Application of in-plasma catalysis and post-plasma catalysis for methane partial oxidation to methanol over a Fe_2O_3-CuO/γ-Al_2O_3 catalyst

Methane partial oxidation to methanol （MPOM） using dielectric barrier discharge over a Fe2O3-CuO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was performed.The multicomponent catalyst was combined with plasma in two different configurations,i.e.,in-plasma catalysis （IPC） and post-plasma catalysis （PPC）.It was found that the catalytic performance of the catalysts for MPOM was strongly dependent on the hybrid configuration.A better synergistic performance of plasma and catalysis was achieved in the IPC configuration,but the catalysts packed in the discharge zone showed lower stability than those connected to the discharge zone in sequence.Active species,such as ozone,atomic oxygen and methyl radicals,were produced from the plasma-catalysis process,and made a major contribution to methanol synthesis.These active species were identified by the means of in situ optical emission spectra,ozone measurement and FT-IR spectra.It was confirmed that the amount of active species in the IPC system was greater than that in the PPC system.The results of TG,XRD,and N2 adsorption-desorption revealed that carbon deposition on the spent catalyst surface was responsible for the catalyst deactivation in the IPC configuration.

Oscillations during partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over Ru/Al_2O_3 catalyst

Oscillations in temperatures of catalyst bed as well as concentrations of gas phase species at the exit of reactor were observed during the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over Ru/Al2O3 in the temperature range of 600 to 850℃. XRD, H2-TPR and in situ Raman techniques was used to characterize the catalyst. Two types of ruthenium species, i.e. the ruthenium species weakly interacted with Al2O3 and that strongly interacted with the support, were identified by H2-TPR experiment. These species are responsible for two types of oscillation profiles observed during the reaction. The oscillations were the result of these ruthenium species switching cyclically between the oxidized state and the reduced state under the reaction condition. These cyclic transformations, in turn, were the result of temperature variations caused by the varying levels of the strongly exothermic CH4 combustion and the highly endothermic CH4 reforming （with H2O and CO2） reactions （or the less exothermic direct partial oxidation of methane to CO and H2）, which were favored by the oxidized and the metallic sites, respectively. The major pathway of synthesis gas formation over the catalyst was via the combustion-reforming mechanism.

Advances in the Partial Oxidation of Methane to Sy thesis Gas

The conversion and utilization of natural gas is of significant meaning to the national economy, even to the everyday life of people. However, it has not become a popular industrial process as expected due to the technical obstacles. In the past decades, much investigation into the conversion of methane, predominant component of natural gas, has been carried out. Among the possible routes, of methane conversion, the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas is considered as an effective and economically feasible one. In this article, a brief review of recent studies on the mechanism of the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas together with catalyst development is wherein presented.

Additive effects of alkaline-earth metals and nickel on the performance of Co/γ-Al_2O_3 in methane catalytic partial oxidation

Nano-sized γ-alumina （γ-Al2O3） was first prepared by a precipitation method. Then, active component of cobalt and a series of alkaline- earth metal promoters or nickel （Ni） with different contents were loaded on the γ-Al2O3 support. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and thermogravimetry analysis （TGA）. The activity and selectivity of the catalysts in catalytic partial oxidation （CPO） of methane have been compared with Co/γ-Al2O3, and it is found that the catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability are enhanced by the addition of alkaline-earth metals and nickel. The optimal loadings of strontium （Sr） and Ni were 6 and 4 wt%, respectively. This finding will be helpful in designing the trimetallic Co-Ni-Sr/γ-Al2O3 catalysts with high performance in CPO of methane

Partial oxidation of methane over SiO2 supported Ni and NiCe catalysts

Nickel and nickel-ceria catalysts supported on high surface area silica, with 6 wt% Ni and 20 wt% CeO2 were prepared by microwave assisted(co) precipitation method. The catalysts were investigated by XRD,TPR and XPS analyses and they were tested in partial oxidation of methane(CPO). The catalytic reaction was carried out at atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 400–800℃ with a feed gas mixture containing methane and oxygen in a molecular ratio CH4/O2=2. The Ni catalyst exhibited 60% methane conversion with 60% selectivity to CO already at 500℃. On the contrary, the Ni–Ce catalyst was inert to CPO up to 700℃. Moreover, the former catalyst reproduced its activity at the descending temperatures maintaining a good stability at 600℃, over a reaction time of 80 h, whereas the latter one completely deactivated. Test of CH4 temperature programmed surface reaction(CH4-TPSR) revealed a higher methane activation temperature(> 100℃) for the Ni–Ce catalyst as compared to the Ni one. Noticeable improvement of the ceria containing catalyst occurred when the reaction test started at a temperature higher than the methane decomposition temperature. In this case, the sample achieved the same catalytic behavior of the Ni catalyst. As confirmed by XPS analyses, the distinct electronic state of the supported nickel was responsible for the differences in catalytic behavior.

Effect of Cu promoter on Ni-based SBA-15 catalysts for partial oxidation of methane to syngas

A series of Ni/SBA-15 catalysts with 5wt% to 15wt% Ni content as well as a series of 12.5%Ni/Cu/SBA-15 catalysts with 1% to 10% copper content were prepared by the impregnation method. The catalytic performance for partial oxidation of methane was investigated in a continuous flow microreactor under atmospheric pressure. The textural and chemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM, BET and Hz-TPR techniques. The results indicated that the catalysts modified with Cu promoter showed better performance than those without modification. For the 12.5%Ni/2.5%/Cu/SBA-15 catalyst, at 850 ℃ the conversion of CH4 reached 97.9% and the selectivity of CO and H2 reached 98.0% and 96.0%, respectively. In XRD patterns of the Ni/Cu/SBA-15 catalyst with 7.5 to 10% Cu contents there were CuO characteristic peaks beside NiO characteristic peaks. The mesoporous structure of SBA-15 was retained in all of the catalysts. TPR analysis of the catalysts revealed that a strong interaction between Ni, Cu promoter and SBA-15 support may be existed. This interaction enhanced significantly the redox properties of the catalysts resulting in the higher catalytic activity.

Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Methane over Ni/CeO_2-ZrO_2-Al_2O_3

Nickel catalysts supported on CeO2-ZrO2-CeO2,ZrO2-Al2O3 and Al2O3 were prepared and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）,BET areas,H2 temperature-programmed reduction（H2-TPR）,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）.Through the test of catalytic partial oxidation of methane（CPOM）,Ni/CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3 displayed the highest activity,which resulted from its largest BET area and best NiO dispersion.Furthermore,Ni/CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3 maintained a long-time stability in CPOM,which was attributed to its best coking resistance among all the prepared catalysts.

Partial Oxidation of Methane to Syngas over Monolithic Ni/γ-Al_2O_3 Catalyst——Effects of Rare Earths and Other Basic Promoters

A series of monolithic Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts with and without basic promoters （Na, Sr, La, Ce） were prepared. Partial oxidation of methane （POM） to syngas was carried out in a continuous-flow, fixed-bed reactor. The influences of reaction conditions, including temperature, CH4/O2 ratio and space velocity, on the performance of the catalyst were investigated. The results show that at a high space velocity of 1 ×10^5 h^-1, optimal CH4 conversion can be obtained. Effects of promoters such as Na, Sr, Ce, La were also investigated, and the catalyst samples were characterized by means of temperature-programmed reduction and XRD techniques. XRD suggests that the addition of promoters has no influence on the crystal structure of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The results show that the addition of a small amount of promoters improves the reducibility and activity of the catalyst. The side reaction CH4 ＋ 2O2→CO2 ＋ H2O, is fully restrained and 100% H2 selectivity is achieved when Ce and La are used as promoters, respectively.

Partial oxidation of methane in Ba_(0.5)Sr_(0.5)Co_(0.8)Fe_(0.1)Ni_(0.1)O_(3-δ) ceramic membrane reactor

Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.1Ni0.1O3δ（BSCFNiO） perovskite oxides were synthesized using a combined EDTA-citrate complexation method,and then pressed into disk and applied in a membrane reactor.The performance of the BSCFNiO membrane reactor was studied for partial oxidation of methane over Ni/α-Al 2 O 3 catalyst.The time dependence of oxygen permeation rate and catalytic performance of BSCFNiO membrane during the catalyst initiation stage were investigated at 850 C.In unsteady state,oxygen permeation rate,methane conversion and CO selectivity were closely related to the state of the catalyst.After 300 min from the initial time,the reaction condition reached to steady state and oxygen permeation rate were obtained about 11.7cm 3 cm 2 min 1.Also,the performance of membrane reactor was studied at the temperatures between 750 and 950 C.The results demonstrated good performance for the membrane reactor,as CH 4 conversion and CO selectivity permeation rate reached 98% and 97.5%,respectively,and oxygen permeation rate was about 14.5 cm 3 cm 2 min 1 which was 6.8 times higher than that of air-helium gradient.Characterization of membrane surface by SEM after reaction showed that the original grains disappeared on both surfaces exposed to the air and reaction side,but XRD profile of the polished surface membrane indicated that the membrane bulk preserved the perovskite structure.

Effect of CeO_2 and CaO Promoters on Ignition Performance for Partial Oxidation of Methane over Ni/MgO-Al_2O_3 Catalyst

The effect of CeO2 and CaO promoters on the ignition performance over Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst for the partial oxidation of methane （POM） to synthesis gas was investigated. It was found that the POM reaction could not be ignited over lwt%Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst without the promoters in the temperature range from 773 K to 1073 K. CeO2 and CaO promoters enhanced the ignition performance and the POM reactivity of lwt%Ni/MgO-Al2O3 catalyst remarkably. Moreover, the improving effect became greater with the increase of the promoter content under the investigated reactiorrconditions. The modification effects of CeO2 and CaO promoters were closely related to the concentration and reducibility of the surface and bulk oxygen species.

Effect of different mixing ways in palladium/ceria-zirconia/alumina preparation on partial oxidation of methane

The effect of the mixing ways of Ce0.7Zr0.3O2-Al2O3 mixed oxides on the partial oxidations of methane （POM） was investigated over Pd/Ce0.7Zr0.3O2-Al2O3 catalysts, the mixing ways including salt precursor mixing （ATOM）, precipitator mixing （MOL）, and powder mechanically mixing （MECH）, respectively. The test results indicated that among the three samples, Pd/ATOM had the best catalytic activity while Pd/MOL had the best stability in the stability test. Both the activity sequences of the fresh and used samples were consistent with the order of Pd dispersion. According to the X-ray diffraction （XRD） and BET characterization, the interaction of Ce^4＋, Zr^4＋, and Al^3＋ in the ATOM mixed oxide was in favor of performing higher catalytic activity and thermal stability. The stability test indicated that Pd/MOL had the highest Pd dispersion and least coke formation on the active sites calculated by the Hz-chemisorption and TG results, which was considered to relate to its superior activity of POM to other catalysts.

Studies on Catalysis in Partial Oxidation of Methane to Syngas(Ⅰ)──Performance and Characterization of Ni-based Catalysts

Highly active and selective Ni-based catalysts for partial oxidation of methane (POM) to syngas (CO/H,) have been studied and developed. Spectroscopic characterization by XRD, XPS, EPR, etc. demonstrated that under the POM reaction conditions, the Ni-components of the catalysts investigated were reduced and enriched on the surface to form metallic Ni0-phase. A comparative study of the first series of transition-metals showed that only Ni and Co have a high POM activity and selectivity, whereas the others (including Mn, Fe, Cu, etc. ) give mainly complete combustion products, Co, and H2O. The results favor the following viewpoints: the PoM activity is related with the rapidly changeable valence transitionmetal sites, M0/M2+ (e. g. Ni0/Ni2+ ), on the surface of the functioning catalysts;the transition-metal sites in zero-valence state seem to be responsible for the activation and dehydrogenation of methane by homolytic splitting of its C-H bonds on these sites. and the nature of rapidly changeable valence of the active sties is requisite for activation and rapid conversion of dioxygen.

Effects of surface states over core-shell Ni@SiO_2 catalysts on catalytic partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas

In the present work, core-shell Ni@SiO2 catalysts were investigated in order to evaluate the relevance of catalytic activity and surface states of Ni core as well as Ni nanoparticles size to catalytic partial oxidation of methane （POM）. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption, H2-TPR, XRD, TEM and XPS techniques. The catalytic performance of the core-shell catalysts was found to be dependent on the surface states of catalyst, which influenced the formation of products. It was considered that carbon dioxide formed on the oxidized nickel sites （NiO） and carbon monoxide produced on the reduced sites （Ni）. The surface states of active metal in the dynamic were influenced both by the size of Ni core and the porosity of silica shell. However, the catalytic activity would be debased when the size of Ni core was under a certain extent, which can be ascribed to the fact the carbon deposition increased with the increasing content of NiO. The effects of surface states of Ni@SiO2 catalyst on the catalytic performance were discussed and the reaction pathway over Ni core encapsulated inside silica shell was proposed.

Novel Ni/CeO_2-Al_2O_3 composite catalysts synthesized by one-step citric acid complex and their performance in catalytic partial oxidation of methane

A series of novel Ni/CeOe-Al2O3 composite catalysts were synthesized by one-step citric acid complex method, The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized by N2 physical adsorption/desorption, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared （FT-IR） spectroscopy, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction （Hz-TPR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and thermogravimetry analysis （TGA）. The effects of nickel content, calcination and reaction temperatures, gas hourly space velocity （GHSV） and inert gas dilution of N2 on their performance of catalytic partial oxidation of methane （CPOM） were investigated. Catalytic activity test results show that the highest methane conversion （〉85%）, the best selectivities to carbon monoxide （〉87%） and to hydrogen （〉95%）, the excellent stability and perfect Hz/CO ratio （2.0） can be obtained over Ni/CeO2-Al2O3 with 8 wt% Ni content calcined at 700 ℃ under the reaction condition of 750 ℃, CH4/O2 ratio of 2 ： 1 and gas hourly space velocity of 12000 mL.h-1 .g-1. Characterization results show that the good catalytic performance of this composite catalyst can be contributed to its large specific surface area （~108 m2.g-1）, small crystallite size, easy reducibility and low coking rate.

Low-temperature utilization of CO_2 and CH_4 by combining partial oxidation with reforming of methane over Ru-based catalysts

Combination of partial oxidation of methane （POM） with carbon dioxide reforming of methane （CRM） has been studied over Ru-based catalysts at 550℃.POM,CRM and combined reaction were performed over 8wt%Ru/γ-Al2O 3 and the results show that both POM and CRM contribute to the combined reaction,between which POM plays a more important role.Moreover,the addition of Ce to Ru-based catalyst results in an improvement in the activity and CO selectivity under the adopted reaction conditions.The Ce-doped catalyst was characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption,SEM,XRD,TPR,XPS and in situ DRIFTS.The mechanism has been studied by in situ DRIFTS together with the temperature distribution of catalyst bed.The mechanism of the combined reaction is more complicated and it is the combination of POM and CRM mechanisms in nature.The present paper provides a new catalytic system to activate CH4 and CO2 at a rather low temperature.

Investigation on the Performance of Supported Molybdenum Carbide for the Partial Oxidation of Methane

The performance of supported and unsupported molybdenum carbide for thepartial oxidation of methane (POM) to syngas was investigated. An evaluation of the catalystsindicates that bulk molybdenum carbide has a higher methane conversion during the initial stage buta lower selectivity to CO and H_2/CO ratio in the products. The rapid deactivation of the catalystis also a significant problem. However, the supported molybdenum carbide catalyst shows a muchhigher methane conversion, increased selectivity and significantly improved catalytic stability. Thecharacterization by XRD and BET specific area measurements depict an improved dispersion ofmolybdenum carbide when using alumina as a carrier. The bulk or the supported molybdenum carbideexists in the β-MO_2C phase, while it is transformed into molybdenum dioxide postcatalysis which isan important cause of molybdenum carbide deactivation.

Partial oxidation of methane to syngas catalyzed by a nickel nanowire catalyst

A nickel nanowire catalyst was prepared by a hard template method, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, N2 physical adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry （XPS）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and H2 temperature-programmed reduction （H2-TPR）. The catalytic properties of the nanowire catalyst in the partial oxidation of methane to syngas were compared with a metallic Ni catalyst which was prepared with nickel sponge. The characterization results showed that the nickel nanowire catalyst had high specific surface area and there was more NiO phase in the nickel nanowire catalyst than in the metallic Ni catalyst. The reaction results showed that the nickel nanowire catalyst had high CH4 conversion and selectivities for H2 and CO under low space velocity.

Effect of heat transfer on the oscillatory behavior in partial oxidation of methane over nickel catalyst

Monte Carlo method was applied to simulate the oscillatory behavior during partial oxidation of methane under non-isothermal condition. The simulation was performed to examine the influences of heat transfer constant and particle size on the kinetic oscillation. The oscillatory period and amplitude were observed to increase with the increase of heat transfer constant. The increase of catalyst particle size was found to result in short oscillatory period and more or less regular oscillations combined with the formation of oxide down to L = 100.

Modeling of microreactor for syngas production by catalytic partial oxidation of methane

Fixed-bed reactors for the catalytic partial oxidation of methane （CPOM） to produce synthesis gas still pose hot spots problems.Microreactor is a good alternative reactor proposed to resolve these problems.In this paper,synthesis gas （hydrogen and carbon monoxide） production was investigated by a two-dimensional numerical model of single microchannel.Computational fluid dynamic （CFD） modeling with detailed chemistry was conducted to understand the CPOM on platinum （Pt） catalyst.Gas inlet velocity,microchannel pressure,and fuel to air ratio （F/A） are selected as the effective parameters on microchannel performance.Study results show that Reynolds number has considerable effect on methane conversion,hydrogen to carbon monoxide ratio （H2/CO）,and product distribution.Increasing gas inlet velocity causes all the above parameters to decrease.It is noted that increasing microchannel pressure and decreasing the ratio of fuel to air cause the decrease of the H2/CO ratio.

Studies of Catalysis in Partial Oxidation of Methane to Syngas（Ⅱ）──Chemisorbed Species，Energetics and Mechanism

he characteristic study,by means of in-situ IR spectroscopy, of chemisorbed species on the Ni-catalysts for the partial oxidation of methane(POM)to syngas demonstrated the existence of CH_x(a)and H_xCO(a)adspecies on the functioning Ni-catalysts, Several designed experimental investigations on the reactivities of methane with CO_2 and with O_2,respectively,over the Ni-catalysts, and of CO_2 with the prereduced Ni-catalyst,ats well as of the deposited carbon with CO_2 and with O_2,respectlvely,liave been carried out and the reLqults were unfavorable to the two-step mechanistic interpretation proposed for the POM reaction. By means of tlie BOC-MP Approach,energetics of a set of elementary reactions,which may be involved in the POM process,on the clean(111)surface of Ni,Fe,Cu and Pd, re- spectively,has been studied.The result;of the experiments and the calculation of the present work favor the direct catalytic dissociation-plus-surface oxidation-plus-further debdrogenation mechanism as the dominant pathway making major contribution to the POM reaction.