Microwave-assisted catalytic methane reforming: A review

• Published in: Applied catalysis. A, General Vol. 599; p. 117620
• Main Authors: Nguyen, Hoang M., Sunarso, Jaka, Li, Claudia, Pham, Gia Hung, Phan, Chi, Liu, Shaomin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 05.06.2020; Elsevier Science SA
• Subjects: Catalyst; Catalytic activity; Conversion; hot-spot; Liquid fuels; Methane; methane reforming; microwave; Natural gas; Nuclear fuels; Offshore drilling rigs; Reforming; syngas; Synthesis gas; syngas; hot-spot; Catalyst; microwave; methane reforming
• ISSN: 0926-860X; 1873-3875
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2020.117620

[Display omitted] •Mechanism of catalytic methane reforming and coke deposition under MW heating.•Activation mechanisms of carbon and metal-based catalysts under MW irradiation.•Guidelines for the design of catalysts for MW-based methane reforming.•Recent advances in catalyst development for MW-assisted methane reforming.•Challenges and recommendations in MW-assisted methane reforming. Microwave (MW) application into catalyzed methane reforming system has rapidly gained attention over the past two decades given the significantly enhanced conversion and yield performance as well as the suppression of coke deposition issue relative to the conventional methane reforming system. Such MW-assisted reforming technology is anticipated to play a key role in the near future to enable, via small-to-medium reactor units, conversion of the offshore and remote natural gas into liquid fuel, which uses syngas (i.e., a mixture of H2 and CO) as an intermediate chemical platform. This systematic review thus seeks to capture the relevant aspects of this technology by providing a comprehensive understanding of MW-assisted catalytic methane reforming. Guidelines for the development of high-performance catalyst under MW irradiation to retain enhanced catalytic activity over long methane reforming durations are also provided.