On-board methanol production using a hollow fibre-based reactor: modelling and experimental validation

Leishman, Claire, Hu, Zonggao, Duheric, Benjamin, Aggett, Kieran J., Li, Kang, Dummer, Nicholas F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0946-6304, Hutchings, Graham J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8885-1560, Krüger, Timm and García-García, Francisco R. 2026. On-board methanol production using a hollow fibre-based reactor: modelling and experimental validation. Chemical Engineering Journal 536 , 175992. 10.1016/j.cej.2026.175992

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Abstract

Catalytic hollow fibre-based reactors (HFRs) offer a compact, efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional reactor designs, with strong potential for on-board carbon utilisation. Despite experimental progress, the modelling of coupled transport-reaction phenomena in catalytic HFRs remains limited. This study develops a stepwise modelling framework to examine transport and reaction behaviour in the channel, the catalyst-coated finger and their coupled configuration. Results show that effective reactant delivery requires radial diffusion to be faster than axial advection, establishing a minimum reactor length for sustained conversion. Within the finger, diffusion dominates, leading to the definition of a characteristic finger decay length that provides the basis for a maximum effective finger length for optimal catalyst use. These insights inform the geometric and operational design of a catalytic HFR module for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. Experimentally, the HFR enhanced the performance of a Cu-ZnO/ZrO2 catalyst by a factor of three compared with a fixed bed reactor (FBR), due to intensified reactant–catalyst interaction and improved residence time distribution. The findings provide a quantitative framework for designing compact, high-performance reactors for distributed CO2 utilisation and other gas-phase catalytic processes.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Chemistry Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI)
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
ISSN:	1385-8947
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 April 2026
Date of Acceptance:	7 April 2026
Last Modified:	25 Aug 2026 22:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186346

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