The methanation feed contains hydro

The methanation feed contains hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, as shown in Table 1. In both cases the highly exothermic CO and CO2 methanation reactions (Eq. 1 and 2) produce water and methane. The moderately exothermic WGS reaction (Eq. 3) also occurs. All three reactions being exothermic suggest that all three reactions are favored at lower temperatures. Being equilibrium-controlled the unwanted reverse reactions of Eq 1 and Eq 2 consume the desired methane product. Thus, for thermodynamic reasons lower operating temperature is desired.