Preparation of Ni 0.1 Mg 0.9 O nanocrystalline powder and its catalytic performance in methane reforming with carbon dioxide Rasoul Zanganeh a , Mehran Rezaei a,b, *, Akbar Zamaniyan c , Hamid Reza Bozorgzadeh c a Catalyst and Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran b Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran c Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) of National Iranian Oil Company, Gas Research Division, P.O. Box 14665-137, Tehran, Iran 1. Introduction Reaction between CH 4 and CO 2 that is called dry reforming has attractive situation for producing raw hydrogen for fuel cell application in modern hybrid power station in the future. CO 2 reforming, which is endothermic, can produce synthesis gas with a low H 2 /CO ratio (1/1) that is suitable for the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis of long-chain hydrocarbons [1]. Furthermore, it can be carried out with natural gas from fields containing large amounts of CO 2 without the pre-separation of CO 2 from the feed. In dry reforming reaction, two of the most abundant carbon- containing greenhouse gases, namely CO 2 and CH 4 may be converted to synthesis gas, which may then be used for the production of petrochemicals and synthetic fuel alternates. Carbon dioxide is a quite stable molecule and its activation requires suitable catalysts. Development of active and stable catalysts for dry reforming of methane attracted significant interest in recent years [2–7]. However, so far, no industrial technology for CO 2 reforming of methane has yet been developed. One of the main reasons is that no effective, economic catalysts have been discovered because of the deactivation of the catalyst by coke formation [8]. The reaction equilibrium for the production of synthesis gas from methane and carbon dioxide (Eq. (1)) is typically influenced by the simultaneous occurrence of the reverse water–gas shift reaction (Eq. (2)). CH 4 þ CO 2 $ 2CO þ 2H 2 ; DH 298  ¼ 246:2 kJ=mol (1) H 2 þ CO 2 $ CO þ H 2 O; DH 298  ¼ 46:1 kJ=mol (2) Due to its high endothermic character, the reforming of methane with carbon dioxide is referred as a high-energy demanding reaction [9]. Carbon deposition is dependent on both its thermodynamics and kinetics. Thermodynamic considerations suggest operation at high CO 2 /CH 4 ratios (>1) and high tempera- tures to minimize carbon formation in the CO 2 reforming of methane [10,11]. When the conventional Ni-containing catalyst for steam reforming was used for CO 2 reforming, carbon deposits formed on the catalyst, which deactivated rapidly. A high molar ratio of CO 2 to CH 4 (3) could be used to reduce the carbon deposition by inhibiting CO disproportionation (2CO $ C + CO 2 ), but the selectivity to synthesis gas could become much lower than that for the stoichiometric CO 2 reforming (CO 2 /CH 4 = 1). Therefore, the inhibition of carbon deposition without extra cost and loss of catalyst performance constitutes a major challenge for CO 2 reforming of methane. In the past 20 years, one of important developments in this area is MgO-based solid-solution catalysts [12–22]. MgO is widely selected as a catalyst support due to its high thermal stability and low cost. The surface area of the metal oxide powders at high temperatures depends on their intrinsic Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 19 (2013) 234–239 A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 28 June 2012 Accepted 4 August 2012 Available online 10 August 2012 Keywords: Dry reforming Solid solution Nickel catalyst Syngas A B S T R A C T Ni 0.1 Mg 0.9 O nanocrystalline powders were prepared by surfactant assisted precipitation method and employed as catalyst in dry reforming. The powders were characterized by using XRD, BET, SEM, TGA/DSC and TPR techniques. The results showed that the surfactant to metal mole ratio affects the textural properties. Increasing in surfactant to metal mole ratio increased the specific surface area and decreased the crystallite and particle size. The Ni 0.1 Mg 0.9 O with the highest surface area (115.39 m 2 g 1 ) was employed as catalyst in dry reforming. This catalyst showed a high catalytic activity and stability during 122 h time on stream without any decrease in methane conversion. ß 2012 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: Catalyst and Advanced Materials Research Laborato- ry, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran. Tel.: +98 361 5912469; fax: +98 361 5559930. E-mail addresses: rezaei@kashanu.ac.ir, rezaei.mehran@gmail.com (M. Rezaei). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry jou r n al h o mep ag e: w ww .elsevier .co m /loc ate/jiec 1226-086X/$ – see front matter ß 2012 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2012.08.007