Nguyen, H., Gonzalez, S., Ha, Q. L. M., Rockstroh, N., Bartling, S., Lund, H., Armbruster, U., Wohlrab, S., Le, M. T., & Atia, H. (2026). Impact of Ce/Sc ratio and synthesis method on low loading Ni/MgAlOx catalysts for methane dry reforming. Chemical Engineering Journal, 182504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2026.182504
Abstract:
Dry reforming of methane (DRM) faces catalyst deactivation due to coke formation. This study investigates the impact of Ni loading, Ce/Sc ratio, preparation method, and promoter incorporation sequence on Ni/MgAlOx catalysts. Outstanding advantages in DRM were achieved with 2.5% Ni, a Ce/Sc ratio of 2:1, and simultaneous impregnation. During screening with stoichiometric CH4/CO2, both this NiCe(2)Sc(1)/MgAlOx ternary catalyst and the unpromoted 2.5%Ni/MgAlOx exhibited the highest CH4 and CO2 conversions at 600 °C. Most noteworthy, both catalysts were capable of converting mixtures with CH4/CO2 = 2 (typical ratio in biogas) with robust performance over 140 h at 750 °C and GHSV = 170 L/(gcat.·h), maintaining XCH4 = 41%, XCO2 = 92%, and a H2/CO ratio of 0.97. However, the ternary catalyst showed lower conversion loss and coke formation. Several stress tests with repeated intermediate deactivation and regeneration of NiCe(2)Sc(1)/MgAlOx revealed stable reactant conversions over three cycles with improved activity retention, while the 2.5%Ni/MgAlOx catalyst showed clear deactivation. Besides, a possible cooperative promotion effect was revealed in NiCe(2)Sc(1)/MgAlOx, leading to a ternary catalyst that can maintain high CH4 and CO2 conversions and stability over extended use, which is essential for further development toward practical application in biogas reforming.
License type:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Young Individual Research Grants
Grant Reference no. : M24N8C0109
This research / project is supported by the DAAD - RoHan project
Grant Reference no. : 57315854