The dry reforming process differs from steam reforming, which combines CH 4 and water (H 2 O) in the form of steam to produce the syngas. Producing the steam is energy-intensive; dry reforming requires far less water, and hence avoids the energy burden of steam production. In addition to reducing energy consumption, the dry reforming process also consumes recycled carbon dioxide.

As part of its R&D strategy, Linde has built a pilot reformer facility at Pullach near Munich—Linde’s largest location worldwide—to test dry-reforming technology. The dry reforming process catalytically combines CH 4 , the principal component of natural gas, and CO 2 to produce syngas (CO and H 2 ). Syngas is then used to produce valuable downstream products such as base chemicals or fuels.

The dry reforming process also offers cost efficiencies relative to partial oxidation—these would be of particular interest to small and medium-sized plants.

Among the other benefits of the dry reforming approach is syngas with an H 2 /CO ratio of about 1, while steam reforming delivers an H 2 /CO of about 3 and partial oxidation a ratio of about 2. For some applications such as Fischer-Tropsch fuel synthesis, the low H 2 /CO ratio is desirable.



Linde Pilot Reformer. Click to enlarge.

Although processes and catalysts for dry reforming of methane at low pressure levels are well known and established, these processes require that the generated CO-rich syngas is compressed to the pressure level of the corresponding downstream processes. Post-compression of syngas with high CO contents is technically not an easy task, notes Linde development partner Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

To address that particular issue, KIT has focused on developing and designing new catalyst and process options for dry reforming at elevated pressure.

Engineers from Linde and development partner BASF further discussed the technical and economic challenges of dry reforming in a paper published earlier this year in the journal Chemie Ingenieur Technik (Schwab et al.).

Linde intends to use this pilot facility to test and optimize all kinds of approaches to reforming. The insights we gain will help us further improve reforming processes and concepts for our customers. —Dr. Christian Bruch, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG

Tests in the pilot reformer are currently focused on dry reforming. This innovative process was developed by Linde in cooperation with its partners BASF (responsible for catalyst development); Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / KIT (responsible for simulations); and DECHEMA (supplier of materials). The pilot project has been awarded funding by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) of just under one €1 million.

If the dry reforming pilot proves successful, there are plans to commercialize the process when the funded project comes to an end in 2017 and to build a reference plant for a Linde customer.

Resources