are reversible and can proceed simultaneously, thus implicitly including both the series and parallel kinetic network. In a companion paper [23], thermal effects occurring in the laboratory scale reactor are discussed in detail, whereas, here, the model is used to support the discussion of the experimental data.…”

Modeling and estimating kinetic parameters for CO2 methanation from fixed bed reactor experiments

“…It was assumed that the heat transfer rate between the gas phase and catalyst was sufficiently fast because the catalyst particle size is small enough, and the catalyst contains metal which has a high thermal conductivity. [26] The terms on the right hand side represent convection, axial conduction within the bed, heat of reaction, and heat dissipation to the jacket tube. In the second term of this equation, k eff is calculated by multiplying the thermal conductivity of the gas and catalyst by their respective volume fractions:…”