Study of Ni(0)/La2O3 perovskite coated on monolith substrates as a promising catalyst for CO2 dry reforming with steam reforming of methane in syn-gas production

Coated monolith/foam catalysts are promising materials for chemistry applications due to structured reactor configuratiions providing low expansion coefficient, good thermal stability and low pressure loss. In this study, powedered Ni(0)/La2O3 catalysts in perovskite structures, were deposited on cordierite monolith substrates (2MgO-2Al2O3-5SiO2) by dip-coating method. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRD, TPR-H2 analysis. The activity of structured catalysts with various powder loadings (4, 8, 12, 20 and 30 wt %) were evaluated in combined Steam-CO2 reforming reaction (CH4/CO2/H2O = 2/1/2 vol%) at GHSV = 60.000 h-1. XRD and TPR results showed that the active phase LaNiO3 were mainly Ni and La2O3distributed on the surface of cordierite channels after air calcination of 850oC, 3 hours and hydrogen reduction of 600oC, 2 hours . The conversion of methane and CO2 on monolith catalysts, with proper active sites loadings of 12 – 20 wt%, were close to 80 vol% at 800oC. At the same reaction amount of active sites, the feedstock conversion on LaNiO3/monolith (12 %wt LaNiO3/monolith) was significantly higher than on corresponding powdered type, respectively 1.6 times of CH4, 1.8 times of CO2 conversion.

A Review of the Critical Aspects in the Multi-Scale Modelling of Structured Catalytic Reactors

Structured catalytic reactors are enjoying an increasingly important role in the reaction engineering world. At the same time, there are large and growing efforts to use advanced computational models to describe such reactors. The structured reactor represents a multi-scale problem that is typically modelled at the largest scale only, with sub-models being used to improve the model granularity. Rather than a literature review, this paper provides an overview of the key factors that must be considered when choosing these sub-models (or scale bridges). The example structured reactor selected for illustration purposes is the washcoated honeycomb monolith design. The sub-models reviewed include those for pressure drop, inter- and intra-phase mass and heat transfer, and effective thermal conductivity.

Reaction Analyses Based on Quaternary Metal/Metal Oxide Catalyst Testing in Micro-Structured Reactors Using Combinatorial High-Throughput Methods for Power-to-Gas Applications

To optimize the Sabatier process, quaternary supported catalyst materials are synthesized and tested. The syntheses are performed by the industrially established, reproducible and automated methods of impregnation and sol–gel synthesis. The screening of the 588 quaternary catalysts is carried out in a specially designed 10-fold parallel gas flow micro-structured reactor as wall catalysts in sequential operation mode at a temperature of T = 573 K and a pressure of p = 15 bar. For the description of the activity, the reaction parameters CO2 conversion, CH4 yield, and CH4/CO2 selectivity are used. These are determined by analyses of the gas phase composition using µGC-FID. The catalysts with the highest activities are validated in a micro-structured reactor with similar characteristics as the screening reactor in the temperature range between T = 573–673 K and a pressure of p = 15 bar. Characterization by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and scanning transmission electron microscopic images data on the phase and element distribution after calcination and reduction was conducted.

Modeling and Testing of a Milli-Structured Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Methanation

The methanation of carbon dioxide (CO2) via the Sabatier reaction is an exothermic process that needs the continuous removal of the heat produced for avoiding the sintering of the catalyst. A novel milli-channel reactor with internal diameter of each channel in the millimeter size has been designed, manufactured and tested for the Sabatier reaction. Thanks to its configuration, this reactor could control effectively the heat generated by the reaction, attaining an intensification of the process. A CFD model was used to study the reaction phenomena occurring inside the reactor and the corresponding heat transfers. The kinetic parameters of the reaction have been obtained, and employing different process condition (different temperatures, pressures and gas flow rates) the results obtained have been studied. At the evaluated parameters, the CFD model fits the experimental results in the developed reactor.