Monoliths as Suitable Catalysts for Reverse-Flow Combustors: Modeling and Experimental Validation

The petformance of a bench-scale monolithic reverse-flow reactor (RFR) for methane combustion has been experimentally studied in this work. The influence of the different operating parameters, such as total gas flow rate (2.5 x 10(-4)-5 x 10(-4) m(3) s(-1) (STP)), methane inlet concentration (1000-5500 ppm), and switching time (300-900 s) on the reactor petformance (outlet conversion and stability), has been experimentally determined. The validation of a heterogeneous one-dimensional dynamic model for monolithic beds with the obtained experimental data allows the use of this model to simulate the behavior of industrial-scale reactors. In the second part of the work, a systematic comparison of particulate and monolithic RFRs is carried out through design curves. Reactor length for 99% outlet conversion and the corresponding pressure drop is determined for varying operating conditions (surface velocity and inlet methane concentration). (C) 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 56: 3162-3173, 2010