Development of nano-nickel catalysts for carbon monoxide methanation and dry reforming of methane

• Main Author: Oh, Sam Jin An
• Other Authors: Xie Ming
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Processes and operations; DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering::Chemical processes
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/64338
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Supported Ni catalyst, one of most important heterogeneous catalysts, is widely used for dehydrogenation and hydrogenation reactions such as CH4/alcohols steam reforming, methanation of CO and CO2 and dry reforming of CH4. Coking, sintering of active metal, and sulfur poisoning are the main factors that led to the deactivation of nickel-based catalyst. Many researches have been done to minimize the rate of deactivation and it had been found that small and well-dispersed nickel particles and support that interact with the carbon deposits can enhance the durability of the catalyst. Morphology of the nanoparticles played a crucial role in the catalytic activity and durability of the catalyst. This project focused on two reactions, namely carbon monoxide methanation and dry reforming of methane, to convert carbon dioxide into valuable syngas based on nickel catalyst. Firstly, to achieve better catalytic activity for carbon monoxide methanation, this project synthesized a 3-D nickel nanoflower with mesoporous silica coating layer around the ‘petal’ via a novel method. BET, TEM, XRD, TPR, and H2-TPD suggested that this catalyst is novel and favorable for the reaction. The initial performance of the catalysts showed that the catalysts were industrially attractive, however, their deactivation rates were relatively high. Secondly, researchers had found that rare earth metals are able to promote nickel catalyst and enhance its performance and stability. Currently, most of the researches have been conducted to dope catalyst with cerium oxide and lanthanum oxide. However, minimal work was done to the other rare earth metal. This project doped the 10%Ni/MG30 with four other rare earth metal and compares them with cerium oxide and lanthanum oxide. BET, TEM, XRD, TPR, and H2-TPD results further proved that rare earth enhanced the dispersion of nickel and the size of the nickel particles.