Mesoporous Zirconia Supported Nickel Catalysts for Coke Minimization in Dry Reforming of Methane

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Dry reforming of methane is a promising route for conversion of two of the most abundant greenhouse gases to syngas. Ni based catalysts are generally preferred due to low cost and good activity. However, significant coke formation over Ni catalysts is a challenging problem. Mesoporous zirconia, with its good affinity to CO2 adsorption is considered as one of the promising catalyst supports for this reaction. In this work, mesoporous zirconia was synthesized following two different hydrothermal routes, using Pluronic P-123 or Cetyltrimethyl ammoniumbromide (CTMAB) as surfactants. Mesoporous zirconia, having a surface area of 209 m2/g was obtained by using P-123. Then, 5% Ni was impregnated into the synthesized supports. Dry reforming was performed at 600oC at a space time of 0.1 s.g.cm-3. Results proved quite stable performance of the Ni impregnated zirconia catalysts. Methane and CO2 fractional conversion values of about 0.2 and 0.3 were obtained, respectively. Higher CO2 conversion than CH4 is due to reverse water gas shift reaction. Hydrogen and CO selectivities were also quite stable. H2/CO ratio in the product stream was about 0.6, indicating strong contribution of RWGSR. The main attractive result obtained with the mesoporous zirconia based catalysts is minimization of coke formation.

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Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2013 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: May 12, 2013
Pages: 302 - 305
Industry sectors: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing | Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Catalysis
ISBN: 978-1-4822-0594-7