Fabrication of Ni–Al2O3-based reforming catalyst using flame-assisted vapour deposition

The fabrication of Ni–Al2O3-based catalysts is often expensive and laborious. Flame-assisted vapour deposition (FAVD) offers a simple and cost-effective alternative. The FAVD method combines spray pyrolysis and flame synthesis techniques to produce simple, mixed and doped oxide coatings. In this study, FAVD is used to produce Ni–Al2O3-based catalysts for use in direct internal reforming of molten carbonate fuel (MCFC). The catalyst produced using FAVD was found to have sufficiently high surface area and porosity required for the internal reforming of high-methane-containing natural gas to fuel gas. Elemental mapping of Ni also showed a uniform distribution of Ni over the surface of the catalyst. In addition, the required chemical phase in the coating was obtained in a single-step deposition. The catalysts produced by the FAVD method were sufficiently robust to withstand flaking and delamination during exposure to the simulated elevated operating temperatures of the MCFC. Ni–Al2O3-based catalysts have been successfully produced using FAVD with acceptable microstructural, chemical and mechanical properties at a lower cost of production and higher deposition rate than those fabricated via conventional routes. The deposition mechanism of the FAVD process is discussed. Porous catalysts with good adhesion could be deposited by tailoring heterogeneous and homogenous reactions during the deposition.