Partial oxidation of methane over biomass fly ash (BFA)-supported Ni/CaO catalyst for hydrogen-rich syngas production

In this study, biomass fly ash (BFA)-supported Ni/CaO catalyst was synthesized, characterized and evaluated for partial oxidation of methane (POM) in a fixed bed reactor. The catalyst was characterized by using various characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and RAMAN spectroscopy. These characterizations demonstrated the formation of pure crystalline CaO and BFA with better dispersion of Ni metal over support material, enhancing the thermal stability of catalyst in POM reaction (up to 900 degrees C). The Ni/CaO-BFA was tested for POM and demonstrated superior catalytic behaviour in CH4 conversion and H-2/CO ratio than BFA, CaO and CaO-BFA. Maximum 87% CH4 conversion was achieved by utilizing 10% Ni/CaO-BFA with H-2/CO ratio of 2.07 as it is an effective precursor for liquid fuels (FT synthesis) production. The most stable catalyst has shown coke-resisting properties in POM reaction even after 35 h time on stream that was confirmed by the characterization of spent catalyst. Thus, the development of more efficient catalyst prepared from waste materials shows huge potential in POM and possibly in other reforming reactions.

Automated summary

In this study, a Ni/CaO catalyst supported by biomass fly ash (BFA) was successfully synthesized and characterized. The results showed that the Ni/CaO-BFA catalyst exhibited superior catalytic performance in the partial oxidation of methane (POM), with potential for efficient synthesis of liquid fuels.