Microwave vs conventional heating in hydrogen production via catalytic dry reforming of methane

Abstract

The world's energy systems are undergoing radical change driven by the commitments to achieve net zero emissions and energy independence. Development of clean hydrogen economy is of paramount importance and hydrogen is expected to play a more important role in the future energy market. An interesting way to produce hydrogen is via dry reforming reaction which uses two green house gasses (CH₄ and CO₂) as feedstock. Dry reforming is a challenging reaction to scale-up due to its high endothermic and coke formation nature. Microwave has gained interest in the past years as a superior heating mechanism in catalytic reactions due to its capacity in enhancing conversions of reactants and selectivity of products, and suppression of coke formation. Such characteristics has made microwave an excellent alternative to conventional heating in dry reforming reaction. In this study, we aim to discuss different aspects of microwave heating technology and its application in the catalytic dry reforming of methane. The advantages of microwave-assisted methane reforming are discussed via the comparison to the conventional heating.