Production of syngas via CO2 reforming of methane over Ni/SBA-15

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of Ni loading (1-7 wt.%) on the properties of Ni/SBA-15 and CO₂ reforming of methane were studied. Ni/SBA-15 catalyst was synthesized by sol-gel method and was characterized by XRD, BET, TEM and FTIR to study the physicochemical properties. The catalyst was evaluated for CO₂ reforming at 800 ^oC using fixed bed reactor. The N₂ adsorption-desorption results confirmed that all the samples the present of ordered mesoporous structure of SBA-15, where the surface area, pore volume and pore diameter were decreased as the Ni loading increased. Moreover, the dispersion of Ni species and formation of NiO crystallite size are depending on the wt.% of Ni loading on SBA-15 support which directly related to the substitution of surface silanol group with Ni species. Catalytic activity test revealed that the optimum Ni loading was at 3 wt.% with the CH₄ conversion, CO₂ conversion and H₂/CO ratio was about 55%, 47%, and 0.99, respectively. Meanwhile, higher Ni loading (7 wt.%) decreased the catalytic performance of catalyst due to the agglomeration of Ni particles on the SBA-15 surfaces which led to easier sintering and carbon deposition on the catalyst surfaces.