Governing the Efficiency of Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 Catalyst for Methane Dry Reforming via Strategic Calcination Conditions

This study investigates the improvement of Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 catalysts in the dry reforming of methane (DRM) process by detailed adjustments of calcination temperature (600–900 °C) and duration (1–9 h). N2 physisorption, H2-TPR, XRD, TGA, and TEM show that elevated calcination temperatures result in increased surface roughness and reduced specific surface areas. The present investigation indicates that the ideal calcination parameters are 900 °C and 3 h. This helps the catalyst work better. This condition gave the best initial activity (54% CH4 conversion and 61% CO2 conversion) and the best long-term stability and resistance to carbon deposition. Using MATLAB R2025b (ODE45) for kinetic analysis, it was found that these factors have a big effect on activation energy. Shorter calcination of 1 h gave high initial activity, but it quickly lost its effectiveness. On the other hand, a longer calcination time of 9 h made the material more stable but less able to condition convert because it sintered too much. These results show that it is very important to carefully control the conditions of calcination in order to make long-lasting, high-performance catalysts for making syngas. Moreover, a 20-h DRM stability run of the optimum catalyst exhibited nearly constant activity, highlighting its strong structural integrity and superior ability to alleviate rapid coke formation.