Uncatalyzed and wall-catalyzed forward water-gas shift reaction kinetics

Simulation and Optimization of a Multistage Interconnected Fluidized Bed Reactor for Coal Chemical Looping Combustion

This work established a three-dimensional model of a chemical looping system with multistage reactors coupled with hydrodynamics and chemical reactions. The thermal characteristics in the chemical looping combustion (CLC) system were simulated using coal as fuel and hematite as an oxygen carrier (OC). Some significant aspects, including gas composition, particle residence time, backmixing rate, wall erosion, carbon capture rate, etc., were investigated in the simulation. Owing to the optimization by adding baffles in the fuel reactor (FR), the gas conversion capacity of the multistage FR was high, where the outlet CO₂ concentration was as high as 93.8% and the oxygen demand was as low as 3.8%. Through tracing and analyzing the path of char particles, we found that the residence time of most char particles was too short to be fully gasified. The residual char will be entrained into the air reactor (AR), reducing the CO₂ capture rate, which is only 80.3%. In the simulation, the wall erosion on the cyclone could be relieved by increasing the height of the horizontal pipe. In addition, improving the structure of the AR loop seal could control the residual char entrained by OC particles to the AR, and the CO₂ capture rate was increased up to 90% in the multistage CLC reactor.

A Study on CO2 Methanation and Steam Methane Reforming over Commercial Ni/Calcium Aluminate Catalysts

Three Ni-based natural gas steam reforming catalysts, i.e., commercial JM25-4Q and JM57-4Q, and a laboratory-made catalyst (26% Ni on a 5% SiO2–95% Al2O3), are tested in a laboratory reactor, under carbon dioxide methanation and methane steam reforming operating conditions. The laboratory catalyst is more active in both CO2 methanation (equilibrium is reached at 623 K with 100% selectivity) and methane steam reforming (92% hydrogen yield at 890 K) than the two commercial catalysts, likely due to its higher nickel loading. In any case, commercial steam reforming catalysts also show interesting activity in CO2 methanation, reduced by K-doping. The interpretation of the experimental results is supported by a one-dimensional (1D) pseudo-homogeneous packed-bed reactor model, embedding the Xu and Froment local kinetics, with appropriate kinetic parameters for each catalyst. In particular, the H2O adsorption coefficient adopted for the commercial catalysts is about two orders of magnitude higher than for the laboratory-made catalyst, and this is in line with the expectations, considering that the commercial catalysts have Ca and K added, which may promote water adsorption.

Modeling of Laboratory Steam Methane Reforming and CO2 Methanation Reactors

To support the interpretation of the experimental results obtained from two laboratory-scale reactors, one working in the steam methane reforming (SMR) mode, and the other in the CO2 hydrogenation (MCO2) mode, a steady-state pseudo-homogeneous 1D non-isothermal packed-bed reactor model is developed, embedding the classical Xu and Froment local kinetics. The laboratory reactors are operated with three different catalysts, two commercial and one homemade. The simulation model makes it possible to identify and account for thermal effects occurring inside the catalytic zone of the reactor and along the exit line. The model is intended to guide the development of small size SMR and MCO2 reactors in the context of Power-to-X (P2X) studies.

Preparation of mesoporous nanocrystalline alkali promoted chromium free catalysts (Fe2O3–Al2O3–NiO) for a high temperature water gas shift reaction

Alkali promoted-Fe–Al–Ni catalysts exhibited higher activity and lower methanation compared to the unpromoted Fe–Al–Ni catalyst in high temperature water gas shift reaction.