Ni catalysts with different promoters supported on zeolite for dry reforming of methane

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is considered a high endothermic reaction with operating temperatures between 700 and 1000 °C to achieve high equilibrium conversion of CH4 and CO2 to the syngas (H2 and CO). The conventional catalysts used for DRM are Ni-based catalysts. However, many of these catalysts suffer from the short longevity due to carbon deposition. This study aims to evaluate the effect of La and Ca as promoters for Ni-based catalysts supported on two different zeolite supports, ZL (A) (BET surface area = 925 m2/g, SiO2/Al2O3 mol ratio = 5.1), and ZL (B) (BET surface area = 730 m2/g, SiO2/Al2O3 mol ratio = 12), for DRM. The physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were characterized with XRD, BET, TEM and TGA. These catalysts were tested for DRM in a microtubular reactor at reaction conditions of 700 °C. The catalyst activity results show that the catalysts Ni/ZL (B) and Ca-Ni/ZL (B) give the highest methane conversion (60 %) with less time on stream stability compared with promoted Ni on ZL (A). In contrast, La-containing catalysts, La-Ni/ZL (B), show more time on stream stability with minimum carbon content for the spent catalyst indicating the enhancement of the promoters to the Ni/ZL (A) and (B), but with less catalytic activity performance in terms of methane and carbon dioxide conversions due to rapid catalyst deactivation.