Ni-based catalyst derived from Ni/Mg/Al hydrotalcite-like compounds and its activity in the methanation of carbon monoxide

The supported Ni-based catalyst is widely used in the methanation process. Nevertheless, the major disadvantages of this catalyst are a poor behavior in the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction and the deactivation at higher temperatures. A new kind of catalyst, nickel-containing oxides catalyst (NiMgAl), obtained from thermal treatment of hydrotalcite-like compounds (HTlcs) was prepared using the co-precipitation method. The performance of this catalyst was systematically investigated and compared with that of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst. It was found that the NiMgAl catalyst shows an enhanced methanation activity compared to that of the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst and the former catalyst shows a better performance for the methanation especially at temperature over 550°C. Three NiMgAl catalysts with different nickel content were prepared and tested in the methanation operated at a GHSV of 15000 h^?1 and n(H₂)/n(CO) of 1.5. The results indicate that with the NiMg8 catalyst a higher activity and stability could be achieved than with the NiMg5 and NiMg6 samples, the effect mainly attributed to a higher extent of Ni dispersion was confirmed by XRD results.