Aluminum Open Cell Foams as Efficient Supports for Carbon Dioxide Methanation Catalysts: Pilot‐Scale Reaction Results

To control the highly exothermal nature of carbon dioxide methanation (ΔRH=−165 kJ mol−1), a reactor capable of efficiently evacuating the heat generated is essential. A pilot‐scale (≈75 cm3) structured bed filled with an aluminum open cell foam (OCF) was chosen for the many advantages of this kind of reactor (high surface/volume ratio, low pressure drop, intensification of mass and heat transfer). A coating procedure for aluminum OCF was first developed. Different catalytic test conditions allowed a low temperature increase with a maximal value of 25 °C, as well as the influence of reaction temperature, pressure and flow rate on the axial temperature profile along the bed, to be shown. Finally, a comparison of the data collected herein for a powder fixed bed shows that the methane productivity obtained is similar to that obtained for the same catalyst in the powder form, but a much lower temperature increase due to the reaction and a lower pressure drop where clearly observed when using the aluminum OCF‐supported catalyst.