Non-catalytic direct conversion of CH4 and CO2 into high-quality syngas

Abstract

Both partial oxidation and CO2 reforming can theoretically be used to produce syngas from natural gas. In this work, the possibility of combining the two methods is explored by the use of computational fluid dynamics with detailed chemical reaction mechanisms. It is showed that methane partial oxidation reactor being used industrially can be directly used to transfer CH4 and CO2 into syngas. The effect of the ratio, feed velocity and preheating temperature of the reactants are examined. The optimal overall ratio of reactants is 5:4:1 for CH4 to O2 to CO2, and the optimal preheating temperature and inlet velocity is 923 K and 200–300 m/s, respectively. The conversions of CH4 and CO2 are 99.88% and 46.85%, respectively, and the yields of CO and H2 are 90.8% and 65.13%, respectively. Cooling down the product can easily obtain the target product (syngas) from water vapor. These results suggest an economically competitive way to use the two greenhouse gases for the production of syngas.