Catalytic partial oxidation of methane in a high‐temperature reverse‐flow reactor

Abstract

Abstract The production of hydrogen and synthesis gas (syngas) from methane is a key technology for the twenty‐first century. It is currently performed predominantly by steam reforming of methane. An alternative reaction route is the direct catalytic partial oxidation of methane (CPOM) at high‐temperature, short contact time conditions, which proceeds autothermally over noble metal catalysts. However, syngas yields are limited at autothermal operation by a complex interplay of total and partial oxidation reactions. We demonstrate that these limitations can be overcome through dynamic heat integration in a catalytic reverse‐flow reactor. The efficient heat integration in this reactor type leads to strongly increased syngas yields; that is, it effectively converts sensible heat into chemical energy. Furthermore, even shorter contact times can be achieved without yield losses, allowing for even more compact reactors or further increased reactor throughput. The combination of short contact time catalysis with dynamic heat integration therefore appears ideally suited for small‐scale and decentralized syngas and hydrogen production. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 51: 210–223, 2005