Enhanced syngas production through dry reforming of methane with Ni/CeZrO2 catalyst: Kinetic parameter investigation and CO2-rich feed simulation

Abstract

Natuna's natural gas reserve, which contains 70 %–v CO₂ and 30 %–v CH_4, opens a prospective method for producing syngas through the dry reforming of methane (DRM). This study used the equation and determination of kinetic parameters in a fixed-bed reactor to develop the operating conditions for the DRM process. The catalyst used was 10 %Ni/CeZrO₂ and followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, with CH₄ dissociation (activation of C–H bonds) on the Ni catalyst as the rate-determining step. According to the results, the simulation and experimental data have error values of ≤ 5 % and RMSE < 0.046. This indicates that the equation and kinetic parameters used in the simulation are valid for reactor modeling. Steady-state modeling was then conducted using a 1D quasihomogeneous model. The feed composition of CO₂:CH₄ = 70:30 (Natuna gas field composition) has optimized results with temperature 700 °C, CH₄ conversion at 92 %, CO₂ conversion at 28 %, and H₂/CO ratio 1.42, and carbon formation at 7.1 mgC/gcat. This study also found that a higher CO₂:CH₄ feed ratio could reduce carbon formation during DRM.