Abstract:
The synthesized Co/TiO2-MgAl2O4 composite has been investigated for the Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) process in the fixed bed reactor. The catalyst preparation was initiated by the modified co-precipitation method followed by hydrothermal method and the final nanocomposite was synthesized using impregnation method. The prepared catalyst undergone various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The catalyst was fed in the fixed bed reactor with the operational conditions of reactor temperature 850 °C, feed ratio (CO2/CH4) of unity, 0.5 g loading of catalyst and the total flow rate of feed set at 20 mLmin-1. The product gases were analysed by gas chromatography thermal conductivity detector (TCD) analyser for the catalytic activity and stability results. For the various cobalt loading tests conducted, 5% Co loaded composite shown the higher catalytic performance with XCH4 and XCO2 of 70% and 80% while the selectivity results improved to 43% and 46.5% for H2 and CO respectively. The average H2/CO ratio of 0.9 was calculated for the overall operational time. Moreover the stability results indicated as much as 75 h time of stream with significant activity results showing 72% CH4 conversion and 80% CO2 conversion. The associated higher activity and stability results encourage the long run use of the catalyst in the DRM process along with the further modification and investigation need to be done in this aspect.
