Analysis of the Tri-Reforming of Methane in a Membrane Reactor

Abstract This paper analyses the tri-reforming of methane as a reactive way to use natural gas rich in carbon dioxide, without a previous separation. The tri-reforming of methane (TRM) produces syngas suitable for GTL processes and also avoids coke deposition, depending on specific process conditions. For this reason, a thermodynamic analysis was conducted to investigate the possible operating regions to avoid coke formation; then, an operating point was determined by maximizing the CO2 conversion at a fixed H2: CO ratio. The given results suggested that the use of large amounts of oxygen are necessary to overcome the coke formation and to increase the syngas yield. In those conditions, the reactor may present hot spots that damage the reactor catalyst. A porous membrane reactor that distributes oxygen along the reactor dropped the sharp thermal profile; the hot spot was mitigated, obtaining 94 % of methane and 30% of carbon dioxide conversion.