Boron-modified Ni/Al2O3 catalysts for reduced carbon deposition during dry reforming of methane

Abstract In this work, we investigate the effect of boron introduction into Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst, in an effort to suppress carbon formation during the CO 2 reforming of CH 4 (dry reforming – DRM). A series of NiB( x )/Al 2 O 3 catalysts was prepared by wet co-impregnation. All samples contain 10 wt% Ni while the x  = B/(Ni + B) atomic ratio vary in the region 0.0–0.7. The physicochemical properties of the fresh, reduced and used samples were studied by BET, XRD, DRS, TEM, SEM-EDS and H 2 -TPR. The catalytic performance of these catalysts for the CO 2 reforming of CH 4 was investigated, and the resilient carbon deposited on the used catalysts was determined by temperature programmed hydrogenation. It was found that the modification of Ni/Al 2 O 3 catalyst by boron can, depending on the B loading, reduce the size of Ni particles and greatly reduce the amount of coke formation during DRM without significantly affecting activity and selectivity.

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