Syngas production via bi-reforming of methane using transition metal based catalysts / Heng Yee Phang

Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering ) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2024

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Amidst global concerns over greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel depletion, the exploration of clean and sustainable energy became paramount. This research explored the field of methane bi-reforming, an innovative process that simultaneously produced syngas and reduced emissions of both methane and carbon dioxide. Catalyst deactivation in bi-reforming posed challenges, necessitating optimization for enhanced efficiency. This research priortized Ni and Co catalysts because of their balance between effectiveness and affordability. Hence, mono-metallic (Ni and Co) and bi-metallic (Ni-Co) were evaluated via bi-reforming of methane in this study. Three catalysts, 15%Ni/CeO2-CaO, 15%Co/CeO2-CaO and 7.5%Ni-7.5%Co/CeO2-CaO were synthesized using an ultrasonic impregnation-assisted technique and employed in bi-reforming of methane reaction for 8 hours. XRD, BET, SEM and TPO analysis were used to characterize the catalyst. Performance studies were conducted with different catalyst and temperature settings. In accordance with BET analysis, 7.5%Ni-7.5%Co/CeO2-CaO catalyst, possessing the largest surface area, demonstrated the greatest catalytic activity. The results from bi-reforming of methane reaction indicated 7.5%Ni-7.5%Co/CeO2-CaO catalyst displayed superior performance. This was evident in its high conversions, reaching 84% and 92% for CH4 and CO2 respectively, at a temperature of 800°C. Temperature variation experiments on the bi-metallic catalyst identified 900°C as optimal, achieving 91% CH4 conversion and 75% CO2 conversion. Unexpectedly, the high temperature resulting high ratio of H2/CO. This can be explained by the basic support provided by CeO2-CaO, facilitating the adsorption of CO2 while preventing reverse water gas shift reaction from producing CO. Post-reaction XRD on the spent catalyst at 800°C revealed crystalline graphite structures associated with carbon deposition while a lower degree of graphitization at lower temperatures. TPO analysis demonstrated that the bi-metallic catalyst had a high catalytic activity by showing significant amount of graphitic carbon had been deposited on its surface.