Preparation Of Ni/SiO₂ Catalyst For CO₂ Reforming Of Methane By Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma

CO2 reforming of methane (CRM) converts the greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) to produce syngas with a low H2/CO ratio which is appropriated for methanol synthesis and Fisher-Tropsch synthesis to liquid fuels. Recently, the preparation of catalysts for CO2 reforming of methane by cold plasma has become one of the most extensively studied fields. The study of CO2 reforming of methane is significant to resource utilization and recurrent economy.In this work, the precursors Ni(OH)2/SiO2 and Ni(NO3)2/SiO2 were prepared by coprecipitation and impregnation methods, and the Ni/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by treating the precursors using dielectric-barrier discharge plasma. The preparation conditions of catalyst, including plasma discharge power, plasma treatment time, nickel salts and nickel amount, etc. were systematically investigated. The results showed that the reduction time was greatly shortened by higher plasma discharge power and long plasma treatment time made it easier to reduce the catalyst.The Ni/SiO2 catalytic performances in CO2 reforming of methane were examined. The results showed that the plasma reduced catalysts exhibited relatively higher activity and better stability than catalysts reduced by the conventional method. The catalyst prepared by impregnation and plasma treatment showed better initial activity, however, the catalyst prepared by coprecipitation and plasma-activated methods had better stability and better anti-carbon deposition property.