(345b) Reaction Testing Of A Core-In-Shell Material Combining Catalysis And Sorption For H2 Production

Systems combining an active reforming catalyst with a solid CO₂ sorbent have been used to perform steam methane reforming, water gas shift and CO₂ separation simultaneously in the same reactor. Previously, work on the development of a combined catalyst and sorbent in the form of a core-in-shell material was performed. The core of this material consisted of CaO for CO₂ removal via the formation of calcium carbonate while the shell had the dual role of increasing the robustness of the material while simultaneously acting as a support for a nickel catalyst. The feasibility of this concept as well as the results of work to increase the strength of the material and cyclic stability of the sorbent have been reported previously. The current phase of work has been focused on the results of reaction testing of the core-in-shell material in order to determine how the material behaves under a range of reaction conditions. Understanding the effect of gas diffusion resistances through the shell to the reactive core at different pressures as well as optimal operating parameters will be discussed. In addition, alternate formulations of the core-in-shell material will be tested to better understand how some of the beneficial enhancements discovered previously affect the reaction performance of the material. Finally, characterization of the material will be discussed to determine the effects that prolonged reaction conditions have on the physical integrity as well as the cyclic stability of the material.