Bi-reforming of Methane from Any Source with Steam and Carbon Dioxide Exclusively to Metgas (CO-2H2) for Methanol and Hydrocarbon Synthesis

A catalyst based on nickel oxide on magnesium oxide (NiO/MgO) thermally activated under hydrogen is effective for the bi-reforming with steam and CO2 (combined steam and dry reforming) of methane as well as natural gas in a tubular flow reactor at elevated pressures (5-30 atm) and temperatures (800-950 degrees C). By adjusting the CO2-to-steam ratio in the gas feed, the H-2/CO ratio in the produced syn-gas could be easily adjusted in a single step to the desired value of 2 for methanol and hydrocarbon synthesis.