A compact heat recirculating spiral geometry for thermal integration for Sabatier reaction in microreactor

Abstract

Sabatier reaction, the catalytic reduction of CO 2 to methane, is a reversible and exothermic reaction that produces CO as a by-product. We use two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to analyze the performance of a three-turn spiral microreactor, useful for portable or modular applications. Spiral reactor has inlet at the center followed by three turns that spirals outwards. It allows thermal integration via cocurrent self-coupling of Sabatier reaction, which enables utilizing the exothermic heat of methanation for preheating of the cold reactants by hot products. Due to compact nature of the geometry, heat released spreads out in the reactor causing an overall moderation of temperature. A favorable cooling effect is achieved in spiral geometry without using external cooling or feed dilution, merely by the property of reactor configuration.