Preparation of biomass-derived porous carbon supported Ni nanoparticles for CO2 reforming of CH4

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) can not only convert and utilize both CH4 and CO2 greenhouse gases, but also produce an ideal chemical feedstock (syngas). Nevertheless, a significant challenge is the development of a low cost as well as highly active and stable catalyst for this transformation process. Herein, we report a Ni/bio-char catalyst integrating the advantages of biomass-derived carbon supports and non-noble metals through the simple impregnation method. The bio-char supports are derived from waste walnut shells, which possess a well-developed porous structure, abundant functional groups, and an appreciable amount of alkaline earth metals such as Ca and Mg. Compared to Ni/CC catalyst (Ni supported on coal-derived coke), the as-prepared 10Ni/bio-char catalyst exhibits superior activity and significantly enhanced stability, achieving 90.7% CH4 conversion and 97.6% CO2 conversion at 800 oC. Furthermore, a simple reaction mechanism for DRM over the Ni/bio-char catalyst was proposed based on experimental results and literatures.