2-14　Investigation of methanation kinetic model by analysis considering distributions of temperature and gas composition over a catalyst bed

Abstract

CO₂ methanation is expected to be an option for energy storage and supply integrated with water electrolysis using renewable energies, named power-to-gas, taking advantages of the applicability to the existing infrastructures for natural gas. There are only a few industrial-scale plants, and development of a kinetic model is essential for scaling up the methanation reactor. In this study, a kinetic model was developed for CO₂ methanation under three pressure conditions considered in industrial-scale plants. The rate coefficients were determined at each pressure and correlated with the total pressure. The derived model was applied to an estimation of a larger bench-scale reactor filled with a pelletized catalyst through one-dimensional packed bed simulations, in which the diffusion resistance caused by the use of the pellet was considered using a catalyst effectiveness factor. The kinetic model was able to reproduce the CO₂ conversion at the exit and the temperature distribution in the catalyst bed. It revealed that formation of a side product, CO was suppressed at the entire range of reactor.