Performance Study on Chemical Looping Oxidative Steam Reforming of Methanol
LIU Leiyang1, LIU Rixin2, LIU Zhenjiang2, LIU Xiaoxu1, ZHENG Hao1, ZENG Liang1, XIN Feng1
1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, China;
2. Goldwind Green Energy Chemicals Technology (Jiangsu) Company Limited, Wuxi 214131, China
Abstract：The chemical looping oxidative steam reforming of methanol (CL-OSRM) enables gas separation while achieving autothermal reforming, representing a novel and efficient distributed hydrogen production method. In this study, CuO/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst was used as the oxygen carrier. During the CL-OSRM process, the oxygen carrier provided lattice oxygen and catalyzed methanol reforming in the reduction stage, while its regeneration was achieved in the oxidation stage using air. The reaction performance of the oxygen carrier was evaluated using a fixed-bed reactor, with optimization of reaction temperature, feed flow rate, and water methanol ratio. Under optimized conditions of 220 ℃, a feed flow rate of 0.04 mL/min, and a water methanol ratio of 1, methanol conversion rates exceeded 90%, with CO concentration in the hydrogen product remaining below 1%. Redox cycling experiments demonstrated that the oxygen carrier maintained good activity and structural stability during the CL-OSRM process. Characterization techniques such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that during the reaction with methanol, copper species in the oxygen carrier were gradually reduced from CuO to Cu+ and further to Cu0, corresponding to the stages of complete methanol oxidation, partial oxidation, and catalytic reforming, respectively. This work provided an important theoretical foundation for the further optimization of the CL-OSRM process and its application in clean hydrogen production.
LIU Leiyang,LIU Rixin,LIU Zhenjiang et al. Performance Study on Chemical Looping Oxidative Steam Reforming of Methanol[J]. Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, 2025, 41(1): 238-245.
