Hydrogen amplification of coke oven gas by reforming of methane in a ceramic membrane reactor

To maximize hydrogen production from coke oven gas (COG), partial oxidation of methane in COG was studied thermodynamically and experimentally. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that an optimal hydrogen yield of 1.04–1.10 mole per mole of the consumed COG can be achieved when the initial ratio of O2 and CH4 is 0.57–0.46 in a temperature range of 800–900 °C, and the corresponding amplification of original hydrogen in COG reaches 1.8–1.9 times. The amplification of original hydrogen was carried out in a BaCo0.7Fe0.2Nb0.1O3−δ (BCFNO) membrane reactor, and the hydrogen yield in the lab scale was about 80% more than that of original H2 in model COG. In a large hydrogen content in COG, the ceramic membrane reactors made from perovskite mixed-conducting oxygen-permeable materials must have higher stability to withstand the harsh reduction condition.