Thermodynamic Analysis of Nonoxidative Dehydroaromatization of Methane

Abstract The thermodynamics of methane dehydroaromatization in the absence and presence of coke‐removing agents was studied using the Gibbs free energy minimization approach. Numerical results indicated that higher temperatures and lower pressures increase methane conversion as well as formation of olefins and aromatics but suppress that of paraffins. Higher H 2 /CH 4 ratios enhance the selectivity of light hydrocarbons but reduce that of naphthalene. Benzene selectivity has a maximum at an H 2 /CH 4 molar ratio of 0.26. Methane conversion exhibits a minimum at an H 2 O/CH 4 molar ratio of 0.07. As the H 2 O/CH 4 ratio increases, formations of heavier hydrocarbons decrease at the expense of CO, CO 2 , and hydrogen. These results may provide guidelines to improve the process performance.