Development of a Structured Reactor System for CO 2 Methanation under Dynamic Operating Conditions

Herein, the use of an additively manufactured rack‐type reactor for CO2 methanation under dynamic operating conditions is proposed. In detail, CO2 methanation using an additively manufactured structured reactor (catalyst: 2.5 wt% Ru/Al2O3/MgO) is reported. The dynamic operation is simulated by changing the reactant flow rates (loads) based on the operation strategy of an electrolyzer connected to a wind farm. Due to the high heat conductivity of the metallic structures, temperature hotspots related to load variations are avoided efficiently. In the test rig, these structured reaction systems reach equilibrium CO2‐conversions with only minor axial temperature gradients for various loads and thus offer a high potential for the dynamic operation of exothermic gas‐phase processes