UCLA

With increasing concern over the environmental impact of chemical manufacturing processes, a transition to synthesis methods that replace fossil fuel based processes with renewable electricity based processes is eminent. This work highlights the development of a high temperature proton conducting membrane reactor based on BZCY tubular membrane architecture which was designed and built to test the electrochemical SMR performance of BZCY membrane systems. Alongside this, an existing reactor system was retrofit to utilize Joule heating by applying an electric current directly through the FeCrAlloy reactor tube. CO2 methanation and SMR tests were performed, and results was compared between Joule heating and external heating by a furnace. Joule heating showed improved methane conversion and reaction rates up to twice that observed when externally heated by the furnace. Together, these systems provide new capabilities for testing electric based SMR that will aid future research in the Morales-Guio group.