Experimental study of different thermal management concepts for syngas production by dry auto-thermal reforming

Dry autothermal reforming (DATR) from methane-carbon dioxide-air mixtures under different thermal management concepts was investigated in this study. The thermal management schemes included without porous medium (PM) assisted catalyst packed-bed, PM assisted, and PM assisted with thermal insulation. Controlled parameters included CO2/CH4 ratio, O2/CH4 ratio, and thermal management concepts. The experimental results demonstrated that the internal heat recirculation (PM assisted) could be enhanced reforming gas temperature, thereby improved the methane and CO₂ conversion, syngas yield, and reforming efficiency. The best reforming parameters for thermal management design were a methane flow rate of 10 L/min, CO₂/CH₄ molar ratio of 1.0 and an O₂/CH₄ molar ratio of 0.8, achieving a reforming efficiency of up to 80.65%. The prediction was calculated using the commercialized HSC Chemistry software (&ChemSW Software, Inc.). Good correlation was obtained between the experimental and the calculation results.