Revisiting the Kinetic Modeling of Methane Autothermal Reforming Reactions

A kinetic modeling study of the methane autothermal reforming reaction using literature experimental data was performed. The reported kinetic model was reproduced by using an optimization approach based on nonlinear parameter estimation, proper selection of initial values of parameters, sensitivity, and statistical analyses. When using the reported values of parameters, a high average absolute error was found, which contradicted the low error reported by the authors. The recalculated parameters showed high accuracy with an error of lower than 1%. It was found that the reverse water-gas shift reaction may have a significant influence on the steam methane reforming experiments at 500-575 degrees C and 10 bar. Most of the CO2 is converted through the reverse steam reforming reaction in the range of 300-400 degrees C. At temperatures higher than 600 degrees C, the CO2 and CO productions through the two studied steam reforming reactions may be competitive for the steam reforming performance.