Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study
Due to the ongoing change of energy supply, the availability of a reliable high-capacity storage technology becomes increasingly important. While conventional large-scale facilities are either limited in capacity respective supply time or their extension potential is little (e.g., pumped storage pow...
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doaj-f966319dad274f2998f879b0fa1126fc2020-11-24T22:32:40ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442017-05-017515210.3390/catal7050152catal7050152Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up StudyDaniel Türks0Hesham Mena1Udo Armbruster2Andreas Martin3Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V., Albert-Einstein-Str. 29a, 18059 Rostock, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V., Albert-Einstein-Str. 29a, 18059 Rostock, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V., Albert-Einstein-Str. 29a, 18059 Rostock, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V., Albert-Einstein-Str. 29a, 18059 Rostock, GermanyDue to the ongoing change of energy supply, the availability of a reliable high-capacity storage technology becomes increasingly important. While conventional large-scale facilities are either limited in capacity respective supply time or their extension potential is little (e.g., pumped storage power stations), decentralized units could contribute to energy transition. The concepts of PtX (power-to-X) storage technologies and in particular PtG (power-to-gas) aim at fixation of electric power in chemical compounds. CO2 hydrogenation (methanation) is the foundation of the PtG idea as H2 (via electrolysis) and CO2 are easily accessible. Methane produced in this way, often called substitute natural gas (SNG), is a promising solution since it can be stored in the existing gas grid, tanks or underground cavern storages. Methanation is characterized by a strong exothermic heat of reaction which has to be handled safely. This work aims at getting rid of extreme temperature hot-spots in a tube reactor by configuring the catalyst bed structure. Proof of concept studies began with a small tube reactor (V = 12.5 cm3) with a commercial 18 wt % Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. Later, a double-jacket tube reactor was built (V = 452 cm3), reaching a production rate of 50 L/h SNG. The proposed approach not only improves the heat management and process safety, but also increases the specific productivity and stability of the catalyst remarkably.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/7/5/152methanationPtGSNGNi/Al2O3 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Daniel Türks Hesham Mena Udo Armbruster Andreas Martin |
spellingShingle |
Daniel Türks Hesham Mena Udo Armbruster Andreas Martin Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study Catalysts methanation PtG SNG Ni/Al2O3 |
author_facet |
Daniel Türks Hesham Mena Udo Armbruster Andreas Martin |
author_sort |
Daniel Türks |
title |
Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study |
title_short |
Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study |
title_full |
Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study |
title_fullStr |
Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methanation of CO2 on Ni/Al2O3 in a Structured Fixed-Bed Reactor—A Scale-Up Study |
title_sort |
methanation of co2 on ni/al2o3 in a structured fixed-bed reactor—a scale-up study |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Catalysts |
issn |
2073-4344 |
publishDate |
2017-05-01 |
description |
Due to the ongoing change of energy supply, the availability of a reliable high-capacity storage technology becomes increasingly important. While conventional large-scale facilities are either limited in capacity respective supply time or their extension potential is little (e.g., pumped storage power stations), decentralized units could contribute to energy transition. The concepts of PtX (power-to-X) storage technologies and in particular PtG (power-to-gas) aim at fixation of electric power in chemical compounds. CO2 hydrogenation (methanation) is the foundation of the PtG idea as H2 (via electrolysis) and CO2 are easily accessible. Methane produced in this way, often called substitute natural gas (SNG), is a promising solution since it can be stored in the existing gas grid, tanks or underground cavern storages. Methanation is characterized by a strong exothermic heat of reaction which has to be handled safely. This work aims at getting rid of extreme temperature hot-spots in a tube reactor by configuring the catalyst bed structure. Proof of concept studies began with a small tube reactor (V = 12.5 cm3) with a commercial 18 wt % Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. Later, a double-jacket tube reactor was built (V = 452 cm3), reaching a production rate of 50 L/h SNG. The proposed approach not only improves the heat management and process safety, but also increases the specific productivity and stability of the catalyst remarkably. |
topic |
methanation PtG SNG Ni/Al2O3 |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/7/5/152 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT danielturks methanationofco2onnial2o3inastructuredfixedbedreactorascaleupstudy AT heshammena methanationofco2onnial2o3inastructuredfixedbedreactorascaleupstudy AT udoarmbruster methanationofco2onnial2o3inastructuredfixedbedreactorascaleupstudy AT andreasmartin methanationofco2onnial2o3inastructuredfixedbedreactorascaleupstudy |
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