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Harkou E, Hafeez S, Adamou P, Zhang Z, Tsiotsias AI, Charisiou ND, Goula MA, Al-Salem SM, Manos G, Constantinou A. Different reactor configurations for enhancement of CO 2 methanation. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 236:116760. [PMID: 37507039 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 07/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Greenhouse gas emissions are a massive concern for scientists to minimize the effect of global warming in the environment. In this study, packed bed, coated wall, and membrane reactors were investigated using three novel nickel catalysts for the methanation of CO2. CFD modelling methodologies were implemented to develop 2D models. The validity of the model was investigated in a previous study where experimental and simulated results in a packed bed reactor were in a good agreement. It was observed that the coated wall reactor had poorer performance compared to the packed bed, approximately 30% difference between the results, as the residence time of the former was lower. In addition, two membrane configurations were proposed, including a membrane packed bed and membrane coated wall reactor. Additional studies were performed in the coated wall reactor revealing that lower flow rates lead to higher conversion values. As for the bed thickness the optimum layer was found to be 1 mm. In both membrane reactor configurations, the effect of the thickness of M1 membrane, which indicates the membrane for the removal of H2O, didn't show difference while the reduction of the thickness of M2 membrane, which indicates the membrane for the removal of CO2, H2 and H2O, showed better results in terms of conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleana Harkou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol, 3036, Cyprus
| | - Sanaa Hafeez
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, E14NS, UK
| | - Panayiota Adamou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol, 3036, Cyprus
| | - Zhien Zhang
- WilliamG. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineerig, The Ohio State University Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
| | - Anastasios I Tsiotsias
- Laboratory of Alternative Fuels and Environmental Catalysis (LAFEC), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, GR-50100, Greece
| | - Nikolaos D Charisiou
- Laboratory of Alternative Fuels and Environmental Catalysis (LAFEC), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, GR-50100, Greece
| | - Maria A Goula
- Laboratory of Alternative Fuels and Environmental Catalysis (LAFEC), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, GR-50100, Greece
| | - S M Al-Salem
- Environmental & Life Sciences Research Centre, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait
| | - George Manos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London, WCIE7JE, UK
| | - Achilleas Constantinou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol, 3036, Cyprus.
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Harkou E, Adamou P, Georgiou K, Hafeez S, Al-Salem SM, Villa A, Manos G, Dimitratos N, Constantinou A. Computational Studies on Microreactors for the Decomposition of Formic Acid for Hydrogen Production Using Heterogeneous Catalysts. Molecules 2023; 28:5399. [PMID: 37513271 PMCID: PMC10383859 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28145399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Sustainable alternatives to conventional fuels have emerged recently, focusing on a hydrogen-based economy. The idea of using hydrogen (H2) as an energy carrier is very promising due to its zero-emission properties. The present study investigates the formic acid (FA) decomposition for H2 generation using a commercial 5 wt.% Pd/C catalyst. Three different 2D microreactor configurations (packed bed, single membrane, and double membrane) were studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Parameters such as temperature, porosity, concentration, and flow rate of reactant were investigated. The packed bed configuration resulted in high conversions, but due to catalyst poisoning by carbon monoxide (CO), the catalytic activity decreased with time. For the single and double membrane microreactors, the same trends were observed, but the double membrane microreactor showed superior performance compared with the other configurations. Conversions higher than 80% were achieved, and even though deactivation decreased the conversion after 1 h of reaction, the selective removal of CO from the system with the use of membranes lead to an increase in the conversion afterwards. These results prove that the incorporation of membranes in the system for the separation of CO is improving the efficiency of the microreactor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleana Harkou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
| | - Panayiota Adamou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
| | - Kyproula Georgiou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
| | - Sanaa Hafeez
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E14NS, UK
| | - Sultan M Al-Salem
- Environmental & Life Sciences Research Centre, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait
| | - Alberto Villa
- Dipartimento di Chimica, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, via Golgi, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - George Manos
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WCIE7JE, UK
| | - Nikolaos Dimitratos
- Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
- Center for Chemical Catalysis-C3, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy
| | - Achilleas Constantinou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 57 Corner of Athinon and Anexartisias, Limassol 3036, Cyprus
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