Modelling and optimization of a moving-bed adsorptive reactor for the reverse water-gas shift reaction

In this work, a novel variant of the reverse water-gas shift reaction is proposed as a promising route to valorize CO2 as syngas. The reactor concept used is that of an adsorptive moving-bed in order to permit low-temperature operation with high conversions and to improve upon the fixed-bed adsorptive concept previously investigated. The reactor has been modelled for several configurations and subsequently optimized. The results show that an increase up to an order of magnitude in the space-time-yield (STY) is possible by using the moving-bed configuration in comparison to fixed-bed operation. Finally, a bi-objective optimization is carried out to identify the trade-off between operating at higher STY and higher adsorbent loadings.