CO and CO2 Methanation Over Ni/SiC and Ni/SiO2 Catalysts

Ni/SiC and Ni/SiO₂ catalysts prepared by both wet impregnation (WI) and deposition–precipitation (DP) methods were compared for CO and CO₂ methanation. The prepared catalysts were characterized using N₂ physisorption, temperature-programmed reduction with H₂ (H₂-TPR), H₂ chemisorption, pulsed CO₂ chemisorption, temperature-programmed desorption of CO₂ (CO₂-TPD), transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. H₂-TPR analysis revealed that the catalysts prepared by DP exhibit stronger interaction between the nickel oxides and support than those prepared by WI. The former catalysts exhibit higher Ni dispersions than the latter. The catalytic activities for both reactions over Ni/SiC and Ni/SiO₂ catalysts prepared by WI increase on increasing the Ni content from 10 to 20 wt%. The Ni/SiC catalyst prepared by DP shows higher catalytic activity for CO and CO₂ methanation than that of the Ni/SiC catalyst prepared by WI. Furthermore, it exhibits the highest catalytic activity for CO methanation among the tested catalysts. The high Ni dispersion achieved by the DP method and the high thermal conductivity enabled by SiC are beneficial for both CO and CO₂ methanation.