After water-gas shift, this step is used to further reduce the carbon monoxide in feedstocks, down to levels that will not poison the fuel cell.
Previously, a selective CO oxidation process, introducing air, has been used for this step. However, Süd-Chemie has developed a method that is more efficient at removing carbon monoxide and provides additional benefits, as well...
Selective Methanation
In a single step, Süd-Chemie's selective methanation simply takes the effluent from water-gas shift and reacts it to CO levels of <10ppm—resulting in higher reformate quality.
There is no need to introduce air, no nitrogen dilution and no danger of combusting to H2O. It also permits smaller, simpler system designs since it does not require air input mechanisms, air filters, flow controllers or other such hardware.
Our selective methanation catalysts are available both in pellets and washcoated on monoliths. They feature high selectivity and wide temperature windows. This innovative solution is showing significnt promise especially for newer portable fuel cells, allowing size reduction and increased portability.
