Bentonite clays containing montmorillonite are a nanostructure family of the smectite and have several industrial applications, such as the carrier for the preparation of the nickel-based catalysts for the syngas production via methane reforming with carbon dioxide. In this article, the physicochemical properties of the samples were determined by different analyses such as X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, H 2 temperature-programmed reduction, and swell index. Four natural bentonites were studied, and the sample with the surface area of 38.2 m 2 g −1 , pore diameter of 8.15 nm, and the highest content of montmorillonite was selected for pillaring process with aluminum. The results demonstrated that the pillaring process significantly improved the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller area. The catalytic results also confirmed that the 10% Ni catalyst supported on pillared clay demonstrated higher catalytic performance and resistance against carbon deposition compared with the catalyst supported on natural clay in methane reforming with CO 2 (dry reforming of methane reaction).
KEYWORDSbentonite, dry reforming of methane, nanoporous montmorillonite, pillared bentonite