Dry reforming of methane over Ni/fibrous Zeolite-Y: optimization and regeneration studies

Abstract

This study optimized the catalytic performance of Ni/Fibrous Zeolite-Y (Ni/FHY) toward dry reforming of methane (DRM). The optimization study was conducted under three independent variables employing the response surface methodology (RSM), trailed by a regeneration and stability studies. The study focused on the independent parameters of reaction temperature (A) (700 °C–900 °C), gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) (B) (15,000 mL/gcat −1.h−1 – 35,000 mL/gcat −1.h−1), and CH4/CO2 ratio (C) (1.0–3.0). The catalyst exhibited excellent activity (CH4 conversion = 94.5%, CO2 conversion = 88.3%, and H2/CO = 1.05) when all the parameters were under these optimum conditions (A = 833 °C, B = 24,962 mL/gcat −1.h−1, and C = 2.08). The catalytic stability study revealed an excellent performance of Ni/FHY where there was no indication of catalyst deactivation up to 30 h of time-on-stream (TOS). The outcome of the excellent catalytic activity can be explained by Ni-metal inclusion that enabled a substantial increase in the interaction between FHY and Ni, hence, subdued carbon formation. The regeneration study showed a good performance of regeneration owing to the capability of air to regenerate the catalyst completely, thus resulting in an excellent performance with 90 h TOS.