Parametric Study of CO₂ Methanation for Synthetic Natural Gas Production

Abstract

The production of methane by carbon dioxide hydrogenation through optimization of the operating parameters to enhance methane yield and carbon dioxide conversion in a two‐stage fixed bed reactor is investigated. The influence of temperature, gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), and H2:CO2 ratio on the production of methane is studied. In addition, different methanation catalysts in terms of metal promoters and support materials are investigated to maximize methane production. The results show that the maximum methane yield and maximum carbon dioxide conversion are obtained at a catalyst temperature of 360 °C with a H2:CO2 ratio of 4:1 and total GHSV of 6000 mL h−1 g−1catalyst and reactant GHSV of 3000 mL h−1 g−1catalyst. The optimum metal‐alumina catalyst investigated for CO2 conversion and methane yield is the 10 wt%‐Ni‐Al2O3 catalyst. However, reduction in the methane yield is observed with the addition of Fe and Co promoters because of catalyst sintering and nonuniform dispersion of metals on the support. Among the different catalyst support materials studied, i.e., Al2O3, SiO2 and MCM‐41, the highest catalytic activity is shown by the Al2O3 catalyst with 83 mol% CO2 conversion, producing 81 mol% CH4 with 98% CH4 selectivity