Nickel, cobalt, and bimetallic Ni-Co on ZSM-5 zeolite for dry reforming of methane

Abstract

ZSM-5 supported Ni, Co monometallic catalysts and bimetallic Ni-Co (1Ni-1Co, 2Ni-1Co, and 1Ni-2Co) catalysts (total metal loadings 7 wt %) were prepared by wet impregnation. The catalysts were characterized and tested for the dry reforming of methane. The following techniques have been used for catalyst characterization: Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR), Brunauer, Emmett & Teller (BET) surface area and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). DRM was carried out in the temperature range 600oC to 800oC using a mixture of CH4:CO2 (1:1) at constant GHSV (60000 mL.g-1.hr-1). Stability test was performed on stream over 2Ni-1Co/ZSM5 and 1Ni-2Co/ZSM5 at 700oC for 12 hours as they exhibited the highest conversions and H2/CO ratios at this temperature. The catalyst with higher cobalt content (1Ni-2Co/ZSM-5) showed the highest resistance towards carbon deactivation. It also showed a lower amount of carbon deposition (5 wt %) than the 2Ni-1Co/ZSM-5 catalyst. The catalyst with the best activity and stability in DRM at the assigned temperature range is 1Ni-2Co/ZSM-5 catalyst.