Monolithic Ni-MO_x/Ni-foam (M = Al, Zr or Y) catalysts with enhanced heat/mass transfer for energy-efficient catalytic oxy-methane reforming

Abstract A series of monolithic nickel-foam-structured Ni-MO_x(M = Al, Zr or Y) binary catalysts to be used in the catalytic oxy-methane reforming have been developed, of which the Ni-MO_x catalysts are formed in-situ and embedded onto the Ni-foam struts by chemically etching Ni-foam using solution containing Al (or Zr, Y) nitrate. Among these catalysts, Ni-Al₂O₃/Ni-foam possesses the largest specific surface area and the highest amount of NiO species (i.e., Ni active site precursors), and as a result, exhibits the best catalytic performance with promising stability. Over this catalyst, CH₄ conversion of 86.4% can be obtained with H₂ selectivity of 96.6% and CO selectivity of 91.2% for a fed of CH₄/O₂ (2/1) at 700°C and a high gas hourly space velocity of 100 L g^{- 1} h^{- 1}. We anticipate our assay to be a new point which might stimulate commercial exploitation of the new-generation structured catalyst technology for the high-throughput catalytic oxy-methane reforming reaction.