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Dense perovskite membrane reactors for partial oxidation of methane to syngas
Author(s) -
Tsai ChungYi,
Dixon Anthony G.,
Moser William R.,
Ma Yi Hua
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690431320
Subject(s) - syngas , partial oxidation , methane , permeation , membrane , perovskite (structure) , membrane reactor , catalysis , chemistry , oxygen , chemical engineering , materials science , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
The partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas (syngas, CO + H 2 ) was performed in a mixed‐conducting perovskite dense membrane reactor at 850°C, in which oxygen was separated from air and simultaneously fed into the methane stream. Steady‐state oxygen permeation rates for La 1‐x A′ x Fe 0.8 Co 0.2 O 3‐δ perovskite membranes in nonreacting air/helium experiments were in the order of A′ x = Ba 0.8 > Ba 0.6 > Ca 0.6 > Sr 0.6 . Deep oxidation products were obtained from a La 0.2 Ba 0.8 Fe 0.8 Co 0.2 O 3–δ disk‐shaped membrane reactor without catalyst, with a 4.6% CH 4 inlet stream. These products were further reformed to syngas when a downstream catalytic bed was added. Packing the 5% Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst directly on the membrane reaction‐side surface resulted in a slow fivefold increase in O 2 permeation, and a fourfold increase in CH 4 conversion. XRD, EDS, and SEM analyses revealed structure and composition changes on the membrane surfaces. Oxygen continuously transported from the air side appeared to stabilize the membrane interior, and the reactor was operated for up to 850 h.