Parametric study of Ni-based catalyst for glycerol dry reforming

Increasing energy demand steers the energy industry to find new energy sources. Glycerol, which is a by-product of biodiesel, is an alternative to meet this demand. Although there are a number of reforming methods, dry reforming has drawn special attention due to consuming CO2, which is a greenhouse gas. In this study, glycerol dry reforming over Ni/La2O3-ZrO2 catalyst was carried out. In order to understand the effect of support profoundly, Ni/La2O3 and Ni/ZrO2 catalysts were also prepared and molar CO2/Glycerol feed ratio (CO2/G), temperature and residence time were investigated in the range of 700-750oC, CO2/G = 1-4 and in the residence time range of 0.5-2.5 mgcat min NmL-1 over those three catalysts. In addition to parameter examinations, 72 hours on stream stability tests were performed to observe the stability performance of catalysts individually. Optimum parameters were determined as 750oC and CO2/G feed ratio of 2:1. At these conditions, 38.9% CO2 conversion was achieved over 20 mg (corresponding to 0.5 mgcat min NmL-1 residence time) Ni/La2O3-ZrO2. Stability results showed that Ni/La2O3-ZrO2 has superior stability performance with only 10.1% activation loss compared to Ni/ZrO2 which was deactivated rapidly, and CO2 conversion became zero after 46 hours.