Syngas Production via Reverse Water-Gas Shift Reaction over a Ni-Al2O3 Catalyst: Catalyst Stability, Reaction Kinetics, and Modeling

The synthesis of liquid fuels from CO2, e.g., separated from flue gases of power plants, and H-2 from renewables, i.e., water electrolysis, is a concept for substituting fossil fuels in the transport sector. It consists of two steps, syngas production via reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) and synfuel production by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Research is concentrated on the RWGS using a Ni-catalyst. The catalyst shows an appropriate performance in catalyzing the RWGS. The catalyst is stable at technically relevant temperatures. The intrinsic and effective kinetics were determined and considerations on a technical application of the process are proposed.