Electrically heated catalytic reforming reactors

Project Information

eQATOR

Grant agreement ID: 101058293

DOI

10.3030/101058293

EC signature date 25 May 2022

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 31 October 2026

Funded under

• Digital, Industry and Space

Total cost

€ 8 415 722,01

EU contribution

€ 7 535 960,38

Coordinated by

SINTEF AS
Norway

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - eQATOR (Electrically heated catalytic reforming reactors)

Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2024-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The main goal of ēQATOR is demonstration of scalable, electrically-heated catalytic reactor technologies in an industrially relevant environment (TRL 6) for the conversion of biogas into syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO) with improved efficiency compared to the state-of-art. This will bridge biogas production with downstream conversion technology, yielding higher added-value products produced from syngas, such as methanol (MeOH). The central innovation in ēQATOR is the integrated development of catalysts and reactors and two different, complementary, electrical heating technologies, resistive heating (RH) and microwave heating (MWH), leading to disruptive reactor technologies for syngas production. ēQATOR will help transform syngas production from large-volume reactors with fired burners using fossil carbon feedstocks to electrically-heated and compact reactors (up to 90 % reduction in total reactor size and 50-75 % reduction in catalyst volume) using renewable carbon feedstocks, realising significant benefits from process intensification. Consequently, implementation of the ēQATOR technology will decrease life-cycle CO2 emissions in syngas production by 60-80 % and save from 7Mt CO2/year in 2030, up to around 45 Mt CO2/year in 2045, leading to cumulated CO2 emissions savings of at least 330 Mt by 2045. Demonstration of both RH and MWH technologies at TRL 6 will allow ēQATOR to evaluate the potential of these electrically-heated catalytic reactor technologies against each other, thus identifying better the strengths and weaknesses of each for further TRL development.
The project has four objectives for realisation of the main goal. Objective 1 is the development of tailored innovative catalyst materials suitable for electrical RH and MWH. These will provide a stable catalyst composition that can valorise, without coking, a range of industrial and agricultural biogas compositions. Methodologies for upscaling supported catalysts for the TRL 6 reactor will be developed. Objective 2 is the integrated development of the next generation of catalytic routes and reactor designs that can utilize alternative energy resources. The reactors will be designed with emphasis on process intensification, industrial scalability and adaptability to other reactions. Objective 3 is the overall integration and demonstration of an economically viable, environmentally friendly and socially acceptable process for an industrially feasible, electrical conversion of biogas to MeOH at TRL 6. The deployment of the ēQATOR technology for syngas production from biogas, within a MeOH value chain, will provide an economically competitive, environmentally friendly and fully renewable carbon alternative to fossil-based MeOH in a scenario with low-cost renewable power and increased CO2 cost. Objective 4 is the increase in renewable energy use through deployment of electrification in EU industry and innovative business models, including the impact of deploying electrical heating in EU industry and assessment of the potential for sustainable use of biogas.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

ēQATOR has developed a catalyst for the dry reforming of biogas to syngas that is stable for up to 300 h time-on-stream and shows no evidence of coking under the preferred dry reforming conditions. Its tolerance to impurities has been mapped. This catalyst meets all the necessary development criteria and is the choice for further development. For RH, the catalyst will be placed on an electrically conductive ceramic monolith via a washcoating procedure. An appropriate washcoat formulation has been successfully developed and shows comparable catalytic performance. Electricity will be supplied to the RH monoliths via Ni contacts. A PID controller and steady-state-relay will control the amount of electricity to, and thus the temperature of, each individual monolith. Mechanical drawings for a RH reactor that will have a series of 50 mm edge-length monoliths in parallel have been completed. A model for the MWH reactor has been developed and the number and type of MW generators has been established. CFD models for both reactors have been completed.
Two different process schemes with simulations have been completed. The dry reforming (DR) scheme was developed for biogas produced from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and will have only biogas (CH4 and CO2) as reactant. The mixed reforming (MR) scheme was developed for biogas produced from manure and will include the addition of steam. The MR scheme can be considered less challenging as compared to the DR configuration. A Process Design Book that includes documentation and process & instrumentation diagrams for safe operation of the pilot plant has been completed.
The overall goal and scope, the general definitions and settings and the system description have been determined as the bases for the project's integrated life cycle sustainability assessment work. The first iteration of the life cycle assessment has been completed, and preliminary results show that emissions from biogas, electricity for the syngas reactor and H2 production are the important contributions for many impact categories. For the greenhouse gas balance, the emission factor from electricity production is decisive. With fully renewable electricity by 2050, there are clear benefits over the state-of-the-art, but the comparison with MeOH produced from CO2 and H2 will depend on electricity grid stabilization and the role of biogas in it. The electricity and carbon use efficiencies are encouraging for ēQATOR as compared to other technologies producing renewable MeOH.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The eventual advance of the ēQATOR technology beyond the state-of-the-art will largely be determined by the TRL 6 demonstration results. Identification of a stable catalyst and a similarly stable washcoat formulation that does not deactivate from coking under the expected reaction conditions is a key result. That, combined with the innovative RH reactor has been designed and is essentially ready for construction and the innovative process scheme for dry reforming, is encouraging for a successful TRL 6 demonstration. The parallel reactor configuration and material selection are both suitable for upscaling to higher TRLs.
The TRL 6 pilot plant will run at 10 Nm3/h feed gas for 1000 h. This is 2 % of the envisioned feed for a full-scale commercial plant. Given the caveats of a successful project with positive economic and environmental outlook, the next step would be demonstration of combined dry reforming and MeOH production at a scale of about 100 Nm3/h. The current techno-economic analysis, however, suggests an ēQATOR MeOH price that would need subsidies to achieve market penetration.

Sustainability of éQATOR syngas technology over state-of-the-art