Research on the influence of operating conditions and structural parameters on high temperature electrolysis for hydrogen production coupled with methanation reaction system

The influence of critical parameters, including inlet flow rate, operating voltage, bed height, and aspect ratio, on the performance of the coupled system was systematically investigated. [Results] The results indicate that the CO2 conversion rate increases with decreasing inlet gas flow rate and rising operating voltage in the SOEC. Specifically, within the methanation reactor, the CO2 conversion rate rises from 57.23% to 82.68% as the bed height increases from 50 mm to 400 mm.

Similarly, an increase in the length-to-diameter ratio from 1 to 6 leads to an improvement in CO2 conversion rate from 78.41% to 87.14%. [Conclusions] The optimal design parameters for the methanation reactor are determined to be a bed height of 300 mm and a length-to-diameter ratio of 3. These findings provide significant support for the formulation of operation strategies and the design of SOEC-methanation coupled systems.