Experimental demonstration of a sorption-enhanced methanation (SEM) cyclic process on a lab-scale TRL-3 fixed bed reactor

Abstract

In this work, the scaling-up of the sorption-enhanced methanation (SEM) process to a TRL-3 fixed bed reactor has been demonstrated. The SEM process for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production consists mainly of two stages: in the first stage, the zeolite facilitates the removal of a product from the methanation reaction, thereby enhancing CO/CO2 conversion; in the second stage, zeolite regeneration takes place. The functional materials chosen were a zeolite 4A and a Nickel-based catalyst, selected for their high H2O adsorption capacity and high catalytic activity, respectively. Various operational variables, including temperature and pressure, were optimized during both SEM and regeneration stages to enhance the performance of the process. Optimum regeneration conditions consisted of pressure swing operation—from 10 bar during the SEM reaction to atmospheric pressure—while maintaining a constant temperature at 230°C. These operating conditions were tested for more than 20 SEM/regeneration cycles using a feed gas containing H2/CO/CO2. Stable performance throughout the cycles was fulfilled, reaching a CH4 purity of 100 % during 25 min during SEM for the operating conditions chosen. Finally, the number of reactors needed to obtain a continuous stream of CH4 was calculated resulting in a process productivity of 8.00×10-4 molCH4/kgcat·s.