Autothermal Reforming of Methane in a Reverse-Flow Reactor

Autothermal methane reforming (ATR) is an alternative to steam reforming for synthesis gas and hydrogen production. It meets the intensive energy demand of methane reforming by combining exothermic oxidation and endothermic steam reforming. However, ATR runs into autothermal limitations if the water-to-oxygen feed ratio is increased to optimize hydrogen production. We have previously shown that regenerative heat integration in a reverse-flow reactor (RFR) can overcome autothermal limitations in syngas production via catalytic partial oxidation of methane. Here, we extend our studies onto ATR in a RFR. Our results show that regenerative heat integration strongly increases the range of autothermal operation for ATR towards higher H2O:CH4 feed ratios. RFR operation allows for improved syngas yields and much higher H-2/CO ratios in the product stream. Improvements are most pronounced for high flow rates, which makes ATR-RFR particularly well suited to compact reactors for small-scale and decentralized processes.