Gallium-Promoted Ni Catalyst Supported on MCM-41 for Dry Reforming of Methane

The stability and catalytic activity of mesoporous Ni/MCM-41 promoted with a Ga loading of (0.0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 wt %) as an innovative catalyst was examined for syngas production via CO2 reforming of CH4. The objective of present work was to develop a potential catalyst for CO2 reforming of methane. For this purpose different loadings of gallium were used to promote 5% nickel catalyst supported on MCM-41. An incipient wetness impregnation method was used for preparing the catalysts and investigated at 800 °C. Physicochemical characterization techniques—including BET, XRD, TPD, TPR, TEM, and TGA—were used to characterize the catalysts. The addition of small amounts of Ga resulted in higher surface areas with a maximum surface area of 1036 m2/g for 2.5% Ga. The incorporation of Ga to the catalyst decreased the medium and strong basic sites and reduced the amount of carbon deposited. There was no weight loss for 3%Ga+5%Ni/MCM-41. The 2% Ga loading showed the highest CH4 conversion of 88.2% and optimum stability, with an activity loss of only 1.58%. The Ga promoter raised the H2/CO ratio from 0.9 to unity