Evaluation of Co-Ni/Sc-SBA-15 as a novel coke resistant catalyst for syngas production via CO2 reforming of methane

The performance of novel mesoporous Co-Ni/x%Sc-SBA-15 (x = 0.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0) catalysts, prepared by hydrothermal method, was investigated for syngas production via methane dry reforming with CO2. Several techniques such as BET, TPR, XRD, CO2-TPD, H2-TPD, TGA/DTA, and TEM were used to characterize the catalysts. The bimetallic species were successfully immobilized by anchoring into the mesoporous hexagonal network of SBA-15. Catalytic experiments conducted at 700 and 800 °C clearly revealed high coking resistance of Co-Ni/Sc-SBA-15 catalyst as demonstrated by TGA/DTA and TEM. Endurance tests undoubtedly demonstrated that the incorporation of Sc in SBA-15 support remarkably enhanced the catalyst performance by transforming the stable carbon deposits into active carbon (inhibition of coke formation); thus achieving excellent stability in dry reforming of methane. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.