Dry reforming of methane for syngas production over Ni–Co-supported Al2O3–MgO catalysts

This research project focuses on the development of catalysts for syngas production by synthesizing Ni–Co bimetallic catalyst using aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and magnesium oxide (MgO) as the catalyst support. Ni/Al₂O₃ (CAT-1), Ni–Co/Al₂O₃ (CAT-2) and Ni–Co/Al₂O₃–MgO (CAT-3) nanocatalysts were synthesized by sol–gel method with citric acid as the gelling agent, and used in the dry reforming of methane (DRM). The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of Al₂O₃ and MgO addition on the catalytic properties and the reaction performance of synthesized catalysts in the DRM reactions. The characteristics of the catalyst are studied using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, H₂-temperature programmed reduction, CO₂-temperature programmed desorption and temperature programmed oxidation analysis. The characteristics of the catalyst are dependent on the type of support, which influences the catalytic performances. FESEM analysis showed that CAT-3 has irregular shape morphology, and is well dispersed onto the catalyst support. BET results demonstrate high surface area of the synthesized catalyst due to high calcination temperature during catalysts preparation. Moreover, the formation of MgAl₂O₄ spinel-type solution in CAT-3 is proved by XRD analysis due to the interaction between alumina lattice and magnesium metal which has high resistance to coke formation, leading to stronger metal surface interaction within the catalyst. The CO₂ methane dry reforming is executed in the tubular furnace reactor at 1073.15?K, 1?atm and CH₄/CO₂ ratio of unity to investigate the effect of the mentioned catalysts. Ni–Co/Al₂O₃–MgO gave the highest catalyst performance compared to the other synthesized catalysts owning to the strong metal–support interaction, high stability and significant resistance to carbon deposition during the DRM reaction.