High Selectivity and Stability of Nickel Catalysts for CO2 Methanation: Support Effects

Nanoreactor Engineering Can Unlock New Possibilities for CO2 Tandem Catalytic Conversion to C-C Coupled Products

Climate change is becoming increasingly more pronounced every day while the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continues to rise. CO2 reduction to valuable chemicals is an approach that has gathered substantial attention as a means to recycle these gases. Herein, some of the tandem catalysis approaches that can be used to achieve the transformation of CO2 to C-C coupled products are explored, focusing especially on tandem catalytic schemes where there is a big opportunity to improve performance by designing effective catalytic nanoreactors. Recent reviews have highlighted the technical challenges and opportunities for advancing tandem catalysis, especially highlighting the need for elucidating structure-activity relationships and mechanisms of reaction through theoretical and in situ/operando characterization techniques. In this review, the focus is on nanoreactor synthesis strategies as a critical research direction, and discusses these in the context of two main tandem pathways (CO-mediated pathway and Methanol-mediated pathway) to C-C coupled products.

Recent Advances in Graphitic Carbon Nitride Based Electro-Catalysts for CO2 Reduction Reactions

The electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction is an effective means of combating the greenhouse effect caused by massive carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon nitride in the graphitic phase (g-C₃N₄) has excellent chemical stability and unique structural properties that allow it to be widely used in energy and materials fields. However, due to its relatively low electrical conductivity, to date, little effort has been made to summarize the application of g-C₃N₄ in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂. This review focuses on the synthesis and functionalization of g-C₃N₄ and the recent advances of its application as a catalyst and a catalyst support in the electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂. The modification of g-C₃N₄-based catalysts for enhanced CO₂ reduction is critically reviewed. In addition, opportunities for future research on g-C₃N₄-based catalysts for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction are discussed.

CO2 Methanation over Nickel Catalysts: Support Effects Investigated through Specific Activity and Operando IR Spectroscopy Measurements

Renewed interest in CO2 methanation is due to its role within the framework of the Power-to-Methane processes. While the use of nickel-based catalysts for CO2 methanation is well stablished, the support is being subjected to thorough research due to its complex effects. The objective of this work was the study of the influence of the support with a series of catalysts supported on alumina, ceria, ceria–zirconia, and titania. Catalysts’ performance has been kinetically and spectroscopically evaluated over a wide range of temperatures (150–500 °C). The main results have shown remarkable differences among the catalysts as concerns Ni dispersion, metallic precursor reducibility, basic properties, and catalytic activity. Operando infrared spectroscopy measurements have evidenced the presence of almost the same type of adsorbed species during the course of the reaction, but with different relative intensities. The results indicate that using as support of Ni a reducible metal oxide that is capable of developing the basicity associated with medium-strength basic sites and a suitable balance between metallic sites and centers linked to the support leads to high CO2 methanation activity. In addition, the results obtained by operando FTIR spectroscopy suggest that CO2 methanation follows the formate pathway over the catalysts under consideration.

Editorial Catalysts: Catalysis for the Removal of Gas-Phase Pollutants

Air pollution is one of the greatest concerns affecting the world today [...]

Comparing the Performance of Supported Ru Nanocatalysts Prepared by Chemical Reduction of RuCl3 and Thermal Decomposition of Ru3(CO)12 in the Sunlight-Powered Sabatier Reaction

The preparation of Ru nanoparticles supported on γ-Al2O3 followed by chemical reduction using RuCl3 as a precursor is demonstrated, and their properties are compared to Ru nanoparticles supported on γ-Al2O3 prepared by impregnation of γ-Al2O3 with Ru3(CO)12 and subsequent thermal decomposition. The Ru nanoparticles resulting from chemical reduction of RuCl3 are slightly larger (1.2 vs. 0.8 nm). In addition, Ru nanoparticles were deposited on Stöber SiO2 using both deposition techniques. These particles were larger than the ones deposited on γ-Al2O3 (2.5 and 3.4 nm for chemical reduction and thermal decomposition, respectively). Taking into account the size differences between the Ru nanoparticles, all catalysts display similar activity (0.14–0.63 mol·gRu−1·h−1) and selectivity (≥99%) in the sunlight-powered Sabatier reaction. Ergo, the use of toxic and volatile Ru3(CO)12 can be avoided, since catalysts prepared by chemical reduction of RuCl3 display similar catalytic performance.

CO2—A Crisis or Novel Functionalization Opportunity?

The growing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), combined with its ecotoxicity, is the reason for the intensification of research on the new technology of CO2 management. Currently, it is believed that it is not possible to eliminate whole CO2 emissions. However, a sustainable balance sheet is possible. The solution is technologies that use carbon dioxide as a raw material. Many of these methods are based on CO2 methanation, for example, projects such as Power-to-Gas, production of fuels, or polymers. This article presents the concept of using CO2 as a raw material, the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methane, and consideration on CO2 methanation catalysts and their design.

Research Progress and Reaction Mechanism of CO2 Methanation over Ni-Based Catalysts at Low Temperature: A Review

The combustion of fossil fuels has led to a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions and increased greenhouse effect. Methanation of carbon dioxide can not only mitigate the greenhouse effect, but also utilize the hydrogen generated by renewable electricity such as wind, solar, tidal energy, and others, which could ameliorate the energy crisis to some extent. Highly efficient catalysts and processes are important to make CO2 methanation practical. Although noble metal catalysts exhibit higher catalytic activity and CH4 selectivity at low temperature, their large-scale industrial applications are limited by the high costs. Ni-based catalysts have attracted extensive attention due to their high activity, low cost, and abundance. At the same time, it is of great importance to study the mechanism of CO2 methanation on Ni-based catalysts in designing high-activity and stability catalysts. Herein, the present review focused on the recent progress of CO2 methanation and the key parameters of catalysts including the essential nature of nickel active sites, supports, promoters, and preparation methods, and elucidated the reaction mechanism on Ni-based catalysts. The design and preparation of catalysts with high activity and stability at low temperature as well as the investigation of the reaction mechanism are important areas that deserve further study.

Synchrotron PXRD deconvolutes nickel particle and support changes in Ni/ZrO2 methanation catalysts

Operando synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction deconvolutes support and metal nanoparticle changes during thermal deactivation of Ni/ZrO2 methanation catalysts.

The Effect of Si on CO2 Methanation over Ni-xSi/ZrO2 Catalysts at Low Temperature

A series of Ni-xSi/ZrO2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1 wt%, the controlled contents of Si) catalysts with a controlled nickel content of 10 wt% were prepared by the co-impregnation method with ZrO2 as support and Si as a promoter. The effect of different amounts of Si on the catalytic performance was investigated for CO2 methanation with the stoichiometric H2/CO2 molar ratio (4/1). The catalysts were characterized by BET, XRF, H2-TPR, H2-TPD, H2-chemisorption, CO2-TPD, XRD, TEM, XPS, and TG-DSC. It was found that adding the appropriate amount of Si could improve the catalytic performance of Ni/ZrO2 catalyst at a low reaction temperature (250 °C). Among all the catalysts studied, the Ni-0.1Si/ZrO2 catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity, with H2 and CO2 conversion of 73.4% and 72.5%, respectively and the yield of CH4 was 72.2%. Meanwhile, the catalyst showed high stability and no deactivation within a 10 h test. Adding the appropriate amount of Si could enhance the interaction between Ni and ZrO2, and increase the Ni dispersion, the amounts of active sites including surface Ni0, oxygen vacancies, and strong basic sites on the catalyst surface. These might be the reasons for the high activity and selectivity of the Ni-0.1Si/ZrO2 catalyst.

Porosity and Structure of Hierarchically Porous Ni/Al2O3 Catalysts for CO2 Methanation

CO2 methanation is often performed on Ni/Al2O3 catalysts, which can suffer from mass transport limitations and, therefore, decreased efficiency. Here we show the application of a hierarchically porous Ni/Al2O3 catalyst for methanation of CO2. The material has a well-defined and connected meso- and macropore structure with a total porosity of 78%. The pore structure was thoroughly studied with conventional methods, i.e., N2 sorption, Hg porosimetry, and He pycnometry, and advanced imaging techniques, i.e., electron tomography and ptychographic X-ray computed tomography. Tomography can quantify the pore system in a manner that is not possible using conventional porosimetry. Macrokinetic simulations were performed based on the measures obtained by porosity analysis. These show the potential benefit of enhanced mass-transfer properties of the hierarchical pore system compared to a pure mesoporous catalyst at industrially relevant conditions. Besides the investigation of the pore system, the catalyst was studied by Rietveld refinement, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (DRUV/vis) spectroscopy, and H2-temperature programmed reduction (TPR), showing a high reduction temperature required for activation due to structural incorporation of Ni into the transition alumina. The reduced hierarchically porous Ni/Al2O3 catalyst is highly active in CO2 methanation, showing comparable conversion and selectivity for CH4 to an industrial reference catalyst.

Container-Sized CO2 to Methane: Design, Construction and Catalytic Tests Using Raw Biogas to Biomethane

Direct catalytic methanation of CO2 (from CO2/CH4 biogas mixture) to produce biomethane was conducted in a pilot demonstration plant. In the demonstration project (MeGa-StoRE), a biogas desulfurization process and thermochemical methanation of biogas using hydrogen produced by water electrolysis were carried out at a fully operational biogas plant in Denmark. The main objective of this part of the project was to design and develop a reactor system for catalytic conversion of CO2 in biogas to methane and feed biomethane directly to the existing natural gas grid. A process was developed in a portable container with a 10 Nm3/h of biogas conversion capacity. A test campaign was run at a biogas plant for more than 6 months, and long-time operation revealed a stable steady-state conversion of more than 90% CO2 conversion to methane. A detailed catalytic study was performed to investigate the high activity and stability of the applied catalyst.

Recent Progresses in Constructing the Highly Efficient Ni Based Catalysts With Advanced Low-Temperature Activity Toward CO2 Methanation

With the development and prosperity of the global economy, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) has become an increasing concern. Its greenhouse effect will cause serious environmental problems, such as the global warming and climate change. Therefore, the worldwide scientists have devoted great efforts to control CO2 emissions through various strategies, such as capture, resource utilization, sequestration, etc. Among these, the catalytic conversion of CO2 to methane is considered as one of the most efficient routes for resource utilization of CO2 owing to the mild reaction conditions and simple reaction device. Pioneer thermodynamic studies have revealed that low reaction temperature is beneficial to the high catalytic activity and CH4 selectivity. However, the low temperature will be adverse to the enhancement of the reaction rate due to kinetic barrier for the activation of CO2. Therefore, the invention of highly efficient catalysts with promising low temperature activities toward CO2 methanation reaction is the key solution. The Ni based catalysts have been widely investigated as the catalysts toward CO2 methanation due to their low cost and excellent catalytic performances. However, the Ni based catalysts usually perform poor low-temperature activities and stabilities. Therefore, the development of highly efficient Ni based catalysts with excellent low-temperature catalytic performances has become the research focus as well as challenge in this field. Therefore, we summarized the recent research progresses of constructing highly efficient Ni based catalysts toward CO2 methanation in this review. Specifically, the strategies on how to enhance the catalytic performances of the Ni based catalysts have been carefully reviewed, which include various influencing factors, such as catalytic supports, catalytic auxiliaries and dopants, the fabrication methods, reaction conditions, etc. Finally, the future development trend of the Ni based catalysts is also prospected, which will be helpful to the design and fabrication of the Ni catalysts with high efficiency toward CO2 methanation process.

Regeneration of Raney®-Nickel Catalyst for the Synthesis of High-Value Amino-Ester Renewable Monomers

Aiming to synthesize high-value renewable monomers for the preparation of renewable specialty polyamides, we designed a new protocol. Amino-esters, produced via the hydrogenation of unsaturated nitrile-esters, are alternative monomers for the production of these polymers. A high monomer yield can be obtained using a Raney®-nickel catalyst despite the drawback of fast deactivation. The hydrogenation of 10-cyano-9-decenoate (UNE11) was tentatively reactivated by three different regeneration procedures: solvent wash, regeneration under hydrogen, and regeneration under sonication. Among these procedures, the in-pot catalyst regeneration (H2 30 bar, 150 °C) demonstrated complete activity recovery and full recycling.

Green Synthetic Fuels: Renewable Routes for the Conversion of Non-Fossil Feedstocks into Gaseous Fuels and Their End Uses

Innovative renewable routes are potentially able to sustain the transition to a decarbonized energy economy. Green synthetic fuels, including hydrogen and natural gas, are considered viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Indeed, they play a fundamental role in those sectors that are difficult to electrify (e.g., road mobility or high-heat industrial processes), are capable of mitigating problems related to flexibility and instantaneous balance of the electric grid, are suitable for large-size and long-term storage and can be transported through the gas network. This article is an overview of the overall supply chain, including production, transport, storage and end uses. Available fuel conversion technologies use renewable energy for the catalytic conversion of non-fossil feedstocks into hydrogen and syngas. We will show how relevant technologies involve thermochemical, electrochemical and photochemical processes. The syngas quality can be improved by catalytic CO and CO2 methanation reactions for the generation of synthetic natural gas. Finally, the produced gaseous fuels could follow several pathways for transport and lead to different final uses. Therefore, storage alternatives and gas interchangeability requirements for the safe injection of green fuels in the natural gas network and fuel cells are outlined. Nevertheless, the effects of gas quality on combustion emissions and safety are considered.

One-pot mechanochemical ball milling synthesis of the MnOx nanostructures as efficient catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation reactions

Here, we report on a one-pot mechanochemical ball milling synthesis of manganese oxide nanostructures synthesized at different milling speeds. The as-synthesized pure oxides and metal (Pt and Cu) doped oxides were tested in the hydrogenation of CO2 in the gas phase. Our study demonstrates the successful synthesis of the manganese oxide nanoparticles via mechano-chemical synthesis. We discovered that the milling speed could tune the crystal structure and the oxidation state of the manganese, which plays an essential role in the CO2 hydrogenation evidenced by ex situ XRD and XPS studies. The pure MnOx milled at 600 rpm showed high catalytic activity (∼20 000 nmol g-1 s-1) at 823 K, which can be attributed to the presence of Mn(ii) besides Mn(iii) and Mn(iv) on the surface under the reaction conditions. This study illustrates that the milling method is a cost-effective, simple way for the production of both pure, Pt-doped and Cu-loaded manganese nanocatalysts for heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Thus, we studied the Pt incorporation effect for the catalytic activity of MnOx using different Pt loading methods such as one-pot milling, wet impregnation and size-controlled 5 nm Pt loading via an ultrasonication-assisted method.

CO2 Methanation over Ni/Al@MAl2O4 (M = Zn, Mg, or Mn) Catalysts

In this study, unique core-shell aluminate spinel supports, Al@MAl2O4 (M = Zn, Mg, or Mn), were obtained by simple hydrothermal surface oxidation and were applied to the preparation of supported Ni catalysts for CO2 methanation. For comparison, CO methanation was also evaluated using the same catalysts. The prepared catalysts were characterized with a variety of techniques, including N2 physisorption, CO2 chemisorption, H2 chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction with H2, temperature-programmed desorption of CO2, X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The combination of supports with core-shell spinel structures and Ni doping with a deposition–precipitation method created outstanding catalytic performance of the Ni catalysts supported on Al@MgAl2O4 and Al@MnAl2O4 due to improved dispersion of Ni nanoparticles and creation of moderate basic sites with suitable strength. Good stability of Ni/Al@MnAl2O4 catalyst was also confirmed in the study.

Kinetic study of carbon dioxide catalytic methanation over cobalt–nickel catalysts

Based on the data of the thermoprogrammed desorption and using mass-spectroscopic analysis of desorbed products and on the kinetic patterns of the methanation process for cobalt–nickel catalysts, we suggested a mechanism for the reaction which passes through forming intermediate formyl compounds: CHO*, HCOH*, and HCOOH*. Because of the high stability of the carbon dioxide molecule, the step of adding the first hydrogen atom is the limiting step. Such a mechanism is in good agreement with the proposed kinetic equations.