Experimental study of methane reforming with products of complete methane combustion in a reformer filled with a nickel-based catalyst

An experimental investigation of methane reforming with flue gases obtained by combustion of methane with an excess air factor of 1 is carried out over a nickel-based catalyst. A set of experiments was conducted to understand the effects of operational parameters such as temperature, pressure, residence time and inlet gas composition on the conversion of the reactants. In addition, two shapes of catalysts such as a solid cylinder and ring were used in experiments. It is found that at the residence time above 4 kg(cat) s/mol the methane conversion has a value close to equilibrium. A change in pressure from 1 to 5 bar has a negligible effect on methane conversion, not more than 1-2% for various operating parameters. It has been experimentally determined that the use of an extended surface catalyst gives a higher methane conversion at a fixed catalyst weight. Therefore, for a fixed residence time, the methane conversion over a Raschig rings is 1-2% higher than over a solid cylinder. The steam addition to the inlet reaction gas mixture increases the methane conversion significantly; especially at the temperature range from 500 to 800 degrees C.