No abstract

Today, the worldwide research is focused on the development of alternative energy sources for power generation; thus, the present study aims to optimize the dry oxidative reforming (DOR) process parameters for H 2 -enriched biogas production by integrating response surface methodology with a three-level, three-factor Box−Behnken design in the presence of commercial Ni nanopowder. First, the effect of CH 4 /CO 2 and O 2 /CH 4 ratios on the catalytic performance of DOR was assessed in the temperature range of 800−900 °C. The reactant (CH 4 and CO 2 ) conversions, product (H 2 and CO) yields, selectivities of H 2 and CO, H 2 /CO ratio, and specific energy consumption were chosen as responses. The empirical regression models were developed to identify the influential and most significant parameters. More than a 95% value of determination coefficients by analysis of variance proved that the developed regression models were highly satisfactory. Experimentally, a maximum H 2 enrichment of 38.7% with 82.9 and 90.8% CH 4 and CO 2 conversions, respectively, were achieved at optimal reaction conditions of 900 °C, 1.5 CH 4 /CO 2 ratio, and 0.10 O 2 /CH 4 ratio. The combination of the regression model and dry oxidative technique for biogas reforming could provide an attractive proposition for enhancing the yield of H 2 in product gases with a subsequent increase in energy density and production of environmentally friendly gas.