Theoretical and Empirical Equilibrium Concentration for the Dry Reforming of Methane

The Dry Reforming of Methane, which uses methane and carbon dioxide, the two greenhouse gasses, to produce synthesis gas, has received considerable attention recently. In this work, the equilibrium conversion that is the maximum possible conversion has been obtained experimentally and theoretically. The equilibrium concentration for the Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) has been calculated using Thermodynamic equilibrium and compared with the experimental equilibrium concentration. The reaction coordinate (ε), Gibbs free energy (G), reaction equilibrium constant (K), and reaction stoichiometric coefficients are used for the calculation of the reaction progress and the equilibrium composition in DRM at different temperatures. These parameters have been calculated by two primary methods, direct and Lagrange, and compared with an empirical equilibrium that has been revealed by the activity test on Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The result shows that none of those can’t make an exact determination of empirical equilibrium compositions, but there was a relatively good agreement between the Lagrange method and the empirical equilibrium. No significant difference has been observed between these methods and empirical conditions at high temperature.