Premium
Preparation of Highly Active Nickel Catalysts Supported on Mesoporous Nanocrystalline γ ‐Al 2 O 3 for Methane Autothermal Reforming
Author(s) -
Sepehri Soodeh,
Rezaei Mehran
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201400566
Subject(s) - nanocrystalline material , catalysis , calcination , methane reformer , nickel , methane , materials science , mesoporous material , temperature programmed reduction , syngas , scanning electron microscope , space velocity , chemical engineering , carbon dioxide reforming , inorganic chemistry , steam reforming , metallurgy , chemistry , nanotechnology , hydrogen production , selectivity , organic chemistry , composite material , engineering
Autothermal reforming (ATR) of methane was carried out over nanocrystalline Al 2 O 3 ‐supported Ni catalysts with various Ni loadings. Mesoporous nanocrystalline γ ‐Al 2 O 3 powder with high specific surface area was prepared by the sol‐gel method and employed as support for the nickel catalysts. The prepared samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller, temperature‐programmed reduction, temperature‐programmed hydrogenation, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. It is demonstrated that the methane conversion increased with increasing in Ni content and that the catalyst with 25 wt % Ni exhibited the highest activity and a stable catalytic performance in the ATR process, with a low degree of carbon formation. Furthermore, the effects of the reaction temperature, the calcination temperature, the steam/CH 4 and O 2 /CH 4 ratios, and the gas hourly space velocity on the catalytic performance of the 25 % Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst were investigated.