Kinetics of CO₂ methanation over Ru/γ-Al₂O₃ and implications for renewable energy storage applications

Kinetics of CO₂ hydrogenation over a 10% Ru/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis and a differential reactor approach at atmospheric pressure and 230–245 °C. The data is consistent with an Eley–Rideal mechanism where H2 gas reacts with adsorbed CO₂ species. Activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction orders with respect to CO₂, H₂, CH₄, and H₂O were determined to develop an empirical rate equation. Methane was the only hydrocarbon product observed during CO₂ hydrogenation. The activation energy was found to be 66.1 kJ/g-mole CH₄. The reaction order for H₂ was 0.88 and for CO₂ 0.34. Product reaction orders were essentially zero. This work is part of a larger study related to capture and conversion of CO₂ to synthetic natural gas