Selective methanation of CO in the presence of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> in hydrogen-containing mixtures on nickel catalysts

The screening of commercial nickel catalysts for methanation and a series of nickel catalysts supported on CeO₂, γ-Al₂O₃, and ZrO₂ in the reaction of selective CO methanation in the presence of CO₂ in hydrogen-containing mixtures (1.5 vol % CO, 20 vol % CO₂, 10 vol % H₂O, and the balance H₂) was performed at the flow rate WHSV = 26000 cm³ (g Cat)⁻¹ h⁻¹. It was found that commercial catalytic systems like NKM-2A and NKM-4A (NIAP-07-02) were insufficiently effective for the selective removal of CO to a level of <100 ppm. The most promising catalyst is 2 wt % Ni/CeO₂. This catalyst decreased the concentration of CO from 1.5 vol % to 100 ppm in the presence of 20 vol % CO₂ in the temperature range of 280–360°C at a selectivity of >40%, and it retained its activity even after contact with air. The minimum outlet CO concentration of 10 ppm at 80% selectivity on a 2 wt % Ni/CeO₂ catalyst was reached at a temperature of 300°C.     

Homogeneous catalysis of the water gas shift reaction by iridium carbonyl in alkaline solution

The water gas shift reaction, H₂O + CO ? H₂ + CO₂, catalyzed homogeneously by a system based on tetrairidiumdodecacarbonyl (Ir₄(CO)₁₂) in alkaline 2-ethoxyethanol/water solution was examined at moderate temperatures (90–130°C) and pressures (P_CO 0.5–2.0 atm). The catalytic reaction showed an approximate first-order dependence on base concentration and on the concentration of iridium. The catalytic cycle was shown to have a zero order dependence on the partial pressure of CO. An apparent activation energy of 10.7 kcal mol^?1 was obtained from a linear Arrhenius plot based on hydrogen production over the temperature range 90–130°C. The predominant pathway of the reaction can be explained by a mechanism in which activation of CO by nucleophilic attack of hydroxide on the metal hydride species HIr₄(CO)₁₁^? produces the dihydride species, H₂Ir₄(CO)₁₀^2? in the rate-limiting step. Subsequent reaction of this anion with H₂O gives H₂ plus HIr₄(CO)₁₁^? again. The complex Ir₈(CO)₂₀^2? is shown to be a catalytically poor component of the solution. The system has also been shown to be active toward the decomposition of formate. This pathway however, is concluded to make an insignificant contribution to the catalysis rate under water gas shift reaction conditions.     

Methanation catalytic reactor

Storing renewable electricity in a natural gas grid is a new approach for seasonal storage. Using the existing natural gas infrastructure, a chemical energy source (methane) is stored efficiently, distributed and made available for use as required. Thus, the main step in the storage process is CO methanation. Modelling of an isothermal methanation catalytic reactor based on a kinetic scheme was carried out with Aspen plus™ software in a temperature range between 520 and 600 K and a H₂/CO molar ratio of 3, in the presence of CO₂ and steam. The model was validated by comparing simulation results with experimental ones. The maximum relative error is 10.87%. The effects of temperature, pressure and CO₂ addition in feed gas (syngas) on CO conversion and the outlet gas composition were carefully investigated.     

Carbon monoxide hydrogenation in the mode of Ru/Al2O3 catalyst surface ignition

The specifics of CO hydrogenation over a 5%Ru/Al₂O₃ catalyst in a flow reactor at a pressure of 1.5 MPa has been considered. The feed gas mixture has been composed of (vol %) 30.5 CO, 2.3 CO₂, 65 H₂, and N₂ as the rest. The CO methanation reaction readily passes to the external-diffusion regime—catalyst surface ignition (CSI) mode—either by heating the catalyst in the reaction medium or by replacing H₂ with the reactant gas having a temperature above the critical ignition temperature. On passing to the CSI mode, the temperature at the entrance to the catalyst bed and the methane content at the reactor outlet abruptly increase, the yield of CO₂ produced via the water-gas shift reaction increases, and the CO content drops to zero. Under the CSI regime, temperature oscillations with a period of 3–5 min and an amplitude of ～3°C are observed, which are sustained during catalyst cooling until the extinction of the reaction. A comparison of the product compositions at the reactor outlet in the cases of the “thick” (20 mm) and “thin”(3 mm) catalyst bed has shown that the reverse water-gas shift, an endothermic reaction, occurs in lower, colder layers of the thick bed. As a result, the extinction of the reaction is faster in the thick than in the thin bed. Methanation of CO is accompanied by the Fischer-Tropsch reaction: a variety of carbon compounds are formed with their yield being decreased on passing to the CSI mode.     

The radiolysis of mixtures of carbon dioxide and hydrogen

The self-radiolysis of CO₂ in excess tritium (³H₂) has been studied at pressures of 0.1 to 1.0 atm, temperatures of ?80° to +100°C, and in the presence of added H₂O, He, or Ar. The primary products of decomposition are CO and ³H₂O. Secondary products are C³H₄, C₂³H₄, and a white polymer. The rates of disappearance of CO₂ and formation of products and G-;values were measured. The disappearance of CO₂ initially obeys first-order kinetics, then slows down with time at a rate depending upon the initial pressure of ³H₂. The initial rates are proportional to pressures of CO₂ and ³H₂. They are independent of temperature, decreased by addition of H₂O vapor, and increased by addition of He or Ar. The proposed mechanism of decomposition of CO₂ and formation of products involves ionization of CO₂ followed by dissociative recombination forming CO and O. Then the O reacts with a hydrogen-containing species forming OH and H₂O, and a back reaction forms CO₂ from CO and OH.     

Surface Iron Species in Palladium–Iron Intermetallic Nanocrystals that Promote and Stabilize CO2 Methanation

It is of pivotal importance to develop efficient catalysts and investigate the intrinsic mechanism for CO₂ methanation. Now, it is reported that PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals afforded high activity and stability for CO₂ methanation. The mass activity of fct‐PdFe nanocrystals reached 5.3 mmol g^?1 h^?1, under 1 bar (CO₂:H₂=1:4) at 180 °C, being 6.6, 1.6, 3.3, and 5.3 times as high as that of fcc‐PdFe nanocrystals, Ru/C, Ni/C, and Pd/C, respectively. After 20 rounds of successive reaction, 98 % of the original activity was retained for PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals. Further mechanistic studies revealed that PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals enabled the maintenance of metallic Fe species via a reversible oxidation–reduction process in CO₂ methanation. The metallic Fe in PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals induced the direct conversion of CO₂ into CO* as the intermediate, contributing to the enhanced activity.     

Surface Iron Species in Palladium–Iron Intermetallic Nanocrystals that Promote and Stabilize CO2 Methanation

It is of pivotal importance to develop efficient catalysts and investigate the intrinsic mechanism for CO₂ methanation. Now, it is reported that PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals afforded high activity and stability for CO₂ methanation. The mass activity of fct-PdFe nanocrystals reached 5.3 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, under 1 bar (CO₂:H₂=1:4) at 180 °C, being 6.6, 1.6, 3.3, and 5.3 times as high as that of fcc-PdFe nanocrystals, Ru/C, Ni/C, and Pd/C, respectively. After 20 rounds of successive reaction, 98 % of the original activity was retained for PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals. Further mechanistic studies revealed that PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals enabled the maintenance of metallic Fe species via a reversible oxidation–reduction process in CO₂ methanation. The metallic Fe in PdFe intermetallic nanocrystals induced the direct conversion of CO₂ into CO* as the intermediate, contributing to the enhanced activity.     

Flow reactor studies and kinetic modeling of the H2/O2/NOX and CO/H2O/O2/NOX reactions

Flow reactor experiments were performed over wide ranges of pressure (0.5–14.0 atm) and temperature (750–1100 K) to study H₂/O₂ and CO/H₂O/O₂ kinetics in the presence of trace quantities of NO and NO₂. The promoting and inhibiting effects of NO reported previously at near atmospheric pressures extend throughout the range of pressures explored in the present study. At conditions where the recombination reaction H + O₂ (+M) = HO₂ (+M) is favored over the competing branching reaction, low concentrations of NO promote H₂ and CO oxidation by converting HO₂ to OH. In high concentrations, NO can also inhibit oxidative processes by catalyzing the recombination of radicals. The experimental data show that the overall effects of NO addition on fuel consumption and conversion of NO to NO₂ depend strongly on pressure and stoichiometry. The addition of NO₂ was also found to promote H₂ and CO oxidation but only at conditions where the reacting mixture first promoted the conversion of NO₂ to NO. Experimentally measured profiles of H₂, CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, O₂, H₂O, and temperature were used to constrain the development of a detailed kinetic mechanism consistent with the previously studied H₂/O₂, CO/H₂O/O₂, H₂/NO₂, and CO/H₂O/N₂O systems. Model predictions generated using the reaction mechanism presented here are in good agreement with the experimental data over the entire range of conditions explored. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 705–724, 1999     

Kinetics of carbon monoxide methanation on nickel catalysts

The kinetics of CO methanation in excess H₂ on CaO- and CeO₂-doped nickel catalysts supported on Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ was studied at atmospheric pressure in a temperature range of 180–240°C. It was found that the same rational fractional rate equation corresponding to the reaction taking place at high surface coverages, is valid for all of the catalysts. The activity of nickel catalysts in the methanation reaction and their adsorption capacity with respect to reaction mixture components depend on the nature of the support and dopants.     

Selective CO methanation over amorphous Ni-Ru-B/ZrO2 catalyst for hydrogen-rich gas purification

Amorphous Ni-Ru-B/ZrO₂ catalysts were prepared by chemical reduction method. The effects of Ni-Ru-B loading and Ru/Ni mole ratio on the catalytic performance for selective CO methanation from reformed fuel were studied, and the catalysts were characterized by BET, ICP, XRD and TPD. The results showed that Ru strongly affected the catalytic activity and selectivity by increasing the thermal stability of amorphous structure, promoting the dispersion of the catalyst particle, and intensifying the CO adsorption. For the catalysts with Ru/Ni mole ratio under 0.15, the CO methanation conversion and selectivity increased significantly with the increasing Ru/Ni mole ratio. Among all the catalysts investigated, the 30 wt% Ni-Ru-B loading amorphous Ni₆₁Ru₉B₃₀/ZrO₂ catalyst with 0.15 Ru/Ni mole ratio presented the best catalytic performance, over which higher than 99.9% of CO conversion was obtained in the temperature range of 230°C～250°C, and the CO₂ conversion was kept under the level of 0.9%.     

NiCe bimetallic nanoparticles embedded in hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) for reverse water gas shift reaction

Reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction is a crucial process in CO₂ utilization. Herein, Ni- and NiCe-containing hexagonal mesoporous silica (Ni-HMS and NiCe-HMS) catalysts were synthesized using an in-situ one-pot method and applied for RWGS reaction. At certain reaction temperatures 500-750 °C, Ni-HMS samples displayed a higher selectivity to the preferable CO than that of conventionally impregnated Ni/HMS catalyst. This could be originated from the smaller NiO nanoparticles over Ni-HMS catalyst. NiCe-HMS exhibited higher activity compared to Ni-HMS. The catalysts were characterized by means of TEM, XPS, XRD, H₂-TPR, CO₂-TPD, EPR and N₂ adsorption-desortion technology. It was found that introduction of Ce created high concentration of oxygen vacancies, served as the active site for activating CO₂. Also, this work analyzed the effect of the H₂/CO₂ molar ratio on the best NiCe-HMS. When reaction gas H₂/CO₂ molar ratio was 4 significantly decreased the selectivity to CO at low temperature, but triggered a higher CO₂ conversion which is close to the equilibrium.     

Ferrofluid catalyzed water gas shift reaction to give carbon-dioxide and hydrogen

A ferrofluid consisting of colloidally dispersed magnetite particles in water was found to be an efficient selective catalyst for water gas shift reaction at 15–25 atmosphere of CO pressure in the temperature range of 423–553 K where the products obtained were only CO₂ and H₂. The reaction was studied as a function of variation of the concentration of catalyst, pressure of CO gas and temperature. Kinetic parameters suggested a mechanism involving first order dependence in CO and catalyst concentrations.     

Polymerization and degradation of polyacrylonitrile in gas discharge

The plasma polymerization of acrylonitrile and the plasma degradation of polyacrylonitrile have been studied mass-spectrometrically in high-frequency gas discharge at low pressure. The polymerization was found to proceed without decay to gaseous products. During the polymerization, the monomer partial pressure in the closed plasma-chemical reactor decreased exponentially. When treating polyacrylonitrile in argon plasma, the polymer decayed to C, H₂ and N₂; in oxygen plasma, the species were C, H₂, N₂, H₂O, CO and CO₂. Unlike the thermal decomposition, no traces of monomer and oligomers were detected among the products of plasma degradation.     

Effect of Nonthermal Plasma on the Methanation of Carbon Monoxide over Nickel Catalyst

Reduction of carbon monoxide to methane by hydrogen was investigated with a nonthermal plasma reactor in which Ni/alumina catalyst pellets was filled. The effect of reaction temperature, pressure and voltage on the conversion of CO was examined. It was found that the nonthermal plasma significantly enhanced the catalytic conversion of CO. The effect of the nonthermal plasma was especially remarkable at lower temperatures and pressures. At high temperatures, the catalyst itself exhibited very high catalytic activity for the conversion of CO. Since high pressure is unfavorable for creating electrical discharge plasma, the increase in pressure lowered the discharge power, thereby weakening the effect of the nonthermal plasma. With the nonthermal plasma alone, there was no conversion of CO. The reaction products identified by FTIR spectra were CH₄, CO₂ and H₂O. FTIR spectra also showed that CO was converted primarily into CH₄ with high selectivity above 90% at most experimental conditions.     

Low temperature methanation of CO2 over an amorphous cobalt-based catalyst

CO₂ methanation is an important reaction in CO₂ valorization. Because of the high kinetic barriers, the reaction usually needs to proceed at higher temperature (>300 °C). High-efficiency CO₂ methanation at low temperature (<200 °C) is an interesting topic, and only several noble metal catalysts were reported to achieve this goal. Currently, design of cheap metal catalysts that can effectively accelerate this reaction at low temperature is still a challenge. In this work, we found that the amorphous Co–Zr_0.1–B–O catalyst could catalyze the reaction at above 140 °C. The activity of the catalyst at 180 °C reached 10.7 mmol_CO2 g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is comparable to or even higher than that of some noble metal catalysts under similar conditions. The Zr promoter in this work had the highest promoting factor to date among the catalysts for CO₂ methanation. As far as we know, this is the first report of an amorphous transition metal catalyst that could effectively accelerate CO₂ methanation. The outstanding performance of the catalyst could be ascribed to two aspects. The amorphous nature of the catalyst offered abundant surface defects and intrinsic active sites. On the other hand, the Zr promoter could enlarge the surface area of the catalyst, enrich the Co atoms on the catalyst surface, and tune the valence state of the atoms at the catalyst surface. The reaction mechanism was proposed based on the control experiments.

It is discovered that an amorphous transition metal catalyst Co–Zr0.1–B–O could effectively accelerate CO2 methanation, at a rate that is comparable to or even higher than that of some noble metal catalysts under similar conditions.     

Reversible chemisorption of carbon dioxide: simultaneous production of fuel-cell grade H2 and compressed CO2 from synthesis gas

One vision of clean energy for the future is to produce hydrogen from coal in an ultra-clean plant. The conventional route consists of reacting the coal gasification product (after removal of trace impurities) with steam in a water gas shift (WGS) reactor to convert CO to CO₂ and H₂, followed by purification of the effluent gas in a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit to produce a high purity hydrogen product. PSA processes can also be designed to produce a CO₂ by-product at ambient pressure. This work proposes a novel concept called “Thermal Swing Sorption Enhanced Reaction (TSSER)” which simultaneously carries out the WGS reaction and the removal of CO₂ from the reaction zone by using a CO₂ chemisorbent in a single unit operation. The concept directly produces a fuel-cell grade H₂ and compressed CO₂ as a by-product gas. Removal of CO₂ from the reaction zone circumvents the equilibrium limitations of the reversible WGS reaction and enhances its forward rate of reaction. Recently measured sorption-desorption characteristics of two novel, reversible CO₂ chemisorbents (K₂CO₃ promoted hydrotalcite and Na₂O promoted alumina) are reviewed and the simulated performance of the proposed TSSER concept using the promoted hydrotalcite as the chemisorbent is reported.     

MoP/Al2O3 as a novel catalyst for sulfur‐resistant methanation

We reported γ‐alumina supported molybdenum phosphide (MoP) catalysts as a novel catalyst for sulfur‐resistant methanation reaction. The precursors of the catalyst were prepared by impregnation method and the effect of reduction temperatures (550 °C, 600 °C, 650 °C) of the precursors for sulfur‐resistant methanation was examined. The results indicated catalyst obtained by lower reduction temperature delivered better sulfur‐resistant methanation performance. Meanwhile, the influence of H₂/CO ratios and H₂S content was also investigated. The results indicated that high H₂/CO ratio and low H₂S content was favorable for methanation of MoP catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by N₂ adsorption–desorption, XRD, XPS and TEM. The results confirmed that the MoP phase was formed on all the catalysts and the physicochemical properties of the samples influenced the performance for sulfur‐resistant methanation.     

Gas-phase oxidation of 1,4-dioxane

An experimental investigation in a conventional static apparatus of the oxidation of equimolecular mixtures 1,4-dioxane-O₂ has shown that 1,4-dioxane reacts with oxygen more readily than most hydrocarbons. Cool flames and ignitions were observed above 200°C in a pressure range up to 300 torr. The products of the slow reaction and cool flame were analyzed by gas chromatography and GC-MS; the slow reaction gives only CO, CO₂, H₂CO, H₂, C₂H₄, and H₂O. A radical chain mechanism is suggested and discussed by using an evaluation of the rate constants of the possible elementary steps by the methods of thermochemical kinetics.     

The Origin of the Selectivity and Activity of Ruthenium‐Cluster Catalysts for Fuel‐Cell Feed‐Gas Purification: A Gas‐Phase Approach

Gas‐phase ruthenium clusters Ru_n⁺ (n=2–6) are employed as model systems to discover the origin of the outstanding performance of supported sub‐nanometer ruthenium particles in the catalytic CO methanation reaction with relevance to the hydrogen feed‐gas purification for advanced fuel‐cell applications. Using ion‐trap mass spectrometry in conjunction with first‐principles density functional theory calculations three fundamental properties of these clusters are identified which determine the selectivity and catalytic activity: high reactivity toward CO in contrast to inertness in the reaction with CO₂; promotion of cooperatively enhanced H₂ coadsorption and dissociation on pre‐formed ruthenium carbonyl clusters, that is, no CO poisoning occurs; and the presence of Ru‐atom sites with a low number of metal–metal bonds, which are particularly active for H₂ coadsorption and activation. Furthermore, comprehensive theoretical investigations provide mechanistic insight into the CO methanation reaction and discover a reaction route involving the formation of a formyl‐type intermediate.     

Recent Advances in Preferential Oxidation of CO in H2 Over Gold Catalysts

Recent studies have revealed that supported gold catalysts exhibit comparable or superior catalytic performance relative to platinum group metals, especially at low temperatures, in the preferential oxidation of CO under excess H₂ (CO-PROX). Complete conversion of CO with good selectivity of O₂ for CO₂ and highly stable catalyst performance in the presence of CO₂ and H₂O are considered to be essential for the successful development of CO-PROX catalysts for application in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The performance of supported gold catalysts in the CO-PROX reaction has been shown to be dependent on the characteristics of gold (size, oxidation state, and its interaction with other metal/oxides), nature of the support (size, composition, preparation method, presence of promoters, and doping with other metal ions), and reaction conditions (temperature and feed composition). Complete CO conversion has been achieved in the presence of certain gold catalysts below 100 °C. The unresolved issues in CO-PROX include the undesired oxidation of H₂, detrimental effects of CO₂ and/or H₂O, and long-term stability of the catalysts. To address these issues, the catalytic activity of gold supported on simple oxides such as TiO₂, CeO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃ has been improved dramatically by the addition of promoters, alteration of the gold-oxide support interface, and modification of the oxide supports. Recently, nanoporous gold has also been recognized to be promising for this reaction. This review highlights recent developments of unsupported and supported gold catalysts for the CO-PROX reaction.