Hydrogen production through partial oxidation of methane in a new reactor configuration

Performance of the side feeding (SF) air injection in the process of partial oxidation of methane (POM) has been investigated by means of developing a one-dimensional steady-state non-isothermal model. A fixed bed reactor (FBR), a one-side feeding reactor (One-SF), and a membrane reactor (MR) has been compared for the conversion of methane, selectivity of hydrogen and reactor temperature. The results of the model revealed that the One-SF can operate within FBR and MR, and increasing the number of air injections of SF could achieve to the performance of the MR. The performance of the two to five-SF was studied according to the hydrogen selectivity, methane conversion, temperature profile and H₂/CH₄ ratio. It was observed that increasing the number of injections up to the three, increased the selectivity of hydrogen from 0.496 to 0.530 and decreased the outlet temperature from 1269 K to 1078 K. These results lead to creating of a process with controllable operating temperature and enhancing the selectivity of hydrogen. Consequently, decreasing the problems of high operating temperature in FBR and reduction of the process cost compared with MR.