Mathematical modeling of the reaction of metal oxides with methane

Methane reduction has attracted substantial interest in recent years because an abundant amount of natural gas has been found and methane possesses a strong reduction ability. However, due to the complexity of the reaction, the reductive-kinetics model has not been developed very well. This work reported a new mathematical model for methane reduction. The model is in a form of explicit functions incorporating many parameters to increase its precision. Particularly, it considers the comparison of methane cracking rate and reaction rate. Both the gas diffusion in the product layer and chemical reaction controlled-kinetics formulae were deduced by considering three kinds of shapes (spherical, cylindrical and lamellar) of particles. Also, by employing two parameters (shape coefficient S _c and equivalent diameter d ₀), the formulae for the same reduction mechanism could be unified to one formula, which was easier to use. The simulation of the model also considers both isothermal and non-isothermal processes of methane reduction. Furthermore, it can describe the reduction of oxides of varied-valence metals. The kinetics of reduction of metal oxides by methane agrees with the results obtained in the practical system.