Partial oxidation of methane in Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.1Ni0.1O3-δ ceramic membrane reactor

Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.1Ni_0.1O_3-δ(BSCFNiO) perovskite oxides were synthesized using a combined EDTA-citrate complexation method, and then pressed into disk and applied in a membrane reactor. The performance of the BSCFNiO membrane reactor was studied for partial oxidation of methane over Ni/a-Al₂O₃ catalyst. The time dependence of oxygen permeation rate and catalytic performance of BSCFNiO membrane during the catalyst initiation stage were investigated at 850°C. In unsteady state, oxygen permeation rate, methane conversion and CO selectivity were closely related to the state of the catalyst. After 300 min from the initial time, the reaction condition reached to steady state and oxygen permeation rate were obtained about 11.7cm³·cm⁻²·min⁻¹. Also, the performance of membrane reactor was studied at the temperatures between 750 and 950°C. The results demonstrated good performance for the membrane reactor, as CH₄ conversion and CO selectivity permeation rate reached 98% and 97.5%, respectively, and oxygen permeation rate was about 14.5 cm³·cm⁻²·min⁻¹ which was 6.8 times higher than that of air-helium gradient. Characterization of membrane surface by SEM after reaction showed that the original grains disappeared on both surfaces exposed to the air and reaction side, but XRD profile of the polished surface membrane indicated that the membrane bulk preserved the perovskite structure.