Effect of twist angle in spiral-type Ru/CeO2 catalysts on CO2 auto-methanation performance

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the effect of twist angle in the spiral-type catalyst on CO2 auto-methanation (AM) performance. The spiral-type catalysts with different twist angles of 360°, 540°, 720°, and 1080° were constructed and investigated for their methanation properties. By increasing the twist angle, high methanation performance was obtained at the lower temperature range. Furthermore, as a result of the calculation of heat transfer coefficient (U) and Nusselt number (Nu) on the spiral-type catalysts based on their catalytic properties, the U and Nu were enhanced with an increment of twist angles, which would produce a high methanation performance of the spiral-type catalyst. A double-tube reactor with a spiral-type catalyst was constructed to improve catalytic performance in order to avoid loss of generated heat to the outside of the reactor. This system exhibited an excellent AM performance with CO2 conversion of about 66% and methane selectivity of 100% at a severe feed rate of 1600 mL/min due to efficient utilization of heat energy generated from H2 combustion and CO2 methanation.

Keywords

• Auto-methanation
• Thermal management
• Ru/CeO2
• Spiral-type catalyst
• CO2 utilization