Oxy-Steam Reforming of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on Mono- and Bimetallic (Ag, Pt, Pd or Ru)/Ni Catalysts

Abstract

This work presents, for the first time, the comparative physicochemical and reactivity studies of a range of bimetallic Pt-Ni, Pd-Ni, Ru-Ni, and Ag-Ni catalysts in the oxy-steam reforming (OSR) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaction towards hydrogen generation. In order to achieve the intended purpose of this work, a binary oxide CeO2·ZrO2 (1:2) support was prepared via a co-precipitation method. The catalysts’ physicochemical properties were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, TPR-H2, TPD-NH3, SEM-EDS and XPS methods. The highest activity in the studied process was exhibited by the 1%Pt-5%Ni catalyst supported on CeO2·ZrO2 (1:2) system. The highest activity of this system is explained by the specific interactions occurring between the components of the active phase and between the components of the active phase and the carrier itself. The activity results showed that this catalytic system exhibited above 71% of the methane conversion at 600 °C and 60% yield of hydrogen formation. The results of this work demonstrate that the Pt-Ni and Ru-Ni catalytic systems hold promise to be applied in the production of hydrogen to power solid oxide fuel cells.

Keywords

• noble metal
• bimetallic catalyst
• nickel catalyst
• hydrogen production
• oxy-steam reforming
• LNG