Effect of equilibrium shift by using lithium silicate pellets in methane steam reforming

Abstract Equilibrium shifting is considered to be effective for promoting H 2 production by methane (CH 4 ) steam reforming. In this study, a packed bed reactor with a mixture of reforming catalyst and CO 2 absorbent was used. Pellets of lithium silicate (Li 4 SiO 4 ), which Toshiba has developed, were applied as the absorbent. This is a report on the relationship between CO 2 absorption by Li 4 SiO 4 pellets and the equilibrium-shift effect for overall reactions. Experiments showed that there was a strong influence of temperature on the equilibrium-shift effect. The effect was obvious, which resulted in keeping not only the concentration of H 2 above 93 vol% but also that of CO below 0.2 vol% at 550 °C.