Advances in the studies of the supported ruthenium catalysts for CO2 methanation

CO₂ methanation has a potential in the large-scale utilization of carbon dioxide. It has also been considered to be useful for the renewable energy storage. The commercial pipeline for natural gas transportation can be directly applied for the methane product of CO₂ methanation. The supported ruthenium (Ru) catalyst has been confirmed to be active and stable for CO₂ methanation with its high ability in the dissociation of hydrogen and the strong binding of carbon monoxide. CO₂ methanation over the supported Ru catalyst is structure sensitive. The size of the Ru catalyst and the support have significant effects on the activity and the mechanism. A significant challenge remained is the structural controllable preparation of the supported Ru catalyst toward a sufficiently high low-temperature activity. In this review, the recent progresses in the investigations of the supported Ru catalysts for CO₂ methanation are summarized. The challenges and the future developments are also discussed.