Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) – a review: reactor types, catalyst and sorbent characterization, process modeling

In this review, research carried out on sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SESMR) process is presented and discussed. The reactor types employed to carry out this process, fixed packed bed and fluidized bed reactors, are characterized as well as their main operating conditions indicated. Also the concepts developed and investigations performed by the main research groups involved in the subject are summarized. Next the catalysts and CO2 sorbents developed to carry out SE-SMR are characterized and the relationships describing the reaction and sorption kinetics are collected. A general approach to model the process is presented as well as results obtained for a calculation example, which demonstrate the main properties of SE-SMR.