A Process Integration Approach to the Assessment of CO2 Fixation through Dry Reforming
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2015 American Chemical Society. Recently, significant research has been dedicated to the field of mitigating CO2 emissions. Chemical sequestration (fixation) of CO2 into value-added products (e.g., methanol, Fischer-Tropsch liquids, propylene) is an emerging option. The fixation of CO2 via the dry reforming (DR) of natural gas involves the conversion of two greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) into a useful intermediate (synthesis gas). Synthesis gas can be subsequently converted into various chemicals and fuels. Nevertheless, syngas produced from DR is typically characterized by a H2:CO ratio lower than that typically required for conversion into high-value hydrocarbons. In addition, DR catalysts continuously deactivate as a result of extensive coke formation. This paper focuses on quantifying the potential for CO2 fixation using dry reforming and the integration of different reforming technologies. The results highlight the strong inverse relationship between CO2 chemical fixation and the required syngas H2:CO ratio. Combined reforming involving DR and steam reforming greatly benefits from the presence of waste heat sources because heat generation is the major source of CO2 generation. A process case study is presented to illustrate the importance of a process viewpoint with respect to DR.
