Steam reforming of methane in a bench-scale membrane reactor at realistic working conditions

In this study, a bench-scale Pd membrane reactor was used to carry out the methane steam reforming reaction under realistic operating conditions: 580 °C, 28 bar(a) and GHSV values up to 950 h−1. The continuous withdrawal of the H2 product resulted in a maximum CH4 conversion of 98% and a H2 production rate of 0.13 N m3 h−1. A continuous methane conversion of 86% and a hydrogen flux of 0.1 mol m−2 s−1 were achieved in the membrane reactor under these challenging conditions for almost 1100 h, demonstrating the great potential of membrane reformers for H2 production.

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► Stable performance over 1100 h was found for the bench-scale Pd membrane reactor under the challenging conditions.
► Measured conversion during 1100 h was 86%.
► The maximum CH4 conversion and H2 production rate achieved were 98% and 0.13 N m3 h−1 at a feed pressure of 28 bar and a temperature of 580 °C.