Optimal Design of A CPO-Reformer of Light Hydrocarbons with Honeycomb Catalyst: Effect of Frontal Heat Dispersions on the Temperature Profiles

Abstract

This paper extends a previous investigation on the thermal behavior of CH₄-CPO reformers with honeycomb catalysts. Modeling and experimental studies on the short contact time catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of CH₄ to syngas from our and from other groups have shown that Rh-catalysts rapidly deactivate at the very high temperatures, close to 1000 °C, that establish in the inlet zone of the reactor. We have previously shown that a significant reduction of the surface hot-spot temperature can be obtained by properly designing the catalyst: beneficial effects are observed at increasing opening of the honeycomb channels, which decreases the rate of O₂ inter-phase mass transfer, and at increasing catalyst activity, which promotes the rate of the endothermic reactions. In this work, we explore the effect of the reactor configuration, namely the effect of heat dispersion from the glowing front face of the monolith. Three reactor configurations were compared in CH₄-CPO experiments: (i) a configuration with perfect continuity between the front heat shield (FHS) and the catalytic module, which behaved close to an ideal adiabatic reactor, (ii) a configuration where the FHS was separated from the catalytic monolith and (iii) a configuration where the FHS was at large distance from the catalytic module. State of the art experimental tools, including the spatially resolved measurement of temperature and concentration profiles were used to characterize the thermal behavior of the various configurations. Detailed kinetic modeling supported the analysis of data. The results showed that, at the expense of a small loss of thermal efficiency, a very moderate loss of performance in terms of conversion and selectivity, but, remarkably, an important reduction of the surface inlet temperatures were achieved. Preliminary experiments with propane/air mixtures suggest that the adoption of a moderately dispersive reactor can represent a promising solution for the stable operation of catalytic units treating heavier fuels than methane.