Electrified reformer for syngas production – Hierarchical pore architecture for coke resistance high throughput catalyst

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) has the potential to simultaneously address carbon dioxide utilisation and produce sustainable chemicals, which is a crucial research area in catalysis. Powered by sustainable energy, novel catalyst design and mechanistic understanding, DRM offers a viable path for managing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, especially if biogenic methane is used. Syngas from DRM can be used to produce methanol, fuels and oligomers. Here, we show highly efficient syngas production over Ni/MgO and sandwiched Ni/MgO@MCM-41 catalysts coated on structured 3D printed reactors, which were inductively heated. Hierarchical pore architecture provided by the structured reactor (microchannels) and Ni/MgO@MCM-41 (mesopores) offered high conversion (95.4 % CO 2 and 99.5 % CH 4 ) at WHSV = 20,000 L h −1 ·kg cat −1 with negligible pressure drop and coking up to 120 h time-on-stream. Without MCM-41 encapsulation, the Ni/MgO catalyst exhibited poor performance due to low surface area and high mass transfer limitation. • A hierarchical pore architecture was developed by coating mesoporous catalyst on a 3-D printed microchannel monolithic reactor. • Using layer-by-layer deposition, Ni/MgO was sandwiched between MCM-41 layers, providing a 22.5 nm average Ni particle size. • Negligible pressure drop was obtained from the coated monoliths at gas hourly space velocities up to 100,000 L h −1 . kg cat −1 . • Gyroid monolith coated with a Ni/MgO@MCM-41 catalyst showed >80 % conversion of both CO 2 and CH 4 at 100,000 L h −1 . kg cat −1 . • The catalyst was stable for at least 120 h time on stream without signs of coking or sintering.