Insights in the application of highly conductive structured catalysts to CO2 methanation: Computational study

Nowadays, the optimization of the heat management in highly exothermic processes is a key issue. In recent years, highly conductive structured catalysts have been widely recognized in recent years as a tool for the process intensification of several technologies of this kind. To the best of our knowledge, despite the great availability of studies (both experimental and computational) on the topic, only the potentiality of this application has been discussed so far. Less attention has been paid to the limitations of structured catalysts systems. This work aims to provide an overview on the application of different types of structured catalysts in highly exothermic reactions using as probe reaction the methanation of CO2, offering a perspective view on the industrialization and scale up of this technology. The transport phenomena of momentum, heat and mass coupled with the chemical reaction have been detailed via computational study and compared to a previous experimental work, highlighting how the potentiality observed on lab scale will lose appeal in a scaled-up configuration, where higher Reynolds numbers are involved. Finally, the study provides a possible solution for the application of structured catalysts on bigger scale, without losing the advantages of thermal conductivity observed in the lab-scale experiments.