Numerical Study to Define Initial Thermal Integration Window for Methane Oxidative Coupling with Dehydroaromatization Reactors

Oxidative coupling of methane and methane dehydroaromatization are attractive one-step conversion routes to make valuable platform chemicals more sustainable. Both processes require elevated temperatures above 600°C, good heat management, and the use of heterogeneous catalysts. None of these reactions are yet commercial due to many technical challenges. This work explores the potential of combining these two processes under one umbrella to overcome some of the technical challenges and make these processes more attractive. It focuses on the recuperative autothermal reactor coupling as one of the possible integration options. A tube-in-tube reactor design is proposed in which OCM is in the inner tube and MDA is in the outside. A numerical study is carried out using pseudohomogenous ideal fixed bed reactor models with literature kinetics. A systematic tabulated approach is used to simplify, visualize, and structure the design process and view the design options. Practical constraints such as reactor sizing, pressure drop, reaction performance, and axial temperature profile are investigated. The effect of heat transfer coefficient, diluents, catalyst profiling, and flow direction have been investigated to alter the axial temperature profile, avoid thermal run away, and improve the performance. Multiple thermally coupled OCM-MDA reactor design candidates are identified. This is the first time that the thermal coupling of OCM and MDA has been identified and quantified. These candidates are merely a starting point toward exploring the full coupling opportunities between OCM and MDA toward reaching the ultimate and more attractive option of full mass and heat integration in the same reactor.