Oxidative transformations of methane: From the fixed bed to nanoreactors

Oxidative transformations of methane on a catalyst (0.9 wt % of La₂O₃ + 0.1 wt % of CeO₂)/MgO located inside the pores of a ceramic membrane occur at temperatures as low as 550°C with a high selectivity that was not previously observed, and terminate mainly with the formation of synthesis gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen). The observed result is composed of the thermolysis reaction of methane yielding hydrogen and carbon, and comprises the subsequent reverse Buduar reaction. The reforming of carbon dioxide runs intensively when a methane-carbon dioxide mixture is fed into a membrane reactor at 650°C.

     

Dissolution kinetics of dehydroxylated nickeliferous goethite from limonitic lateritic nickel ore

The dissolution kinetics in 2 M H₂SO₄ of variously dehydroxylated nickeliferous goethites was investigated for five oxide-type lateritic nickel deposits. Goethite was the main constituent with minor amounts of quartz, talc, kaolinite and Mn oxides. Dissolution of Fe from heated materials followed the Kabai equation. There was a 9–34-fold increase in the Kabai dissolution rate constant (k) for samples heated at 340–400 °C due to both the increased surface area (1.5–2.6 fold) and higher density of structural defects (5–10 fold) in the variously dehydroxylated products. The presence of structural Al and Cr in goethite appears to reduce dissolution rate possibly through the greater M³⁺–OH, O bond strength relative to Fe³⁺, Ni²⁺–OH, O. Nickel showed congruent dissolution with Fe indicating that Ni was uniformly incorporated in the goethite structure. Pre-heating goethite to 600–800 °C for 30 min resulted in incongruent dissolution of Fe and Ni. It is postulated that some Ni is ejected from the neo-formed hematite structure and resides on the crystal surface or in voids. These results may contribute to the development of more efficient procedures for Ni extraction including heap leaching of lateritic nickel ores.     

Acid-base properties and the directions of oxidative transformation of methane over nickel-based catalysts

The reactions of dry (CO₂) reforming and partial oxidation of methane have been investigated in a membrane reactor. The membrane is composed of a dense thin silica (SiO₂) film supported on porous Vycor tubes and was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. The hydrogen permeance of the membrane was 0.2–0.3 cm³/(cm² min atm) at 600°C combined with a H₂/N₂ selectivity of 200–300. Significant increases in methane conversion were attained in both reactions at 500–750°C, albeit at very low space velocities. The membrane permeance declined by 50% after exposure to feeds containing H₂O, but otherwise exhibited excellent stability under reaction conditions.     

Performance of an oxygen-permeable membrane reactor for partial oxidation of methane in coke oven gas to syngas

Perovskite-type oxygen-permeable membrane reactors of BaCo_0.7Fe_0.2Nb_0.1O_3−δ packed with Ni-based catalyst had high oxygen permeability and could be used for syngas production by partial oxidation of methane in coke oven gas (COG). The BCFNO membrane itself had a poor catalytic activity to partial oxidation of CH₄ in COG. After the catalyst was packed on the membrane surface, 92% of methane conversion, 90% of H₂ selectivity, 104% of CO selectivity and as high as 15 ml/cm²/min of oxygen permeation flux were obtained at 1148 K. During continuously operating for 550 h at 1148 K, no degradation of performance of the BCFNO membrane reactor was observed under the condition of hydrogen-rich COG. The possible reaction pathways were proposed to be an oxidation-reforming process. The oxidation of H₂ in COG with the surface oxygen on the permeation side improves the oxygen flux through the membrane, and H₂O reacts with CH₄ by reforming reactions to form H₂ and CO.     

Steam carbon gasification of a nickel based oxygen carrier

Ni-based oxygen carriers are promising candidates for Chemical Looping applications due to a combination of excellent methane conversion performance, mechanical stability, oxygen transfer capacity. However, experiments conducted on NiO/NiAl₂O₄ in a micro-fluidized bed reactor show that methane forms coke on active nickel sites. In subsequent tests, water vapour was fed to the coked Ni oxygen carrier producing a highly concentrated stream of CO/H₂ (1/1). In the absence of water vapour, production of hydrogen dropped with time while a methane/argon mixture was fed to the reactor. Co-feeding water together with methane improves stability - both H₂ production and carbon deposition were constant for over 1 h. Despite the tremendous lay down of carbon, catalytic activity remained stable at levels as low as 3 vol.% water vapour (and 10% methane). Water vapour is an effective oxidant for Ni(0) but is insufficient to entirely re-oxidize the oxygen carrier from Ni to NiO.     

Effect of the crystallinity of kaolinite precursors on the properties of mesoporous silicas

Mesoporous silicas (MesoPSs) were hydrothermally synthesized from calcined and selectively acid-leached kaolinites with a range of crystallinity, using cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTABr), to investigate the effect of the kaolinite crystallinity on the porous properties of the resulting MesoPSs. Four kaolinites were used, with Hinckley indices ranging from 0.51 to 1.20 and (001) crystallite sizes ranging from 20 to 37 nm. After calcination at 600 °C for 24 h they were selectively leached with 2.5 M H₂SO₄ at 90 °C for 2 h to prepare microporous silica (MicroPSs). The Si/Al ratios of these MicroPSs varied from 21 to 82 and their specific surface areas (S_BET) ranged from 169 to 370 m²/g, these parameters tending to increase with decreasing Hinckley index of the kaolinite. MesoPSs were synthesized by reacting the resulting MicroPSs with CTABr in NaOH solution under hydrothermal conditions. The MicroPS was mixed with CTABr, NaOH and water in the molar ratio (MicroPS):CTABr:NaOH:H₂O = 1:0.1:0.3:150. The synthesis was carried out by stirring the suspension at room temperature for 24 h, aging for 24 h, hydrothermal treatment at 110 °C for 24 h and calcination at 560 °C for 6 h to remove the surfactants. The S_BET values of the resulting MesoPSs ranged from 932 to 1240 m²/g, correlating with the S_BET values of the precursor MicroPS and the crystallinity of the kaolinite starting materials.     

Flame-synthesized LaCoO3-supported Pd: 2. Catalytic behavior in the reduction of NO by H2 under lean conditions

A 0.5 wt% Pd/LaCoO₃, prepared by flame-spray pyrolysis (FP), was tested as catalyst for the low-temperature selective reduction of NO by H₂ in the presence of excess O₂. In particular, the effect of the precalcination and prereduction temperature on catalytic activity was compared with that of a similar Pd/LaCoO₃ sample prepared by impregnation with a Pd solution of FP-prepared LaCoO₃. The FP-made catalyst allowed full NO conversion at 150 °C, with 78% selectivity to N₂, thus outperforming the catalytic behavior of the corresponding sample prepared by impregnation. The higher activity of the FP-made catalyst has been attributed to the formation of segregated Co metal particles, not present in the impregnated sample, formed during the precalcination at 800 °C, followed by reduction at 300 °C. Two reaction mechanisms can be deduced from the temperature-programmed experiments. The first of these, occurring at lower temperatures, indicates cooperation between the Pd and Co metal particles, with formation of active nitrates on cobalt, successively reduced by hydrogen spillover from Pd. The second, occurring at higher temperature, allows 50% conversion of NO, with >90% selectivity to N₂, and involves N adatoms formed by dissociative NO adsorption over Pd. Prereduction at 600 °C led to a slight increase in catalytic activity, due to the formation of a PdCo alloy, which is more stable on reoxidization compared with Pd alone. Moreover, the cooperative reaction mechanism seems to be favored by the proximity of Co and Pd in metal particles.     

An experimental investigation of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis over washcoated metallic structured supports

In principle, the application of monolithic catalysts to the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis can solve many of the problems related to the classical Fischer–Tropsch reactors, in particular concerning the necessity to operate with short diffusion distances and low pressure drops, preferably according to the ideal plug-flow behavior, while still maintaining a reasonable inventory of catalytic material in the reactor volume.The preparation of prototype cobalt-based catalysts, washcoated onto metallic structured supports with different geometries, is described herein, together with the evaluation of the catalytic properties of such systems in the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis at industrially relevant process conditions (220–235 °C, 20 bar, 2.1  mol_H2/mol_CO,  5000 cm³(STP)_CO+H2/h/g_cat). Comparative tests with the same catalyst in the powdered form were also carried out at the same process conditions.It was found that the structured catalysts maintained the activity and the selectivity of the original powdered catalyst, provided that the washcoat thickness is sufficiently thin.     

Stable equilibrium shift of methane steam reforming in membrane reactors with hydrogen‐selective silica membranes

Equilibrium shifts of methane steam reforming in membrane reactors consisting of either tetramethoxysilane‐derived amorphous hydrogen‐selective silica membrane and rhodium catalysts, or hexamethyldisiloxane‐derived membrane and nickel catalysts is experimentally demonstrated. The hexamethyldisiloxane‐derived silica membrane showed stable permeance as high as 8 × 10^?8 mol m^?2 s^?1 Pa^?1 of H₂ after exposure to 76 kPa of vapor pressure at 773 K for 60 h, which was a much better performance than that from the tetramethoxysilane‐derived silica membrane. Furthermore, the better silica membrane also maintained selectivity of H₂/N₂ as high as 10³ under the above hydrothermal conditions. The degree of the equilibrium shifts under various feedrate and pressure conditions coincided with the order of H₂ permeance. In addition, the equilibrium shift of methane steam reforming was stable for 30 h with an S/C ratio of 2.5 at 773 K using a membrane reactor integrated with hexamethyldisiloxane‐derived membrane and nickel catalyst. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

The Effect of Pressure in Membrane Reactors: Trade-Off in Permeability and Equilibrium Conversion in the Catalytic Reforming of CH4 with CO2 at High Pressure

The antagonistic effects of pressure on reaction equilibrium and permeability were studied for the first time in a membrane reactor (MR). The reaction employed was the catalytic dry-reforming of methane with carbon dioxide (CH₄ + CO₂ ? 2CO + 2H₂) which produces a net increase in moles and is disfavored by high pressure. The studies were conducted at non-equilibrium conditions in a MR containing a hydrogen-selective ceramic membrane and a packed-bed reactor (PBR) at various pressures (1–20 atm) and temperatures (873 and 923 K) using a Rh/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Because of the concurrent and selective removal of hydrogen from the reaction in the MR significant enhancements over the PBR in the yields for H₂ (>170%) and CO (>130%) in the reaction products were obtained. However, as pressure was increased the enhancement in H₂ and CO yields in the MR went through a maximum and then declined. This occurred because, although the rate of hydrogen separation increased with increasing pressure, the conversions of the reactants decreased with increasing pressure. Thus, the maximum was due to a tradeoff between a transport property (hydrogen separation) and a thermodynamic quantity (hydrogen production) which had opposing pressure dependencies. It was also found that the reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) reaction (H₂ + CO₂ ? CO + H₂O) occurred simultaneously with the reforming reaction, and at high pressures significantly reduced the amount of hydrogen production in favor of water. The results are general and make the dry-reforming reaction impractical for commercial hydrogen generation regardless of the type of catalyst or reactor used.     

Partial oxidation of CH4 with air to produce pure hydrogen and syngas

The gas–solid reaction between methane and the lattice oxygen of Ni, Co, and Fe-oxides loaded on various support materials produced a synthesis gas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) at 600–800 °C. Metal oxides were reduced to metals or lower valence oxides, and they were re-oxidized to oxides by introducing air after the reaction. Thus, production of hydrogen or synthesis gas free from nitrogen can be achieved alternatively without using pure oxygen. As a metal oxide, Fe₂O₃ and Rh₂O₃-loaded on Y₂O₃ exhibited the highest H₂ selectivity of 60.1% with a moderate CH₄ conversion of 54% and a high lattice oxygen utilization of 84% at 800 °C.     

Partial oxidation of methane and the effect of sulfur on catalytic activity and selectivity

Partial oxidation of methane into syngas was conducted over fresh and sulfided catalysts at a temperature range of 450–750 °C. The temperature dependence of conversion, H₂/CO ratio, and the CO₂ concentration were measured for both fresh and sulfided catalysts. Regardless of metal type, metal loading, support type, and the methods of preparation it appears that all the fresh catalysts were very active and conversions of higher than 70% with H₂/CO ratio of about 2 were observed at 750 °C. Pulse sulfidation appears to be reversible for some of the catalysts but not for all. Under pulse sulfidation conditions, the Rh(0.5%)/Al₂O₃ and NiMg₂O_x-1100 °C (solid solution) catalysts were fully regenerated after reduction with hydrogen. Rh catalyst showed the best overall activity, less carbon deposition, both fresh and when it was exposed to pulses of H₂S. Sulfidation under steady-state conditions, flowing H₂S/Ar mixture over the catalysts, significantly reduce catalyst activity. The catalysts were characterized before and after reaction with H₂S using temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) and reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction, and XPS.     

钙钛矿型混合导体透氧膜SrFe0.6Cu0.3Ti0.1O3－δ的制备与表征

Dense membrane with the composition of SrFe0.6Cu0.3Ti0.1O3-δ （SFCTO） was prepared by solid state reaction method. Oxygen permeation flux through this membrane was investigated at operating temperature ranging from 750℃ to 950℃ and different oxygen partial pressure. XRD measurements indicated that the compound was able to form single-phased perovskite structure in which part of Fe was replaced by Cu and Ti. The oxygen desorption and the reducibility of SFCTO powder were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and temperature programmed reduction analysis, respectively. It was found that SFCTO had good structure stability under low oxygen pressure at high temperature. The addition of Ti increased the reduction temperature of Cu and Fe. Performance tests showed that the oxygen permeation flux through a 1.5 mm thick SFCTO membrane was 0.35-0.96 ml·min ^-1·cm^-2 under air/helium oxygen partial pressure gradient with activation energy of 53.2 kJ·mol^-1. The methane conversion of 85%, CO selectivity of 90% and comparatively higher oxygen permeation flux of 5 ml·min^-1·cm^- 2 were achieved at 850℃, when a SFCTO membrane reactor loaded with Ni-Ce/Al2O3 catalyst was applied for the partial oxidation of methane to syngas.     

La1−xSrxFeO3−δ perovskites as redox materials for application in a membrane reactor for simultaneous production of pure hydrogen and synthesis gas

This work reports on the preparation and characterization of perovskitic materials with the general formula La_1−xSr_xFeO₃ (x = 0, 0.3, 0.7, 1) for application in a dense mixed conducting membrane reactor process for simultaneous production of synthesis gas and pure hydrogen. Thermogravimetric experiments indicated that the materials are able to loose and uptake reversibly oxygen from their lattice up to 0.2 oxygen atoms per “mole” for SrFeO₃ with x = 1 at 1000 °C. The capability of the prepared powders to convert CH₄ during the reduction step, in order to produce synthesis gas, as well as their capability to dissociate water during the oxidation step, in order to produce hydrogen were evaluated by pulse reaction experiments in a fixed bed pulse reactor. The high sintering temperatures (1100-1300 °C) required for the densification of the membrane materials result in decreased methane conversion and H₂ yields during the reduction step compared to the corresponding values obtained with the perovskite powders calcined at 1000 °C. Addition of small quantities of NiO, by simple mechanical mixing, to the perovskites after their sintering at high temperatures, increases substantially both their methane decomposition reactivity, their selectivity towards CO and H₂ and their water splitting activity. Maximum H₂ yield during the reduction step is achieved with the La_0.7Sr_0.3FeO₃ sample mixed with 5% NiO and is 80% of the theoretically expected H₂, based on complete methane decomposition. In the oxidation - water splitting step, 912 μmol H₂ per gr solid are produced with the La_0.3Sr_0.7FeO₃ sample mixed with 5% NiO. The experimental results of this work can be equally well applied for the “chemical-looping reforming” process since they concern using the lattice oxygen of the perovskite oxides for methane partial oxidation to syngas, in the absence of molecular oxygen, and subsequent oxidation of the solid.     

Autothermal Reforming of Methane with Integrated CO2 Capture in a Novel Fluidized Bed Membrane Reactor. Part 2 Comparison of Reactor Configurations

The reactor performance of two novel fluidized bed membrane reactor configurations for hydrogen production with integrated CO₂ capture by autothermal reforming of methane (experimentally investigated in Part 1) have been compared using a phenomenological reactor model over a wide range of operating conditions (temperature, pressure, H₂O/CH₄ ratio and membrane area). It was found that the methane combustion configuration (where part of the CH₄ is combusted in situ with pure O₂) largely outperforms the hydrogen combustion concept (oxidative sweeping combusting part of the permeated H₂) at low H₂O/CH₄ ratios (<2) due to in situ steam production, but gives a slightly lower hydrogen production rate at higher H₂O/CH₄ ratios due to dilution with combustion products. The CO selectivity was always much lower with the methane combustion configuration. Whether the methane combustion or hydrogen combustion configuration is preferred depends strongly on the economics associated with the H₂O/CH₄ ratio.     

Influence of substrate temperature on formation of ultrananocrystalline diamond films deposited by HFCVD argon-rich gas mixture

The influence of the substrate temperature on the formation of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films, prepared by an argon-based hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD), is discussed in this work. The gas mixture used for diamond growth was 1 vol.% methane, 9 vol.% hydrogen and 90 vol.% argon at a total flow rate of 200 sccm and at a total pressure of 30 Torr. The substrate temperature range was from 550 to 850 °C at deposition time of 8 h. Mass growth rate was determined at different deposition temperatures. The activation energy for UNCD growth, determined from the Arrhenius plot, was lower (5.7 kcal/mol) than the values found for standard diamond deposition (around 11 kcal/mol). In this work, we suggest that the activation energy was lower because the growth of these films occurs at conditions that there is a high growth competition between diamond phase and sp² phases. To support this hypothesis, systematic characterization studies based on Raman scattering spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffractometry and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy were performed.     

Plasma catalytic methane conversion over sol–gel derived Ru/TiO2 catalyst in a dielectric-barrier discharge reactor

Plasma catalytic methane conversion was carried out in the presence of sol–gel derived Ru/TiO₂ catalysts within a dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. Plasma-assisted reduction (PAR) was applied to reduce the prepared Ru/TiO₂ catalysts in DBD reactor, and most of the catalysts were successively reduced by PAR within 15 min. The highest methane conversion was obtained when 5 wt% Ru/TiO₂ catalysts were used after calcination at 400 °C. The selectivities of light alkanes (C₂H₆, C₃H₈, C₄H₁₀) were highly increased when Ru/TiO₂ catalysts were used in DBD reactor.     

Fluidised bed membrane reactor for ultrapure hydrogen production via methane steam reforming: Experimental demonstration and model validation

Hydrogen is emerging as a future alternative for mobile and stationary energy carriers in addition to its use in chemical and petrochemical applications. A novel multifunctional reactor concept has been developed for the production of ultrapure hydrogen from light hydrocarbons such as methane for online use in downstream polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. A high degree of process intensification can be achieved by integrating perm-selective hydrogen membranes for selective hydrogen removal to shift the methane steam reforming and water-gas-shift equilibriums in the favourable direction and perm-selective oxygen membranes for selective oxygen addition to supply the required reaction energy via partial oxidation of part of the methane feed and enable pure CO₂ capture without costly post-treatment. This can be achieved in a proposed novel multifunctional bi-membrane bi-section fluidised bed reactor [Patil, C.S., van Sint Annaland, M., Kuipers, J.A.M., 2005. Design of a novel autothermal membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor for the production of ultrapure hydrogen from methane. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 44, 9502-9512]. In this paper, an experimental proof of principle for the steam reforming/water-gas-shift section of the proposed novel fluidised bed membrane reactor is presented. A fluidised bed membrane reactor for steam reforming of methane/water-gas-shift on a commercial noble metal-based catalyst has been designed and constructed using 10 H₂ perm-selective Pd membranes for a fuel cell power output in the range of 50-100 W. It has been experimentally demonstrated that by the insertion of the membranes in the fluidised bed, the thermodynamic equilibrium constraints can indeed be overcome, i.e., increased CH₄ conversion, decreased CO selectivity and higher product yield (H₂ produced/CH₄ reacted). Experiments at different superficial gas velocities and also at different temperatures and pressures (carried out in the regime without kinetic limitations) revealed enhanced reactor performance at higher temperatures and pressures (3-4 bar). With a phenomenological two-phase reactor model for the fluidised bed membrane reactor, incorporating a separately developed lumped flux expression for the H₂ permeation rate through the used Pd-based membranes, the measured data from the fluidised bed membrane reactor could be well described, provided that axial gas back-mixing in the membrane-assisted fluidised bed reactor is negligible. This indicates that the membrane reactor behaviour approached that of an ideal isothermal plug flow reactor with maximum H₂ permeation.     

Thermal desorption spectra of hydrogenated and water treated diamond powders

The thermal desorption mass spectra of hydrogenated and water treated diamond powders were measured in the range from room temperature to 1250°C. After preliminary outgassing up to 1150°C, samples were either hydrogenated under 1 Pa hydrogen at 500–1000°C or treated in water vapor at room temperature to 800°C. Hydrogenated diamond exhibited two desorption peaks due to H₂ at about 900 and 1050°C, while water treated one desorbed mainly H₂ and CO, and small amounts of H₂O and CO₂. Oxidation after hydrogenation and treatment with a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen showed some correlation between adsorption states of hydrogen and oxygen. The maximum amount of hydrogen desorbed (0.81 × 10¹⁵atom/cm²) was only one-third of the valu estimated as full surface coverage.     

Production of H2 from catalytic partial oxidation of H2S in a short-contact-time reactor

Partial oxidation of H₂S over alumina catalysts in a short-contact-time reactor (SCTR) has been shown to yield hydrogen, sulfur and water as the predominant products. At a set temperature of 400 °C and a contact time of 13 ms, the conversion of H₂S is 64.6% with a H₂ selectivity of 20.8%, while the amount of SO₂ in the products was <0.5% of the input H₂S.