(359e) In Situ FTIR Study for Tri Reforming Process

Tri-reforming process is the conversion of CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, and O₂ to syngas without CO₂ separation from industrial flue gases. Trireforming is a possible process of reducing total carbon dioxide emissions by extending our available carbon resources.  This process reduces the chance of catalyst deactivation by carbon formation compared with the dry reforming of methane. However, the interaction of this mixture of gases with catalytically active surface sites of catalyst is still a puzzle that we need to investigate to understand the mechanism of the tri-reforming reaction.

In situ FTIR technique plays an important role in the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts under real reaction conditions with simultaneous study of reaction products.  In our lab, the Ni/Mg_xTi_1-xO catalyst prepared by incipient wetness and nickel nanoparticle formation via reverse micelles has been studied in a temperature-controlled continuous flow fixed reactor. Using probe molecules as reactants, in situ FTIR spectroscopy was used to investigate the catalyst surface chemistry during a temperature programmed study (room temperature up to 500°C) at 1 atm pressure. Some points will be illustrated: (1) which are the active sites of the catalyst; (2) how the reaction changes due to the different Mg (or Ti) concentrations; (3) how does the adsorbed gases react with the active sites; and (4) what the intermediate species will be generated during the reaction and why does this happen. These results allow one to determine the appropriate catalyst composition and then control of reaction conditions to get the satisfied products through these techniques. In the proposed trireforming process, the syngas, which will be used in Fischer-Tropsch and/or methanol synthesis reactions, must have a H₂/CO = 2. In addition, possible mechanism of tri-reforming reaction on Ni/Mg_xTi_1-xO will be proposed.