Stable Performance of Ni Catalysts in the Dry Reforming of Methane at High Temperatures for the Efficient Conversion of CO2 into Syngas

The catalytic performance of a Ni/MgAlOx catalyst was investigated in the high temperature CO2 reforming of CH4. The catalyst was developed using a Ni, Mg, Al hydrotalcite-like precursor obtained by co-precipitation. Despite the high Ni loading of 55 wt%, the synthesized Ni/MgAlOx catalyst possessed a thermally stable microstructure up to 900 degrees C with Ni nanoparticles of 9 nm. This stability is attributed to the embedding nature of the oxide matrix, and allows increasing the reaction temperature without losing active Ni surface area. To evaluate the effect of the reaction temperature on the reforming performance and the coking behavior, two different reaction temperatures (800 and 900 degrees C) were investigated. At both temperatures the prepared catalyst showed high rates of CH4 consumption. The higher temperature promotes the stability of the catalyst performance due to mitigation of the carbon formation.