Kinetic investigation of dry reforming of methane reaction over Ni–Rh/ZrO2–Al2O3 catalyst using Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm

Abstract

The study involved conducting kinetic measurements for the dry reforming of methane (DRM) over a Ni–Rh/Al2O3 (85%)-ZrO2(15%) catalyst under a wide range of operating conditions (temperature: 500–900 °C, total flow rate of the inlet feed: 50–100 mL/min). The support material was prepared using the sol-gel method, followed by impregnation of Ni–Rh catalyst on the incipient wetness of the Al2O3–ZrO2 support. The calcined, reduced and spent samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), N2 adsorption/desorption and CHNS analyzer, and tested for activity, yield and stability in DRM reaction. Furthermore, kinetic behavior of Ni–Rh/Al2O3–ZrO2 catalyst in DRM process was investigated by assuming DRM and reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reactions take place on two kinds of different active sites. Experimental data were fitted using rate expressions based on the Langmuir-Freundlich (LF) isotherm for DRM and RWGS reactions. The activation energy for the DRM reaction was optimized at 43.62 kJ/mol, falling within the reported literature range of 24.73–108.9 kJ/mol. Statistical indices indicated that the kinetic model accurately predicted CO2 conversion compared to other responses, with an error of 12.054%. The computed and experimental trends for CH4 and CO2 conversions, H2 and Co yield in terms of temperature were similar with each other and the difference between the calculated and experimental trends was lower for conversions compared to yields.