CO2 reforming of methane to syngas: I: evaluation of hydrotalcite clay-derived catalysts

Several important chemicals can potentially be manufactured from natural gas (mostly methane) by first converting it to syngas (CO+H2). The high cost of converting methane to syngas currently limits the large scale commercial use of syngas to produce methanol. This study focuses on the CO2/steam reforming of methane to produce inexpensive syngas using nickel and magnesium containing hydrotalcite clay-derived catalysts. Several of these catalysts were prepared and evaluated. The results are compared with commercial Ni/Al2O3 or Ni/MgAl2O4 catalysts. At 815°C and 300 psi pressure, the fresh clay-derived catalysts showed identical performance as the commercial catalysts. However, under more severe operating conditions, the clay-derived catalysts exhibited superior activity and stability. Aging studies clearly showed that the clay-derived catalysts are more stable and coke resistant than commercial catalysts.