Dry reforming of polypropylene over Ni and Ru-Ni catalysts supported on mesoporous alumina: Effect of calcination temperature

Abstract

The catalytic dry reforming of plastic waste is performed in a two-stage fixed bed reactor set-up for synthesis gas production. The pyrolysis of plastics occurs in the first stage, while the dry reforming of the pyrolysates over a synthesized catalyst occurs in the second stage in the presence of carbon dioxide. The plastic used is polypropylene, which is simulating the most produced type of plastic. 25NiAl2O3 and 1Ru25NiAl2O3 are the studied catalysts, synthesized via wet impregnation. The effect of the catalyst’s calcination temperature on its performance is investigated. The results show that a lower calcination temperature revealed improved catalytic performance. The catalyst promoted with ruthenium did not show any deactivation during several consecutive runs. The calcination temperature and the metal promoter play a critical role in determining the stability and activity of the Ni-based catalysts during the dry reforming of polypropylene.