Partial Oxidation of Methane and Oxygen Permeation in SrCoFeOx Membrane Reactor with Different Catalysts

Partial oxidation of methane (CH 4 ) and oxygen permeation in a dense SrCoFeO x disk membrane reactor were studied with the reducing side of the membrane packed with different catalysts (catalyst support γ-Al 2 O 3, La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ, and 10 wt % Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 ) of increasing reaction activities for CH 4 oxidation. The influence of temperature, flow rates, and inlet CH 4 concentration (diluted with helium) on the performance of the different membrane reactors was investigated. The oxygen permeation flux and CH 4 conversion increased in the following order: γ-Al 2 O 3 < La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3−δ < 10% Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 . The membrane reactor with the reforming catalyst of 10 wt % Ni/γ-Al 2 O 3 had the highest CH 4 conversion (∼90%), CO selectivity (97%), and oxygen permeation flux (2.40 mL/(cm 2 min)) at 900 °C. The improvement of the oxygen permeation through the membranes with different catalysts emphasizes the effect of the CH 4 oxidation reaction rate on the reducing side of the membrane on the oxygen permeation flux through the mixed-conducting ceramic membranes. Under identical conditions, the oxygen permeation flux through mixed-conducting ceramic membrane with a reducing gas is a strong function of the catalytic activity for the oxidation of the reducing gas.