Abatement of emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide is crucial to reduce global warming. For that, dry reforming of methane allows to convert methane and carbon dioxide into useful synthesis gas, named ‘syngas’, a gas mixture rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide. However, this process requires high temperatures of about 900 °C to activate methane and carbon dioxide because dry reforming of methane reaction is highly endothermic. Therefore, a solid catalyst with appropriate thermal properties is needed for the reaction. As a consequence, efficient heating of the reactor is required to control heat transfer and optimize energy consumption. Microwave-assisted dry reforming of methane thus appears as a promising alternative to conventional heating. Here we review the recent research on microwave-assisted dry reforming of methane. We present thermodynamical aspects of the dry reforming of methane, and basics of microwave heating and apparatus. We analyse reformers that use microwave heating. Catalysts used in a microwave-assisted reformer are presented and compared with reactors using conventional heating. Finally, the energy balance is discussed.

减少甲烷和二氧化碳等温室气体的排放对于减少全球变暖至关重要。为此，甲烷的干重整允许将甲烷和二氧化碳转化为有用的合成气，称为“合成气”，一种富含氢气和一氧化碳的气体混合物。但是，该方法需要约900℃的高温来活化甲烷和二氧化碳，因为甲烷反应的干重整是高度吸热的。因此，该反应需要具有适当热性能的固体催化剂。结果，需要对反应器进行有效加热以控制热传递并优化能量消耗。因此，微波辅助的甲烷干重整似乎是常规加热的有前途的替代方法。在这里，我们回顾了微波辅助甲烷干重整的最新研究。我们介绍了甲烷干重整的热力学方面，以及微波加热和设备的基础知识。我们分析了使用微波加热的重整器。介绍了在微波辅助重整器中使用的催化剂，并将其与使用常规加热的反应器进行了比较。最后，讨论了能量平衡。