Effect of the packing amount of catalysts on the partial oxidation of methane reaction in a dense oxygen-permeable membrane reactor

A mixed-conducting oxide membrane of SrCo_0.4Fe _0.5Zr_0.1O_3-δ (SCFZ) was used for the partial oxidation of methane (POM) to syngas because of its favorable structural stability with higher oxygen permeability. The POM reaction was performed in the disk SCFZ membrane reactor packed with 4.77 wt % NiO/Al₂O ₃ catalysts. The reaction performance of the SCFZ membrane reactor was investigated as a function of the amount of catalysts packed on the top of the membrane surface. It was found that the packing amount of catalysts has obvious effects on the CH₄ conversion, CO selectivity, and oxygen permeation flux of the SCFZ membrane. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the effects of the temperature and amount of catalysts on the performance of the membrane reactor. The simulated results showed good agreement with the experimental data.