Methanation of carbon dioxide by hydrogen reduction using the Sabatier process in microchannel reactors

This paper describes the development of a microchannel-based Sabatier reactor for applications such as propellant production on Mars or space habitat air revitalization. Microchannel designs offer advantages for a compact reactor with excellent thermal control. This paper discusses the development of a Ru.TiO2-based catalyst using powdered form and its application and testing in a microchannel reactor. The resultant catalyst and microchannel reactor demonstrates good conversion, selectivity, and longevity in a compact device. A chemically reacting flow model is used to assist experimental interpretation and to suggest microchannel design approaches. A kinetic rate expression for the global Sabatier reaction is developed and validated using computational models to interpret packed-bed experiments with catalysts in powder form. The resulting global reaction is then incorporated into a reactive plug-flow model that represents a microchannel reactor. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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