Critical role of transport phenomena in the performance of a catalytic fixed bed reactor for the CO2 hydrogenation to CH4 evaluated by modeling and simulation

•Steady-state 1D reactor models are built to simulate the CO2 hydrogenation to CH4.•Numerical strategies for the resolution of the reactor models are deeply analyzed.•The reactor models are validated with experimental data.•Mass/energy transport through diffusion/conduction in the axial direction is critical.•The heterogeneous model obtains the most accurate description of experimental data. CO2 hydrogenation with renewable hydrogen enables the production of CH4 to be used as energy carrier (CO2 + 4H2 ⇆ CH4 + 2H2O). Steady state 1D pseudo-homogeneous and heterogeneous models, in the absence or presence of mass and energy transport in the axial direction of the reactor and inside the solid phase, are considered to simulate a non-isothermal fix bed reactor. Numerical strategies for solving these models in Matlab R2022b are discussed. The pseudo-homogeneous plug-flow model is not able to describe the experimental results irrespective of the global heat transfer coefficient considered. The inclusion of mass and energy transport in the reactor axial direction is crucial for describing the experimental data. The inclusion of mass and heat transport inside the solid phase by the heterogeneous model enables the best fitting. This work provides a valuable modeling tool for future industrial-scale reactor design.