Efficient dry reforming of methane with CO2 over magnesium oxide supported nickel and molybdenum catalysts

Abstract

Global carbon dioxide concentrations are steadily increasing without any sustainable solution in sight, mainly due to the scale of the emissions. In petrochemical industries many high CO2 emitting processes are utilized, including steam reforming that generates CO2 via water-gas shift reaction. Steam reforming is essentially used to generate syn gas through the reaction of CH4 and H2O. An alternative route for syn gas production is via dry reforming, which is a carbon neutral reforming process that helps reduce global warming by simultaneously utilizing two greenhouse gases, namely CO2 and CH4. Additionally, it requires no water, making it a lucrative syn gas production option for countries of scarce water supply, when compared to steam reforming. Despite these advantages, dry reforming needs to overcome many challenges prior to widespread industrial implementation, mainly on the development of an efficient catalyst. In this study, a new dry reforming catalyst was developed by reducing nickel and then supporting it on MgO substrate having molybdenum as a promoter. The results revealed a conversion yield over 90% with continuous activity over 300 hours without deactivation. In addition, the H2/CO ratio was near 1, a desired ratio for liquid production via the Fischer Tropsch process.