The Importance of Natural Gas Reforming

Abstract

Natural gas is a fossil fuel found in nature reserves, associated or not with petroleum. Its composition is a mixture of light hydrocarbons, generally alkanes, which are normally gaseous at room temperature. Methane is the most abundant gas, accounting for more than 85% of the natural gas, and the other constituents are light alkanes such as ethane, propane, butane, among others. The percentages of each constituent of natural gas vary depending on factors such as geological formation of the reservoir rock, as well as the type of organic matter that gave rise to the natural gas found. Recently, natural gas has attracted the interest of many researchers and the large amount of methane contained in natural gas has been considered an input in the production of other high-value products such as syngas and high purity hydrogen. Considering the global trend toward environmental preservation, which emphasizes clean and sustainable energy generation, it can be said that the interest of researchers for natural gas will increase significantly from now on (Odell & Rosing, 1983). The interest in natural gas is directly related to the search for alternatives to replace petroleum-based fuels and for generating energy from sources less aggressive to the environment. This behavior resulted in the intensification of research and exploration, particularly among developing countries. The result was not only the increase in proven oil reserves but also in its geographic expansion (the existence of reserves and the possibility of their exploitation must be proven by tests). Until 1970, these reserves were concentrated in a few regions of the world, like North America and the former Soviet Union (ANEEL, 2008). Awareness of the imminent scarcity of oil in the next decades is stimulating the search for a fuel that can partially replace petroleum-based fuels. Worldwide reserves of natural gas are under-exploited because they are not as valuable as the petroleum reserves. In some cases, when natural gas is associated with oil reserves, while the valuable petroleum is fully exploited, the associated gas of the same reserves is considered undesirable, volatilized into the atmosphere or burnt in the platform’s flare. Fortunately, though, this situation is gradually changing, and natural gas is getting more attention, due to the growing need to produce hydrogen from hydrocarbons. Among the fossil fuels, natural gas is the most suitable for this application (Fishtik et al., 2000). Energy generation is fundamental to the socioeconomic development of a country or region. Somehow, it is present in the entire chain of production, distribution and comsumption of goods and services. Equally important is the role of technology in the balanced and sustainable development of various economic sectors, especially power generation. The 3