Thermal decomposition of carbon dioxide coupled with POM in a membrane reactor

In this study, we proposed coupling the thermal decomposition of carbon dioxide (CO₂ → CO + 1/2O₂) with the partial oxidation of methane (POM) to syngas (CH₄ + 1/2O₂ → CO + 2H₂) in a dense mixed-conducting membrane reactor, in which the reaction of CO₂ decomposition took place in one side of the membrane and the POM reaction occurred in the other side of the membrane simultaneously (or methane reacted with oxygen that was permeated through the membrane from the CO₂ decomposition, to produce H₂ and CO over supported transition metal catalysts). A perovskite-type oxygen-permeable membrane of SrCo_0.4Fe_0.5Zr_0.1O_3-δ (SCFZ) was used for the membrane reactor. The effects of temperature and the feed flow rates of CO₂ and CH₄ on the reaction performance of the SCFZ membrane reactor were investigated. It was found that the CO₂ conversion increased with increasing the temperature and decreased with increasing the feed flow rates of CO₂ or with decreasing the feed flow rates of CH₂. At 1173 K, the CO₂ conversion reached about 11.1%, and the CH₄ conversion, CO selectivity, and the ratio of H₂/CO were 84.5%, 93%, and 1.8, respectively.