Reduction of Carbon dioxide Emission through a Novel Configuration of Methanol Synthesis Reactor

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) warm the surface and the atmosphere with significant implications for rainfall, retreat of glaciers and sea ice, sea level, among other factors. Increased atmospheric CO2 concentration is widely being considered as the main driving factor that causes the phenomenon ofglobal warming. The chemical reduction of carbon dioxide is regarded as the most effective method to reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. A steady-state heterogeneous model for this methanol synthesis reactor was developed. This model is used to compare theremoval of CO2 in this reactor with a membrane dual type methanol reactor (MDMR) and conventional dual-type methanol synthesis reactor (CDMR). A cascade membrane methanolsynthesis reactor is a vertical shell and tube heat exchanger in which the first reactor is cooled withcooling water and the second one is cooled with synthesis gas. The wall of the tubes in the both reactor is covered with a palladium-silver membrane, which is only permeable to hydrogen. The simulation results represent 4.96% and 2.66% enhancement in the CO2 removal rate due to have a favorable profile of temperature along the CMMR relative to CDMR and MDMR, respectively.

Keywords:

CO2 removal , Hydrogen perm-selective , Cascade membrane reactor , Global warming , Greenhouse gases