Mathematical Modeling of CO₂ Reforming of Methane with Reverse Water Gas Shift Reaction

Synthesis gas is the cornerstone of many chemical processes for manufacturing a broad range of petrochemical products. In this work, a mathematical model was developed for investigation of the CO₂ reforming of methane in a catalytic packed bed reactor. To simulate the reformer, a pseudo homogenous two-dimensional mathematical model was developed and the resulting nonlinear second order partial differential equations were solved using the finite difference method. It was assumed that equilibrium reverse water gas shift reaction always takes place in the reactor to adjust H₂/CO ratio (≤1). The effect of operating conditions, including bulk density, porosity, inlet gas and wall temperature, reactor diameter, total molar flow of gas and inlet CH₄/CO₂ ratio on the reactor performance were investigated. Finally, the study investigated the effect of H₂/CO ratio on the outlet synthesis gas product at the range of 0.7–1. The validity of the model was investigated and the deviation between the model results and the experimental data was acceptable.