New performing hydroxyapatite-based catalysts in dry-reforming of methane

Abstract

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a promising process for the production of synthetic gas from carbon dioxide and methane. However, the design of a performing catalyst for this reaction is still challenging since catalyst deactivation usually takes place, principally by thermal sintering at high temperatures (700–950 °C) and by carbon deposition. In this work, calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP) and HAP-doped magnesium (Mg_HAP) supported nickel catalysts were synthesized by wet precipitation method, characterized by various physico-chemical and thermal techniques, and evaluated in DRM reaction. Outstanding catalytic performance in DRM could be obtained with Ni/ HAP and Ni/Mg_HAP catalysts, thanks to a tunable acidity-basicity of these supports, a strong metal-support interaction, and a good thermal stability of nickel nanoparticles. H2 and CO were the main products, with stable selectivity up to 85 ∓ 3%, while H2O and solid carbon were byproducts with 5–10% of selectivity.