A honeycomb-type Ni/CeO2 catalyst for CO2 methanation to transform greenhouse gas into useful resources

The CO2 methanation is a famous reaction that calls a familiar Sabatier reaction for the hydrogenation of CO2 to CH4. To rapidly transforming CO2 to CH4, we investigated the performance of methanation over some nickel-based granular catalysts loaded on various supports. Secondly, a structured catalyst with Ni/CeO2 component having the highest methanation activity was prepared by wash-coating method on a honeycomb-fin substrate aluminium and was measured its methanation property and durability performances. The 10 wt% Ni-loaded granular catalyst was prepared by a wet impregnation method. The Al2O3, TiO2, ZrO2 and CeO2 were used as the support materials. As a result, the Ni/CeO2 and Ni/ZrO2 granular catalysts displayed a high activity at 250 degreesC, while the Ni/Al2O3 and Ni/TiO2 granular catalysts showed a low CO2 conversion. The higher basic supports such as the CeO2 and ZrO2 might enhance the partial electron transfer from the supports to Ni element, which improve the ability of CO2 activation on Ni-site, and in turn produced a higher activity. The structured catalyst was prepared by a wash-coating method using an aluminium substrate with a honeycomb-fin configuration. The catalytic performance was enhanced by wash-coating Ni/CeO2 component. Furthermore, the Ni/CeO2 structured catalyst did not deactivate at all for about 120 h at 350 degreesC. The selectivity to CH4 did not also decrease during the durability test. The developed catalyst has a high and practical potential to be used as a catalyst for the production of energy resource from CO2.