Abstract
A Ni-Ag catalyst was prepared and evaluated for the reforming of methane with CO2. The experiments were carried out under atmospheric conditions using a 17:17:2 CH4/CO2/N-2 gas mixture at a total flow rate of 36 mL min(-1) and a reaction temperature of 500-700 degrees C. The stability of the catalyst was tested for 540 min. This study focuses on an experimental investigation of the effect of the addition of an Ag promoter to a 5 wt%Ni/gamma-Al2O3 support. The performance of the developed catalyst was quantified by determining the CO2 and CH4 conversion, synthesis gas ratio (H-2/CO), and stability. The spent and fresh catalysts were characterized by BET, TGA, and XRD. Time-on-stream stability and TGA tests of the catalysts showed that increasing Ag content led to decreased carbon formation and activity. By adding 5 wt%Ag at 700 degrees C, the conversion of methane decreased from 81.4 to 62.5% while coke formation decreased from 7.8 to 0.3 wt%.