Production of Syngas by Combination of CO2 Reforming and Partial Oxidation of CH4 over Ni/Al2O3 Catalysts in Fixed-bed Reactor

Abstract

Ni/Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized by sol-gel method with various nickel loadings. Chemical and physical properties of the catalysts were characterized by XRD and TPR techniques. X-ray diffraction patterns showed no peaks due to NiO species. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) indicated that the nickel species mainly presented in NiAl2O4 phase. The effect of nickel loading on the catalytic activity of Ni/Al2O3 catalysts, selectivity of products, yield of hydrogen production and H2/CO ratio was investigated in the combination of dry reforming and partial oxidation of methane (DRPOM) reaction. The results indicated that these parameters are greatly dependent on the amount of nickel loading. The results also revealed that the catalyst with 20 percent nickel loading had the highest activity for syngas production after 270 min reaction on stream. The SEM images of spent catalysts showed the formation of filamentous carbon on the 20Ni/Al and 30Ni/Al catalysts.