Kinetic Study of the Nickel Oxide Reduction by Methane

Reduction of the nickel oxide, NiO, by methane was investigated in this work. The thermogravimetric technique was used for determination of kinetic parameters of the reaction. The reaction of nickel oxide with methane was carried out in the temperature range 600°C to 725°C at atmospheric pressure with porous pellets prepared from nickel oxide powder with a mean particle size of 0.026 μm. The conversion-time data have been interpreted by using the grain model. Complete conversion can be achieved in 11 minutes at 725°C, which is shorter than the time needed by carbon (about 120 minutes at 1000°C). Faster reduction in comparison with carbothermal reduction is attributed to high carbon activity in methane. For first order reaction with respect to methane concentration, the activation energy is found to be 63.9 kcal/gmole.

Keywords:

nickel oxide , reduction , methane , kinetic study