H-2 production from partial oxidation of CH4 by Fe2O3 -supported Ni-based catalysts in a plasma-assisted packed bed reactor

Abstract

H2-rich gas production from CH4 at mild temperature (673 K), was achieved in a single step without introducing a separate oxygen stream. This was conducted in a plasma-assisted packed bed reactor in the presence of Ni-based catalysts doped on an active support, i.e. Fe2O3. Among the tested materials, NiO/Fe2O3 was found to be very promising and its excellent catalytic properties seemed to be induced by the presence of Fe2O3, which suppressed the formation of deposited carbon, and thus maintained the catalytic effect of metallic Ni (formed during NiO reduction by the CH4/Ar plasma). This work demonstrates the potential of plasma-assisted chemical looping partial oxidation for H2 production.