An evaluation of shale gas reforming technologies—Part I: Technology overview and selection

Shale gas monetization to value-added chemicals has gained extensive interest in the past decade due to the increased supply and proven reserves of shale gas.1–3 Natural gas monetization in the U.S. has not changed much despite the significant growth in shale gas production after 2010. An important pathway for utilizing and monetizing shale gas in the chemical industry is shale gas reforming to produce synthesis gas (syngas), which contains primarily hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO).4–6 Shale/natural gas account for about half of the total global capacity share of reforming.7 The quality of the produced syngas is primarily characterized by its hydrogen:carbon molar ratio.1,8 The quali