The effect of oxygen addition on the carbon dioxide reforming of methane over Ni/α-Al2O3 catalysts in a fixed bed reactor

Ni/α-Al2O3 catalysts were found to be active in the temperature range 600-900oC under the conditions for both CO2 reforming and partial oxidation of methane. The effects of Ni loading, reaction temperature and feed gas ratio for combination of CO2 reforming and partial oxidation of CH4 over Ni/α-Al2O3 were investigated using a fixed bed reactor. 5% wt Ni/α-Al2O3 was the most active catalyst compared with other catalysts. Combining the endothermic carbon dioxide reforming reaction with the exothermic partial oxidation reaction, the loss of activity of the catalyst with time on stream decreased with the amount of O2 added to feed stream. The reaction pathway for the partial oxidation and reforming reactions appeared to be methane combustion followed by reforming of the reminder of the methane by the resultant CO2 and steam.

Keywords:

O2 , Carbon dioxide (CO2) , Methane , Ni/α-Al2O3 catalysts