A New Catalyst System for High-Temperature Solar Reforming of Methane

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• 作者：Alexander Berman ; Rakesh K. Karn ; and Michael Epstein
• 刊名：Energy & Fuels
• 出版年：2006
• 出版时间：March 2006
• 年：2006
• 卷：20
• 期：2
• 页码：455 - 462
• 全文大小：627K
• 年卷期：v.20,no.2(March 2006)
• ISSN：1520-5029

文摘

A new type of solar-heated reformer, called the volumetric reformer, has been recently developed. In thisreformer, the concentrated solar radiation directly illuminates the catalyst through a transparent window. Thisnew type of solar reformer can operate at a temperature range of 1273-1373 K, higher than that common inindustrial reformers. Different configurations of the catalyst substrate in these volumetric reformers have beenreported in the literature. This article describes a catalytic system specifically applied in the directly irradiatedannular pressurized receiver (DIAPR), which was developed at the Weizmann Institute of Science for operationat high temperatures and pressures. The catalytic system based on the DIAPR concept was constructed on anarray of ceramic pins loaded with catalyst. Cost-effective catalytic elements that will be implemented in thistype of volumetric reformer were developed in the present work. A Ru/Al₂O₃ catalyst promoted with Mnoxides was supported on ceramic pins (made of alumina) by wash coating. The catalyst was characterized bySEM, XRD, and BET. The fresh catalyst contains mainly -alumina and Mn₂O₃. Al₂O₃, Mn₃O₄, and MnAl₂O₄were observed in the XRD pattern after reaction in the temperature range of 773-1473 K. Activity tests wereconducted in a tube flow reactor made of sintered alumina (99.7% Al₂O₃). The results show that the activityof the new catalyst is similar to the activity of the commercial Engelhard 1%Ru/-Al₂O₃ catalyst. However,while the activity of the commercial catalyst decreases drastically when approaching to 1273 K because ofphase transformation in the support, the new catalyst is stable even after calcinations at 1373 K for 500 hunder argon flow.