Bi-reforming of Methane from Any Source with Steam and Carbon Dioxide Exclusively to Metgas (CO–2H₂) for Methanol and Hydrocarbon Synthesis

A catalyst based on nickel oxide on magnesium oxide (NiO/MgO) thermally activated under hydrogen is effective for the bi-reforming with steam and CO₂ (combined steam and dry reforming) of methane as well as natural gas in a tubular flow reactor at elevated pressures (5–30 atm) and temperatures (800–950 °C). By adjusting the CO₂-to-steam ratio in the gas feed, the H₂/CO ratio in the produced syn-gas could be easily adjusted in a single step to the desired value of 2 for methanol and hydrocarbon synthesis