High-resolution numerical simulations of turbulent non-catalytic reverse water gas shift

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Main Authors: Haugen, Nils Erland L., Brandenburg, Axel, Karchniwy, Ewa, Meyer, Ole Hauke Heinz, Ervik, Åsmund, Fyhn, Hursanay, Samaei, Ladan, Bringedal, Bjørn
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Haugen, Nils Erland L.
Brandenburg, Axel
Karchniwy, Ewa
Meyer, Ole Hauke Heinz
Ervik, Åsmund
Fyhn, Hursanay
Samaei, Ladan
Bringedal, Bjørn
author_facet Haugen, Nils Erland L.
Brandenburg, Axel
Karchniwy, Ewa
Meyer, Ole Hauke Heinz
Ervik, Åsmund
Fyhn, Hursanay
Samaei, Ladan
Bringedal, Bjørn
contents A green transition in aviation requires a drastic upscaling of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The power-to-liquid process for the production of CO2-neutral jet fuel via electricity, called e-SAF, directly replaces fossil jet fuel without having to change infrastructure, aeroplanes, or jet-engines. The process combines green hydrogen with industrial exhaust gas, or captured carbon dioxide, in a circular economy concept. A key element of the e-SAF production plant is the reactor where syngas is produced. Traditional reactors use catalytic technology, which faces severe challenges due to the reduced performance over time because of catalyst degradation, clogging, and breakup due to embrittlement. A high-potential alternative is the catalyst-free reverse water-gas-shift (RWGS) reactor concept. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the fundamental aspects of the catalyst-free RWGS process, such as reaction kinetics and the interactions between turbulence and chemistry. The secondary aim is to identify how a typical combustion subgrid scale models for Large Eddy Simulations (LES) perform when the chemical reactions are endothermic, in contrast to the strong endothermicity associated with classical combustion. It is found that even small traces of O2 in the CO2 stream can significantly increase the production rate of CO. This is attributed to the increased pool of OH. The effect is strongest at atmospheric pressure and less pronounced at higher pressure. By using the temporal jet framework to study turbulence-chemistry interactions, an algebraic equation for the prediction of the CO conversion time in a turbulent flow as a function of Damkohler number and chemical timescale is employed. Finally, it is concluded that the PaSR LES subgrid model designed for combustion reactions perform well also for the endothermic reverse water-gas-shift reaction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_08365
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-resolution numerical simulations of turbulent non-catalytic reverse water gas shift
Haugen, Nils Erland L.
Brandenburg, Axel
Karchniwy, Ewa
Meyer, Ole Hauke Heinz
Ervik, Åsmund
Fyhn, Hursanay
Samaei, Ladan
Bringedal, Bjørn
Fluid Dynamics
Soft Condensed Matter
A green transition in aviation requires a drastic upscaling of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The power-to-liquid process for the production of CO2-neutral jet fuel via electricity, called e-SAF, directly replaces fossil jet fuel without having to change infrastructure, aeroplanes, or jet-engines. The process combines green hydrogen with industrial exhaust gas, or captured carbon dioxide, in a circular economy concept. A key element of the e-SAF production plant is the reactor where syngas is produced. Traditional reactors use catalytic technology, which faces severe challenges due to the reduced performance over time because of catalyst degradation, clogging, and breakup due to embrittlement. A high-potential alternative is the catalyst-free reverse water-gas-shift (RWGS) reactor concept. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the fundamental aspects of the catalyst-free RWGS process, such as reaction kinetics and the interactions between turbulence and chemistry. The secondary aim is to identify how a typical combustion subgrid scale models for Large Eddy Simulations (LES) perform when the chemical reactions are endothermic, in contrast to the strong endothermicity associated with classical combustion. It is found that even small traces of O2 in the CO2 stream can significantly increase the production rate of CO. This is attributed to the increased pool of OH. The effect is strongest at atmospheric pressure and less pronounced at higher pressure. By using the temporal jet framework to study turbulence-chemistry interactions, an algebraic equation for the prediction of the CO conversion time in a turbulent flow as a function of Damkohler number and chemical timescale is employed. Finally, it is concluded that the PaSR LES subgrid model designed for combustion reactions perform well also for the endothermic reverse water-gas-shift reaction.
title High-resolution numerical simulations of turbulent non-catalytic reverse water gas shift
topic Fluid Dynamics
Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.08365