Sultana L  Rahman MS  Sudhakaran MSP  Hossain MM  Mok YS

Vol. 25,  No. 1, pp. 81-90, Mar.  2019
10.7464/ksct.2019.25.1.081

Dry reforming Plasma Ni-based catalysts Catalytic activity Synthesis gas

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A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor packed with Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was used for the dry (CO2) reforming of propane (DRP) to improve the production of syngas (a mixture of H2 and CO) and the catalyst stability. The plasma-catalytic DRP was carried out with either thermally or plasma-reduced Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst at a C3H8/CO2 ratio of 1/3 and a total feed gas flow rate of 300 mL min-1. The catalytic activities associated with the DRP were evaluated in the range of 500 ~ 600 ℃. Following the calcination in ambient air, the γ-Al2O3 impregnated with the precursor solution (Ni(NO3)2 and Ce(NO3)2) was subjected to reduction in an H2/Ar atmosphere to prepare Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The characteristics of the catalysts were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), temperature programmed desorption (H2-TPD, CO2-TPD), temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), and Raman spectroscopy. The investigation revealed that the plasma-reduced Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity for the production of syngas, compared to the thermally reduced catalyst. Besides, the plasma-reduced Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was found to show long-term catalytic stability with respect to coke resistance that is main concern regarding the DRP process.