Stable hydrogen production by methane steam reforming in a two zone fluidized bed reactor: Experimental assessment

Abstract

The Two Zone Fluidized Bed Reactor concept is proposed for hydrogen production via the steam reforming of methane (SRM) including integrated catalyst regeneration. In order to study the effect of the contact mode, the oxidative SRM has been carried out over a Ni/Al2O3 catalyst using a fixed bed reactor (fBR), a conventional fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) and the proposed two-zone fluidized bed reactor (TZFBR). The technical feasibility of these reactors has been studied experimentally, investigating their performance (CH4 conversion, CO and H2 selectivity, and H2 global yield) and stability under different operating conditions.Coke generation in the process has been verified by several techniques. A stable performance was obtained in the TZFBR, where coke formation was counteracted with continuous catalyst regeneration. The viability of the TZFBR for carrying out this process with a valuable global yield to hydrogen is demonstrated.