Catalytic partial oxidation of methane in a novel heat-integrated wall reactor

A novel reactor has been developed and applied in the reaction of partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas. The reactor consists of a ceramic tube in the inner and outer surface of which a metal catalyst film is deposited. The CH₄/O₂ feed enters into the tube and a large fraction of the heat generated on the wall by methane combustion is transported across the tube wall towards the outer catalyst film, where the endothermic reforming reactions take place. In this way, the temperature in the combustion zone is controlled and hot spots are significantly reduced in magnitude. Initial results presented in this work demonstrate the feasibility of the concept. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.