STUDY ON PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR-DRIVEN DRY REFORMING OF METHANE POROUS FOAM REACTOR

Yuan Dianhong; Xu Fubin; Gong Haiting; Chen Zhen; Fan Yongsheng; Zheng Xuerong

doi:10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2025-0803

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Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (9) : 387-394. DOI: 10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2025-0803

STUDY ON PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR-DRIVEN DRY REFORMING OF METHANE POROUS FOAM REACTOR

Yuan Dianhong¹, Xu Fubin¹, Gong Haiting¹, Chen Zhen¹, Fan Yongsheng², Zheng Xuerong³

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Abstract

This study presents a composite catalytic system integrating a nickel-based catalyst （Ni/MgAlOx） with porous foam supports. The investigation systematically examines three representative foam materials—nickel （Ni）, nickel-chromium alloy （NiCr）, and silicon carbide （SiC）—focusing on their distinct influences on solar-driven dry reforming of methance（DRM） performance. Experimental results demonstrate that the Ni/MgAlO_x/SiC foam reactor exhibits optimal catalytic performance, achieving average CH₄ and CO₂ conversion rates of 75.56% and 81.79%, respectively, with a solar-to-fuel efficiency of 38.86%, representing improvements of 5.26 and 3.14 percentage points over NiCr and Ni foam reactors, respectively. The enhanced performance primarily stems from SiC foam’s superior thermal conductivity, which reduces the axial temperature gradient from 167 ℃ （observed for Ni foam） to 59 ℃, thereby broadening the catalytic reaction domain. Furthermore, the SiC foam support exhibits superior mechanical strength that effectively resists internal stress caused by carbon deposition, thereby maintaining structural integrity and enhancing system operational stability. Consequently, the SiC foam reactor demonstrates no significant performance degradation during a 65-hour continuous test, whereas NiCr and Ni foam reactors experience severe performance deterioration at 42 hours and 24 hours, respectively. This study elucidates the synergistic mechanism of thermal conductivity and mechanical strength of foam supports on DRM performance, providing an experimental basis for material selection and thermo-mechano-chemical synergistic design of solar-driven DRM reactors.

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solar energy / thermochemistry / reforming / silicon carbide / carbon dioxide

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Yuan Dianhong, Xu Fubin, Gong Haiting, Chen Zhen, Fan Yongsheng, Zheng Xuerong. STUDY ON PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR-DRIVEN DRY REFORMING OF METHANE POROUS FOAM REACTOR[J]. Acta Energiae Solaris Sinica. 2026, 47(9): 387-394 https://doi.org/10.19912/j.0254-0096.tynxb.2025-0803

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