Ni, Co, Fe supported on Ceria and Zr doped Ceria as oxygen carriers for chemical looping dry reforming of methane

Abstract

Chemical looping dry reforming of methane (CLDRM) consists in reacting CH4 with an oxygen carrier (OC) to produce syngas and subsequently oxidizing the OC using CO2. Based on previous work on Ni/CeO2, several ceria based OCs are explored. First, different preparation methods are compared. OCs obtained by Ni impregnation on homemade ceria or coprecipitation method show similar results while the use of a commercial ceria leads to an inactive carrier. Second, Zr doping of the carrier is shown to improve the thermal stability of the material but the increased oxygen mobility promotes the total oxidation of methane instead of syngas production. Simultaneously higher amounts of coke are produced. Then, the substitution of Ni by other active elements is explored. Iron doped OC leads to very low CLDRM activity in the temperature range explored (600–800 °C). Furthermore, selectivity is negatively affected as iron oxide can contribute as oxygen carrier together with ceria, contrary to Ni or Co. Finally, substitution of Ni with Co is studied resulting in a lower reactivity towards methane. This proves to be particularly interesting at low temperature (600–650 °C) by providing good balance between surface properties for methane activation and bulk mobility of oxygen species.