Alumina Support for Cobalt Catalyst in a Methane Dry Reforming Reaction: The Role of Water Content in a Solvent Medium

My Hien Thi Bach,Thanh Nha Thi Tran,Ngoc Thang Tran,Van Cuong Nguyen,Hong Anh Thi Nguyen,Eshorame Samuel Sanni

doi:10.1155/2021/6681796

Abstract

This study aimed to synthesize alumina from an inorganic aluminum nitrate precursor in various binary solvent systems of ethanol and water using the sol-gel self-assembly (SSA) method, employing a triblock copolymer, pluronic P123, as the pore-directing agent. The resulting materials were implemented as a support for the cobalt (Co) catalyst in a methane dry reforming (MDR) reaction at 1073 K under 1 atm. Regardless of the water percentage used in the support synthesis, the methane dry reforming reaction over Co catalysts on alumina supports showed the negligible change in conversion during the 12 h reaction. Moreover, there was evidence of large quantities of amorphous carbon and graphitic carbon on the spent catalyst surface. However, the low oxidation temperature of these deposited carbons could help maintain the balance between the carbon formation and the carbon elimination processes on the catalyst surface during the reforming reaction, hence prolonging the lifetime of the catalyst. The high conversion of methane (CH4) from 64.6% to 82.8% and carbon dioxide (CO2) from 70.7% to 86.6% for the MDR reaction over the as-prepared alumina-supported Co catalyst demonstrated a significant improvement in catalyst production for the MDR reaction from the viewpoint of large-scale applications.

Highlights

My Hien Thi Bach,1 Ngoc Thang Tran,1 Thanh Nha Thi Tran,1 Van Cuong Nguyen,1 and Hong Anh Thi Nguyen 2
The low oxidation temperature of these deposited carbons could help maintain the balance between the carbon formation and the carbon elimination processes on the catalyst surface during the reforming reaction, prolonging the lifetime of the catalyst. e high conversion of methane (CH4) from 64.6% to 82.8% and carbon dioxide (CO2) from 70.7% to 86.6% for the methane dry reforming (MDR) reaction over the as-prepared alumina-supported Co catalyst demonstrated a significant improvement in catalyst production for the MDR reaction from the viewpoint of large-scale applications
Is decrease in catalyst performance along with an increase in the water concentration in the solvent for the support preparation could be due to the modification in the support’s pore structure, which was caused by the increase in the water content. us, the MDR reaction performance strongly depends on the support’s features and the active Co metal properties, such as crystal size and dispersion [26]

Summary

Introduction

My Hien Thi Bach, Ngoc Thang Tran, Thanh Nha Thi Tran, Van Cuong Nguyen ,1 and Hong Anh Thi Nguyen 2. The methane dry reforming (MDR) method has emerged as a potential approach for producing syngas from CO2 and methane (CH4), which is a significant feedstock for downstream petrochemical processes [1,2,3,4,5,6]. This approach could have environmental and economic benefits, the catalyst limitations have impeded it from wide-ranging applications in large-scale industrial production

Methods

Results

Conclusion