The Impact of Operating Conditions on the Performance of a CH4 Dry Reforming Membrane Reactor for H2 Production

Abstract

Biogas is a promising resource for the production of H2 since it liberates energy by recycling waste, along with the reduction of CO2. In this paper, the biogas dry reforming membrane reactor is proposed to produce H2 for use in fuel cells. Pd/Cu alloy membrane is used to enhance the performance of the biogas dry reforming reactor. This study aims at understanding the effect of operating parameters such as feed ratio of sweep gas, pressure in the reactor, and reaction temperature on the performance of the biogas dry reforming membrane reactor. The effect of the molar ratio of the supplied CH2:CO2, feed ratio of the sweep gas, and the valve located at the outlet of the reaction chamber on the performance of biogas dry reforming are investigated. Besides, the thermal efficiency of the proposed reactor is also evaluated. The results show that the concentration of H2 in the closed valve condition is higher than that of the open valve, and the optimum feed ratio of the sweep gas to produce H2 is 1, irrespective of the molar ratio of supplied CH2:CO2. Also, H2 selectivity and CO selectivity increases and decreases respectively when the reaction temperature increases, irrespective of the molar ratio of supplied CH2:CO2. Therefore, the thermal efficiency of the closed valve is higher than that of the opened valve. Also, the thermal efficiency is the maximum when the feed ratio of the sweep gas is 1 due to high H2 production performance.