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

• The processing of CH 4 and CO 2 from gas fields can reduce greenhouse gas emissions • Kinetics of dry reforming of methane (DRM) by Ni/CeZrO 2 catalyst was investigated • Catalysis reactions followed Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism • A higher CO 2 :CH 4 feed ratio reduced carbon formation in the DRM process • Applying DRM does not need CO 2 initial separation before entering the reactor Natuna's natural gas reserve, which contains 70%–v CO 2 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/CeZrO 2 and followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, with CH 4 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 CO 2 :CH 4 = 70:30 (Natuna gas field composition) has optimized results with temperature 700°C, CH 4 conversion at 92%, CO 2 conversion at 28%, and H 2 /CO ratio 1.42, and carbon formation at 7.1 mgC/gcat. This study also found that a higher CO 2 :CH 4 feed ratio could reduce carbon formation during DRM.