Preliminary experimental study of a methanation reactor for conversion of H2 and CO2 into synthetic natural gas (SNG)

This paper presents the results of tests conducted on the methanation reactor installation at the Silesian Uni-versity of Technology. The reactor is a fixed-bed type and it consists of one tube filled up with the nickel powder and Ru/(Al2O3) used as a catalyst. The results obtained before and after the modernization of the installation are described. The produced gases are analyzed in the VARIO Luxx of MRU air Emission Monitoring Systems gas analyzer. During the tests, the temperature in three zones of the reactor was measured continuously. The gauge pressure at the inlet and outlet of the reactor was also measured. In the performed tests, the effect of different volumetric flows of substrates (CO2 and H2 in stoichiometric ratio) and the effect of pressure on the produced gas composition were examined. Additionally, for the measurement series carried out on the laboratory stand, the estimated CO2 to CH4 conversion factors were calculated. For the operation of a methanation reactor under atmospheric conditions, the volumetric share of CH4 in the produced Synthetic Natural Gas was between 71.0% and 74.5% for analyzed cases of Gas Hourly Space Velocity and for a reaction pressure of 5 bar, CH4 content was between 88.6 and 89.5%.

Automated summary

This paper presents the results of tests conducted on a fixed-bed methanation reactor at Silesian University of Technology. The reactor was filled with nickel powder and Ru/(Al2O3) as a catalyst. The tests examined the effect of different volumetric flows of CO2 and H2 on the gas composition, as well as the pressure. The results showed that the volumetric share of CH4 in the produced Synthetic Natural Gas ranged from 71.0% to 74.5% under atmospheric conditions, and CH4 content was between 88.6% and 89.5% at a reaction pressure of 5 bar.