Sorption enhanced methanation for substitute natural gas production: Experimental results and thermodynamic considerations

•High grade SNG production at methanation pressure below 10 bar.•Sorption enhanced methanation process saves up to 40% compression duty.•Commercial Nickel based catalyst and zeolite 4A yield 100% CH4 between 250 and 350 °C.

The Sabatier process may become a ubiquitous process for the production of renewable substitute natural gas from biomass or from any CO2 source coupled with renewable hydrogen. While a conventional Sabatier process typically requires cascade reactors and high operational pressure, i.e. 40–60 bars at least, to yield an SNG product matching the specification for injection in the natural gas infrastructure, the sorption enhanced Sabatier reaction has the potential of producing high grade methane product at operational pressures below 10 bar. The energy duty for compression work may then decrease from 10% to 6% of the total process energy balance, in the case where reactants are supplied at atmospheric pressure. The sorption enhanced methanation was demonstrated at atmospheric pressure with commercial Nickel based catalyst and zeolite 4A adsorbent between 250 and 350 °C reaching close to 100% conversion.

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