Dry reforming is a process allowing simultaneous conversion of hydrocarbons (methane being the prototype molecule used for this study) to syngas using carbon dioxide as an oxidizing agent. Such strategy may eventually become an opportunity for the industrial sector to produce syngas whilst valorizing residual CO 2 . As reported previously, an iron-based catalyst, i.e. steel wool, activated by an electrical current showed potential for dry reforming. As a follow up to this preliminary work, this study mainly focuses on the characterization of the lowcost thin iron wires in order to determine the robustness and stability of the iron material over extended operation. Under CO 2 /CH 4 molar feed ratios ranging from 0.8 to 1.25, coking is inhibited by high surface temperature. After 25 hours of operation at a temperature higher than 900°C measured in the gas phase, XRD patterns show a preserved Fe structure along with FeO suggesting an eased redox cycle with CO 2 and CH 4 . It is also showing that a high CO 2 /CH 4 ratio favors higher oxidation states of the iron in the zone of the iron bed, which is first in contact with the gas input. Decreasing the temperature to 800°C favors oxidation by CO 2 over reduction by CH 4 leading to Fe 3 O 4 formation. This disturbs the Joule dissipation through the wire mesh catalyst bed. Although high molar ratios of CO 2 over CH 4 result in fast oxidation of the catalyst, reducing the ratio may lead to increasing the catalyst lifespan which, overall, is essential to scale this process to a commercial scale.

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) has been investigated under an electronactivated catalytic bed in a thermo-electrical reactor. The main objective of this work was to investigate what the impact of the electrical current on the conversion of methane is. The combination of thermal and electrical energy allowed achieving higher conversions for both reactants at temperatures varying from 850-950°C. The electrical current at the different temperatures investigated during this work affected the conversion of methane and a threshold was pinpointed for different temperatures. At this point, the conversion of methane increased exponentially with the current provided to the catalyst. Furthermore, in order to confirm the catalytic potential of steel wool, different grades of stainless steel were tested for the DRM as well, showing lower conversion in all cases, in comparison to the carbon steel wool.