Thermodynamic Insight in Design of Methanation Reactor with Water Removal Considering Nexus between CO 2 Conversion and Irreversibilities

Sayed Ebrahim Hashemi, Kristian M. Lien, Magne Hillestad, Sondre K. Schnell and Bjørn Austbø
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Sayed Ebrahim Hashemi: Department of Energy and Process Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Kristian M. Lien: Department of Energy and Process Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Magne Hillestad: Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Sondre K. Schnell: Department of Material Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Bjørn Austbø: Department of Energy and Process Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 23, 1-21

Abstract: The inevitable nexus between energy use and CO 2 emission necessitates the development of sustainable energy systems. The conversion of CO 2 to CH 4 using green H 2 in power-to-gas applications in such energy systems has attracted much interest. In this context, the present study provides a thermodynamic insight into the effect of water removal on CO 2 conversion and irreversibility within a CO 2 methanation reactor. A fixed-bed reactor with one intermediate water removal point, representing two reactors in series, was modeled by a one-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model. Pure CO 2 or a mixture of CO 2 and methane, representing a typical biogas mixture, were used as feed. For short reactors, both the maximum conversion and the largest irreversibilities were observed when the water removal point was located in the middle of the reactor. However, as the length of the reactor increased, the water removal point with the highest conversion was shifted towards the end of the reactor, accompanied by a smaller thermodynamic penalty. The largest irreversibilities in long reactors were obtained when water removal took place closer to the inlet of the reactor. The study discusses the potential benefit of partial water removal and reactant feeding for energy-efficient reactor design.

Keywords: methanation; water removal; reactor design; CO 2 conversion; irreversibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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