Review of catalytic syngas production through steam or dry reforming and partial oxidation of studied liquid compounds

Abstract

Although natural gas is the main feedstock for the production of hydrogen and syngas, liquid hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds are of interest for reasons associated with their local availability and their easiness to be stored and transported. This review focuses on steam, dry, and partial oxidation of liquid feedstock. The vast research work published in these fields does not allow for a full coverage of the entire literature. Instead, the authors present from both scientific and technical stand points the knowledge which seems more promising toward eventual improvements of commercial units and utilization of new catalytic formulations. Since traditional steam reforming is relatively very well covered by other reviews, this review has mainly focused on the relatively recent works on glycerol, a biodiesel production by-product, and the widely available and distributed commercial diesel/biodiesel. New promising catalytic formulations are proposed and are actually under testing for eventual commercial use. Nevertheless these catalysts might be eventually efficient for gaseous (e.g., CH 4 ) hydrocarbons conversion to syngas. Dry and partial oxidation has also been reviewed both globally and in an incremental way. All liquid feedstock tested are reported. Finally, this review tries to bridge the gap between fundamental and factual research in this field. Both are important but the interpretation of the results remains a strong function of each paper's main focus. This review does not pretend that this gap is fully bridged but it has the ambition to help the researchers as well as the practitioners in this area to synthesize the existing knowledge.

Recent Advances in Supported Metal Catalysts for Syngas Production from Methane

“…The stability test was carried out on 10 wt % Ni/CeO 2 -Al 2 O 3 catalysts at 750 • C for 30 h with a GHSV of 40,000 mL g −1 h −1 . Under these conditions, the formation of carbon nanotubes was confirmed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) scans, however it was believed that it has no impact on the stability, and hence, the improved stability of CeO 2 was attributed to the suppression of graphite-like carbons confirming previous findings for CeO 2 -modifed SiO 2 [20] and CeO 2 modified MgO-Al 2 O 3 [21]. To further understand these observations, in-situ XRD and H 2 -TPR were conducted to gain more insights into the structural evolution of the catalyst and correlate the CeO 2 -Al 2 O 3 mixed oxide catalyst with the catalytic performance.…”

“…The XRD diffraction patterns of the 10 wt % Ni/CeO 2 -Al 2 O 3 catalyst is shown in Figure 2. It can be clearly observed that the calcined catalyst at room temperature, characteristic peaks were detected for CeO 2 , and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), were deployed to investigate the nature of the coke deposited on the spent catalysts. Two peaks were observed in the derivative TGA profile, with the low temperature peak corresponding to reactive carbon, whereas the high temperature peak represents a more crystalline coke.…”

“…Table 4 presents a summary of the recent advances in the catalyst development for SRM in the past five years. The silicalite shell was grown around Al2O3 followed by impregnation to introduce Ni into the core of the catalyst The effects of Ce as a promotor for Ni-based catalyst was investigated [81] 5 wt % Ni/SiO 2 The catalytic performance of different Ni-based catalysts that were prepared using incipient wetness impregnation (SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 ) and co-precipitation technique (Mg-Al and Zn-Al) was evaluated for SRM at low temperature (less than 600 • C) by Nieva et al [88]. The catalysts prepared via the co-precipitation route (Ni/Mg-Al and Ni/Zn-Al) was found to have better activity and stability compared to Ni/SiO 2 and Ni/Al 2 O 3 samples due to the higher metal-support interactions of these catalysts.…”

Syngas Production from Catalytic CO2 Reforming of CH4 over CaFe2O4 Supported Ni and Co Catalysts: Full Factorial Design Screening

“…Several methods such as carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency and conservation, negative CO2 emission and catalytic reforming of methane have been explored to mitigate greenhouse effect [2][3][4]. Among these options, The production of syngas with unity molar ratio is theoretical favored by methane dry reforming, hence the suitability of the syngas as chemical intermediates for the production of oxygenated fuels [7]. However, one of the major constraints with the methane dry reforming is catalyst deactivation via sintering and cooking due to the highly endothermic nature of the reaction [8,9].…”

Bio-Oil Steam Reforming over a Mining Residue Functionalized with Ni as Catalyst: Ni-UGSO

“…However, they deactivate relatively quickly owing to C deposition and sintering. Noble metals, such as Rh, Ru, Pt and Pd, are also employed and display better resistance to deactivation for comparable activity with Ni but they are much more expensive [28]. To improve the resilience of Ni catalysts to C deposits, promotors like alkali metals are used as they enhance steam adsorption [29].…”