Ceramic counterflow reactor for autothermal dry reforming at high temperatures

• A novel reactor concept for autothermal dry reforming of methane is presented.
• Heat integration up to temperatures above 1000 °C is possible.
• Main features: ceramic materials, scalable design, constantly high temperatures.
• Equilibrium models, a prototype reactor and a detailed kinetic model are used.

Dry reforming (DRM) is a very promising route for producing carbon rich syngas from key future feed stocks of chemical industry: CO2 and methane. Partial combustion of methane with pure oxygen, preferably produced via water electrolysis, can be used to compensate for the required heat of reaction in autothermal operation of DRM. Therefore, a novel reactor concept is presented. The multitubular reactor consists of an inert section to perform efficient heat integration and a catalytically coated reaction section where temperatures far above 1000 °C are realized by means of ceramic materials, a suitable catalyst, and simultaneous combustion. A prototype laboratory scale reactor, equilibrium models, and a detailed kinetic model are used to measure the reactor performance in laboratory and in industrial scale. A stable operation is predicted in large scale reactors since constantly high reaction temperatures around 1000 °C can prevent harmful coke formation. Besides, the high temperatures enable CO2 conversions above 60% along the catalyst zone in a reactor which is characterized by a very simple and scalable design.

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