Dry Reforming of CH4 over Sol-Gel Synthesized Ni-Co/Al2O3-MgO Nanocatalyst Promoted with Different Amount of ZrO2 Using Zirconyl Nitrate Solution

The industrial application of dry reforming of CH4 is limited by coke formation and efficient catalyst design. To this aim, a series of Ni-Co/Al2O3-MgO-ZrO2 nanocatalysts with various ZrO2 loadings (0, 5 and 10 wt %) and employing of zirconyl nitrate solution were synthesized via sol-gel method and tested toward dry reforming of CH4. The prepared samples characterized by XRD, FESEM and FTIR analysis. The XRD patterns represented that by adding ZrO2 to Ni-Co/Al2O3-MgO nanocatalyst, the crystallinity declined and amorphous behaviour became intensified. According to the FESEM images addition of 5wt% zirconia led to smaller particle size and improved particle size distribution. Furthermore, promoting the basicity and the adsorption rate of CO2, attributed to the higher amount of OH groups for zirconia contented nanocatalysts proved by FTIR. All of the nanocatalysts exhibited acceptable catalytic performance and remarkably, deactivation was not observed throughout the 1440 min and at 850°C. Among the prepared nanocatalysts, sample which contained 5 wt% ZrO2exhibited the best catalytic performance since possessing of higher reactant conversion and superior product yield and production of synthesis gas with a ratio close to unity throughout the 1440 min and at 850°C. Generally, based on the superior properties evidenced by characterizations techniques and improved catalytic performance of Ni-Co/Al2O3-MgO-ZrO2 with 5wt% ZrO2, this nanocatalyst presented as a highly efficient catalyst for dry reforming of CH4

Keywords:

Dry reforming , Synthesis gas , Ni-Co/Al2O3-MgO-ZrO2 , Nanocatalysts , Sol-Gel