Effect of equilibrium shift by using lithium silicate pellets in methane steam reforming

Equilibrium shifting is considered to be effective for promoting H2 production by methane (CH4) steam reforming. In this study, a packed bed reactor with a mixture of reforming catalyst and CO2 absorbent was used. Pellets of lithium silicate (Li4SiO4), which Toshiba has developed, were applied as the absorbent. This is a report on the relationship between CO2 absorption by Li4SiO4 pellets and the equilibrium-shift effect for overall reactions. Experiments showed that there was a strong influence of temperature on the equilibrium-shift effect. The effect was obvious, which resulted in keeping not only the concentration of H2 above 93 vol% but also that of CO below 0.2 vol% at 550 °C.