A comparison between washcoated and packed copper foams for the intensification of methane steam reforming

Different solutions for the intensification of the methane steam reforming process are proposed and tested. The intensification strategy involved, on the one side, the use of a highly active Rh/Al2O3 catalyst and, on the other side, the development of advanced fixed bed reactor configurations wherein either washcoated or packed 40 PPI copper foams were used as highly conductive internals to improve heat transfer across the catalytic bed.