CeO_2 as the Oxygen Carrier for Partial Oxidation of Methane to Synthesis Gas in Molten Salts: Thermodynamic Analysis and Experimental Investigation

A new technique -- the direct partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas using lattice oxygen in molten salts medium has been introduced. Using CeO2 as the oxygen carrier, thermodynamic data were calculated in the reaction process, and the results indicated that direct partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas using lattice oxygen of cerium oxide is feasible in theory. In a stainless steel reactor, the effects of temperature and varying amounts of γ-Al2O3 supported CeO2 on cn4 conversion, H2 and CO selectivity, were investigated, respectively. The results show that 10% CeO2/γ-Al2O3 has the maximal reaction activity at a temperature of 865 ℃ and above, the H2/CO ratio in the gas that has been produced reaches 2 and the CH4 conversion, H2 and CO selectivity reached the following percentages： i.e. 61%, 89%, and 91% at 870 ℃, respectively. In addition, increase of reaction temperature is favorable for the partial oxidation of methane.

Oscillations during partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over Ru/Al_2O_3 catalyst

Oscillations in temperatures of catalyst bed as well as concentrations of gas phase species at the exit of reactor were observed during the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over Ru/Al2O3 in the temperature range of 600 to 850℃. XRD, H2-TPR and in situ Raman techniques was used to characterize the catalyst. Two types of ruthenium species, i.e. the ruthenium species weakly interacted with Al2O3 and that strongly interacted with the support, were identified by H2-TPR experiment. These species are responsible for two types of oscillation profiles observed during the reaction. The oscillations were the result of these ruthenium species switching cyclically between the oxidized state and the reduced state under the reaction condition. These cyclic transformations, in turn, were the result of temperature variations caused by the varying levels of the strongly exothermic CH4 combustion and the highly endothermic CH4 reforming （with H2O and CO2） reactions （or the less exothermic direct partial oxidation of methane to CO and H2）, which were favored by the oxidized and the metallic sites, respectively. The major pathway of synthesis gas formation over the catalyst was via the combustion-reforming mechanism.

Partial Oxidation of Methane to Synthesis Gas over Hexaaluminates LaMAl_(11)O_(19-δ) catalysts

A series of M-substituted hexaaluminates LaMAl11O19-δ （M=Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, and Cu） were prepared and characterized by XRD, XPS, TPR and TGA techniques, respectively. They exhibited different reducibility and catalytic activity for partial oxidation of methane （POM） to synthesis gas. Among the LaMAl11019-δ samples, LaNiAl11O19-δ showed the best catalytic activity for the topic reaction and selectivity for synthesis gas at 780 ℃ for 2 h. The conversion of CH4 was over 99.2%, and the product selectivity for both CO and H2 was above 90.3%.

Methane Oxidation to Synthesis Gas Using Lattice Oxygen of La_(1-x)Sr_xMO_(3-λ)(M =Fe,Mn) Perovskite Oxides Instead of Molecular Oxygen

In this paper, the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas using lattice oxygen of La1- SrxMO3-λ (M=Fe, x Mn) perovskite oxides instead of molecular oxygen was investigated. The redox circulation between 11% O2/Ar flow and 11% CH4/He flow at 900℃ shows that methane can be oxidized to CO and H2 with a selectivity of over 90.7% using the lattice oxygen of La1- SrxFeO3-λ (x≤0.2) perovskite oxides in an appropriate reaction condition, while the lost lattice x oxygen can be supplemented by air re-oxidation. It is viable for the lattice oxygen of La1- SrxFeO3-λ (x≤0.2) perovskite x oxides instead of molecular oxygen to react with methane to synthesis gas in the redox mode.

Advances in the Partial Oxidation of Methane to Sy thesis Gas

The conversion and utilization of natural gas is of significant meaning to the national economy, even to the everyday life of people. However, it has not become a popular industrial process as expected due to the technical obstacles. In the past decades, much investigation into the conversion of methane, predominant component of natural gas, has been carried out. Among the possible routes, of methane conversion, the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas is considered as an effective and economically feasible one. In this article, a brief review of recent studies on the mechanism of the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas together with catalyst development is wherein presented.

Recent Results on Fast Flow Gas-Phase Partial Oxidation of Lower Alkanes

Recent experimental results and kinetic modeling of fast flow gas-phase oxidation of methane and other lower alkanes to methanol and other oxygenates are discussed, alongside with prospects and possible areas for applications of the processes.

Performance of a tubular oxygen-permeable membrane reactor for partial oxidation of CH_4 in coke oven gas to syngas

A gas-tight BaCo 0.7 Fe 0.2 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ（BCFNO） tubular membrane was fabricated by hot pressure casting.And a membrane reactor with BCFNO tubular membrane and Ag-based sealant was readily constructed and applied to partial oxidation of CH4 in coke oven gas.At 875 ℃,95% of methane conversion,91% of H 2 and as high as 10 ml cm-2·min-1 of oxygen permeation flux were obtained.There was a good match in the coefficient of thermal expansion between Ag-based alloy and BCFNO membrane materials.The tubular BCFNO membrane reactor packed with Ni-based catalysts exhibited not only high activity but also good stability in hydrogen-enriched coke oven gas（COG） atmosphere.

Modeling of microreactor for syngas production by catalytic partial oxidation of methane

Fixed-bed reactors for the catalytic partial oxidation of methane （CPOM） to produce synthesis gas still pose hot spots problems.Microreactor is a good alternative reactor proposed to resolve these problems.In this paper,synthesis gas （hydrogen and carbon monoxide） production was investigated by a two-dimensional numerical model of single microchannel.Computational fluid dynamic （CFD） modeling with detailed chemistry was conducted to understand the CPOM on platinum （Pt） catalyst.Gas inlet velocity,microchannel pressure,and fuel to air ratio （F/A） are selected as the effective parameters on microchannel performance.Study results show that Reynolds number has considerable effect on methane conversion,hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio （H2/CO）,and product distribution.Increasing gas inlet velocity causes all the above parameters to decrease.It is noted that increasing microchannel pressure and decreasing the ratio of fuel to air cause the decrease of the H2/CO ratio.

Numerical study on soot removal in partial oxidation of methane to syngas reactors

The serious carbon deposition existing in catalytic partial oxidation of methane(CPOM) to syngas process is one of the key problems that impede its industrialization. In this study, 3-dimensional unsteady numerical simulations of the soot formation and oxidation in oxidation section in a heat coupling reactor were carried out by computational fluid dynamics(CFD) approach incorporating the Moss-Brookes model for soot formation. The model has been validated and proven to be in good agreement with experiment results. Effects of nozzle type,nozzle convergence angle, channel spacing, number of channels, radius/height ratio, oxygen/carbon ratio, preheat temperature and additional introduction of steam on the soot formation were simulated. Results show that the soot formation in oxidation section of the heat coupling reactor depends on both nozzle structures and operation conditions, and the soot concentration can be greatly reduced by optimization with the maximum mass fraction of soot inside the oxidation reactor from 2.28% to 0.0501%, and so that the soot mass fraction at the exit reduces from0.74% to 0.03%.

Effect of CeO_2 and CaO Promoters on Ignition Performance for Partial Oxidation of Methane over Ni/MgO-Al_2O_3 Catalyst

The effect of CeO2 and CaO promoters on the ignition performance over Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst for the partial oxidation of methane （POM） to synthesis gas was investigated. It was found that the POM reaction could not be ignited over lwt%Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst without the promoters in the temperature range from 773 K to 1073 K. CeO2 and CaO promoters enhanced the ignition performance and the POM reactivity of lwt%Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst remarkably. Moreover, the improving effect became greater with the increase of the promoter content under the investigated reactiorrconditions. The modification effects of CeO2 and CaO promoters were closely related to the concentration and reducibility of the surface and bulk oxygen species.

Plasma Treatment of Ni Catalyst for Partial Oxidation of Methane

The 10%Ni/Al_2O_3 catalyst for partial oxidation of methane was treated byDBD (dielectric barrier discharge) plasma in a continuous system under atmospheric pressure and roomtemperature by flowing He. It was found that 10%Ni/Al_2O_3 catalyst treated by plasma presents ahigher catalytic activity and an enhanced stability than the catalysts prepared without plasmatreatment. The methane conversion over the catalyst treated by plasma is 3%-5% higher than thecatalysts untreated by plasma. Moreover, the enhanced dispersion of the catalyst can be achieved byplasma treatment, which can improve the interaction between active species and supports, catalyticactivity and the resistance to carbon deposition.

Low-temperature utilization of CO_2 and CH_4 by combining partial oxidation with reforming of methane over Ru-based catalysts

Combination of partial oxidation of methane （POM） with carbon dioxide reforming of methane （CRM） has been studied over Ru-based catalysts at 550℃.POM,CRM and combined reaction were performed over 8wt%Ru/γ-Al2O 3 and the results show that both POM and CRM contribute to the combined reaction,between which POM plays a more important role.Moreover,the addition of Ce to Ru-based catalyst results in an improvement in the activity and CO selectivity under the adopted reaction conditions.The Ce-doped catalyst was characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption,SEM,XRD,TPR,XPS and in situ DRIFTS.The mechanism has been studied by in situ DRIFTS together with the temperature distribution of catalyst bed.The mechanism of the combined reaction is more complicated and it is the combination of POM and CRM mechanisms in nature.The present paper provides a new catalytic system to activate CH4 and CO2 at a rather low temperature.

Visualizing the importance of oxide-metal phase transitions in the production of synthesis gas over Ni catalysts

Synthesis gas, composed of H2 and CO, is an important fuel which serves as feedstock for industrially relevant processes, such as methanol or ammonia synthesis. The efficiency of these reactions depends on the H2: CO ratio, which can be controlled by a careful choice of reactants and catalyst surface chemistry.Here, using a combination of environmental scanning electron microscopy(ESEM) and online mass spectrometry, direct visualization of the surface chemistry of a Ni catalyst during the production of synthesis gas was achieved for the first time. The insertion of a homebuilt quartz tube reactor in the modified ESEM chamber was key to success of the setup. The nature of chemical dynamics was revealed in the form of reversible oxide-metal phase transitions and surface transformations which occurred on the performing catalyst. The oxide-metal phase transitions were found to control the production of synthesis gas in the temperature regime between 700 and 900 ℃ in an atmosphere relevant for dry reforming of methane(DRM, CO2: CH4=0.75). This was confirmed using high resolution transmission electron microscopy imaging, electron energy loss spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and C18O2 labelled experiments.Our dedicated operando approach of simultaneously studying the surface processes of a catalyst and its activity allowed to uncover how phase transitions can steer catalytic reactions.

Comparison of LaFeO_3,La_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)FeO_3,and La_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)Fe_(0.9)CO_(0.1)O_3 perovskite oxides as oxygen carrier for partial oxidation of methane

Comparison of LaFeO3, La0.8Sr0.2FeO3, and La0.8Sr0.2Fe0.9CO0.1O3 perovskite oxides as oxygen carrier for partial oxidation of methane in the absence of gaseous oxygen was investigated by continuous flow reaction and sequential redox reaction, Methane was oxidized to syngas with high selectivity by oxygen species of perovskite oxides in the absence of gaseous oxygen. The sequential redox reaction revealed that the structural stability and continuous oxygen supply in redox reaction decreased over La0.8Sr0.2Fe0.9Co0. 1O3 oxide, while LaFeO3 and La0.8Sr0.2FeO3 exhibited excellent structural stability and continuous oxygen supply.

Transformation of methane to synthesis gas over metal oxides without using catalyst

This article reviews a new developing method in the field of metal oxide reduction in chemical and metallurgical processes, which uses methane as a reducing agent. Commonly, coal is used as the reducing agent in the reduction of metal oxide and other inorganic materials; Metal producing factories are among the most intensive and concentrated source of greenhouse gases and other pollutants such as heavy metals, sulfur dioxide and fly ash. Thermodynamically, methane has a great reducing capability and can be activated to produce synthesis gas over a metal oxide as an oxygen donor. Metal oxide reduction and methane activation, two concurrent thermochemical processes, can be combined as an efficient and energy-saving process; nowadays this kind of technologies is of great importance. This new reduction process could improve energy efficiencies and significantly decrease greenhouse gas emission compared to the conventional process; furthermore, the produced gases are synthesis gas that is more valuable than methane. In this paper, thermodynamic studies and advantages of this promising method were discussed. The major aim of this article is to introduce methane as a best and environmentally friendly reducing agent at low temperature.

In situ time-resolved FTIR investigation on the reaction mechanism of partial oxidation of methane to syngas over supported Rh and Ru catalysts

In situ time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy was used to study the reaction mechanism of partial oxidation of methane (POM) to synthesis gas and the reaction of CH4/O2/He (2/1/45, molar ratio) gas mixture with adsorbed CO species over Rh/SiO2, Ru/γ-Al2O3 and Ru/SiO2 catalysts at 500-600℃. It was found that CO is the primary product of POM reaction over reduced and working state Rh/SiO2 catalysts. Direct oxidation of CH4 is the main pathway of synthesis gas formation over Rh/SiO2 catalyst. CO2 is the primary product of POM over Ru/γ-Al2O3 and Ru/SiO2 catalysts. The dominant reaction pathway for synthesis gas formation over Ru/γ-Al2O3 catalyst is via the reforming reactions of CH4 with CO2 and H2O. For the POM reaction over Rh/SiO2 and Ru/γ-Al2O3 catalysts, consecutive oxidation of surface CO species is an important pathway of CO2 formation.

Synthesis gas production using oxygen storage materials as oxygen carrier over circulating fluidized bed

A novel process for synthesis gas production over Circulating Fluidized Bed （CFB） using oxygen storage materials as oxygen carder was reported. First, oxygen in the air was chemically fixed and converted to lattice oxygen of oxygen storage materials over regenerator, and then methane was selectively oxidized to synthesis gas with lattice oxygen of oxygen storage materials over riser reactor. The results from simulation reaction of CFB by sequential redox reaction on a fixed bed reactor using lanthanum-based perovskite LaFeO3 and La0.8Sr0.2Fe0.9CO0.1O3 oxides prepared by sol-gel, suggested that the depleted oxygen species could be regenerated, and methane could be oxidized to synthesis gas by lattice oxygen with high selectivity. The partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over CFB using lattice oxygen of the oxygen storage materials instead of gaseous oxygen should be possibly applicable.

Autothermal Reforming and Partial Oxidation of Methane in Fluidized Reactor over Highly Dispersed Ni Catalyst Prepared from Ni Complex

Highly dispersed Ni catalysts on spherical SiO2 were prepared by simple impregnation of Ni（acac）2, [Ni-（NH3）6-n（H2O）n]^2＋, [Ni（en）3]^2＋ and [Ni（EDTA）]^2-. Pulse adsorption of H2 and TEM analysis results confirmed that Ni was dispersed very well on the surface of SiO2 even after calcination （4 h） and reduction （1 h） at high temperature of 800 ℃. These highly dispersed and uniquely sized Ni crystallites were more stable and more reactive for both autothermal reforming and partial oxidation of methane in fluidized reactor.

Chemical synthesis of zinc oxide nanorods for enhanced hydrogen gas sensing

Zinc oxide （ZnO） nanorods are prepared using equimolar solution of zinc nitrate （（Zn（NO3）2） and hexamethylenete- tramine （C6HleN4） by the hydrothermal technique at 80 ~C for 12 h. Epitaxial growth is explored by X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns, revealing that the ZnO nanorods have a hexagonal （wurtzite） structure. Absorption spectra of ZnO are measured by UV-visible spectrometer. The surface morphology is investigated by field emission scanning electron mi- croscopy （FESEM）. The synthesized ZnO nanorods are used for detecting the 150 ~C hydrogen gas with a concentration over 1000 ppm. The obtained results show a reversible response. The influence of operating temperature on hydrogen gas detecting characteristic of ZnO nanorods is also investigated.

Exergy Analysis and Retrofitting of Natural Gas-based Acetylene Process

This article presents an acetylene production process by partial oxidation/combustion of natural gas. The thermodynamic performance and exergy analysis in the process are investigated using the flow-sheeting program Aspen Plus. The results indicate that the most important destruction of exergy is found to occur in the reactor and water quenching scrubber, amounting to 8.23% and 10.39%, respectively, of the entire system. Based on the results of thermodynamic and exergy analysis, the acetylene reactor has been retrofitted. The improvement ratios of molar 02 to CH4 and molar CO to CN4 are 0.65 and 0.20, respectively. An improvement of the acetylene production system is proposed. Adopting the improvement operation conditions and using oil to realize the reaction heat recovery, the feedstock of natural gas is reduced by 9.88% and the exergy loss in the retrofitting process is decreased by 19.71% compared to the original process.