Lanthanum incorporated in MCM-41 and its application as a support for a stable Ni-based methanation catalyst

Herein, lanthanum was incorporated via hydrothermal synthesis into a MCM-41 framework structure with La/Si molar ratios from 0.01 to 0.1. Samples of NiO supported on LaMCM-41 were prepared using the impregnation method. The catalyst performance was evaluated using a fixed bed CO methanation reactor. A Ni/LaMCM-41 catalyst with La/Si = 0.1 shows the best catalytic performance with a CO conversion of almost 100% and a CH4 selectivity of 89.5% at 250 °C under a pressure of 1.5 MPa and at an airspeed of 36,000 mL/(g·h). Compared with Ni–La/MCM-41(La/Si = 0.1) and Ni/MCM-41 prepared via the impregnation method, Ni/LaMCM-41(La/Si = 0.1) shows a higher CO conversion and CH4 selectivity. In a 100 h stability test, the Ni/LaMCM-41(La/Si = 0.1) catalyst shows excellent stability; furthermore, the CO conversion is always greater than 98.0%, which is significantly better than the results for Ni/MCM-41. We experimentally demonstrate that elemental La enters the framework of MCM-41. The Ni/LaMCM-41 catalyst performs well because the La reduces the average particle size of the NiO particles and enhances the interaction between NiO and MCM-41; moreover, the introduction of La significantly inhibits the sintering of the catalyst and the formation of carbon deposits.