Kinetic analysis of the Ru/SiO2-catalyzed low temperature methane steam reforming

The performance of a Ru/SiO2 catalyst for methane steam reforming at 450–550 °C is studied in the present. These conditions are suitable for coupling the fixed-bed reactor with a hydrogen-selective membrane for hydrogen recovery, with the subsequent equilibrium shift. A reaction mechanism based on the dissociative adsorption of steam and methane has been proposed (from a total of six possible mechanisms compared), in terms of the statistical analysis of reaction data obtained at different temperatures and contact times in an integral, lab-scale reactor.The proposed model shows that hydrogen inhibition plays an important role in the reaction. Finally, the Ru/SiO2 catalyst prepared in this work is found to be one of the most active catalysts, among other Ru-based catalysts reported in the literature.

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► A mechanistic model is proposed for methane steam reforming on Ru/SiO2.
► The model considers that rate determining steps are the reaction between dissociatively adsorbed CH4 and H2O molecule.
► Data modeling has considered both mass-transfer effect and equilibrium limitations.