Hydrogen production by CO2 reforming of CH4 in coke oven gas over Ni–Co/MgAl2O4 catalysts

Abstract An active Ni–Co/MgAl2O4 catalyst was investigated for CO2 reforming of coke oven gas (COG). The xNi–(10-x)Co/MgAl2O4 (x = 10, 7.5, 5.0, 2.5, 0) catalysts were prepared by impregnation method and characterized by BET, XRD, CO2-TPD, H2-TPH, TEM and TG. The CH4 and CO2 conversions of 70.36% and 86.46% respectively, as well as the H2 and CO selectivities of 76.16% and 86.28% respectively, were achieved over 2.5Ni–7.5Co/MgAl2O4 catalyst. It was found that the bimetallic catalysts exhibited higher activity towards CO2 reforming and deposited less coke, suggesting a larger numbers of active sites comparing to mono-metal catalysts. The results showed that conversion increased with Ni content at first and decreased as Ni content continued to increase. Thus the 2.5Ni–7.5Co/MgAl2O4, which is with high activity and low carbon deposition due to the strong synergistic effect between Ni and Co with the formation of Ni–Co solid solution, is a promising catalyst for hydrogen production in future fuel industries.