Effect of electron beam irradiation on CO 2 reforming of methane over Ni/Al 2O 3 catalysts

Abstract

The effect of electron beam irradiation on the CO 2 reforming of methane over Ni/Al 2O 3 was investigated. The conversion rate of CO 2 and CH 4 forming H 2 and CO using various catalysts irradiated with an absorbed dose greater than 2 MGy was 5–10% higher than when using an untreated catalyst. The Ni/O ratio on the catalyst surface increased after treatment with an electron beam, and was more prominent for catalysts with a higher Ni content. As such, based on XRD and XPS measurements, electron beam treatment was found to result in either the desorption of oxygen from NiO or the removal of OH groups from the outermost surface layer of the catalyst. In addition, the concentration of active sites, such as Ni 2+ and NiO, or surface defects was also found to increase with the absorbed radiation dose, thereby increasing the conversion rate.