Reaction kinetic and application of methane reforming with CO2/H2O in flue gas for heat recovery and carbon conversion

Methane reforming with the flue gas rich in carbon dioxide and steam emitted from industry is an effective method to achieve heat recovery and reduce carbon emission. This study investigated the reaction kinetic and mechanism of methane reforming with CO₂/H₂O in flue gas under various conditions of temperatures, mixing gas ratios, and flow rates. The results show that methane and flue gas can react sufficiently above 1200 °C with a conversion rate exceeding 90 %. Raising methane levels by 16 % boosts hydrogen production by 12 %, while increasing CO₂ by 7 % enhances CO yield by 10 %. The average activation energy for the methane flue gas reforming reaction can be obtained by fitting to the power-law kinetics model, which is 202.8 kJ/mol. Concurrently, by integrating density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the mechanism model for the reforming of methane/flue gas has been derived, which also demonstrates that the carbon black produced from methane pyrolysis can act as a catalyst for the methane reforming reaction. This study aims to a theoretical foundation and process parameters for the design of carbon capture, utilization, and heat recovery from industrial waste flue gas.