Single Step Bi-reforming and Oxidative Bi-reforming of Methane (Natural Gas) with Steam and Carbon Dioxide to Metgas (CO-2H2) for Methanol Synthesis: Self-Sufficient Effective and Exclusive Oxygenation of Methane to Methanol with Oxygen

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jacs.5b02029

Catalysts based on suitable metal oxide supports, such as NiO/MgO and CoO/MgO, were shown to be active for single step bi-reforming, the combined steam and dry reforming of methane or natural gas with H₂O and CO₂ exclusively to metgas (CO-2H₂) for efficient methanol synthesis. Reactions were carried out in a tubular flow reactor under pressures up to 42 bar at 830-910 °C. Using a CH₄ to steam to CO₂ ratio of ～3:2:1 in the gas feed, the H₂/CO ratio of 2:1 was achieved, which is desired for subsequent methanol synthesis. The needed 2/1 steam/CO₂ feed ratio together with the reaction heat for the endothermic bi-reforming can be conveniently obtained by the complete combustion of a quarter part of the overall used methane (natural gas) with oxygen of the air (oxidative bi-reforming). Complete combustion of a part of methane followed by bi-reforming leads to the production of metgas (H₂/CO in 2:1 mol ratio) for self-sufficient exclusive methanol synthesis. The long sought after but elusive efficient and selective oxygenation of methane to methanol is thus achieved in an effective and economic way without any oxidation byproduct formation according to CH₄ + 1/2O₂ → CH₃OH.

Full text of DOI:10.1021/jacs.5b02029

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Article
Single Step Bi-reforming and Oxidative Bi-reforming of Methane
(Natural Gas) with Steam and Carbon Dioxide to Metgas
(CO-2H2) for Methanol Synthesis. Self Sufficient Effective and
Exclusive Oxygenation of Methane to Methanol with Oxygen
George A Olah, Alain Goeppert, Miklos Czaun, Thomas Mathew, Robert B. May, and G. K. Surya Prakash
J. Am. Chem. Soc., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b02029 • Publication Date (Web): 18 Jun 2015
Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on June 22, 2015
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Single Step Bi-reforming and Oxidative Bi-reforming of
Methane (Natural Gas) with Steam and Carbon Dioxide to
Metgas (CO-2H2) for Methanol Synthesis. Self Sufficient
Effective and Exclusive Oxygenation of Methane to Methanol
with Oxygen
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George A. Olah,* Alain Goeppert,* Miklos Czaun, Thomas Mathew, Robert B. May, and
G. K. Surya Prakash*
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, University
Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089ꢀ1661, United States.
ABSTRACT: Catalysts based on suitable metal oxide supports, such as NiO/MgO and CoO/MgO, were shown to
be active for single step biꢀreforming, the combined steam and dry reforming of methane or natural gas with H2O
and CO2 exclusively to metgas (COꢀ2H2) for efficient methanol synthesis. Reactions were carried out in a tubular
flow reactor under pressures up to 42 bar at 830ꢀ910 °C. Using a CH4 to steam to CO2 ratio of ~3:2:1 in the gas feed,
the H2/CO ratio of 2:1 was achieved, which is desired for subsequent methanol synthesis. The needed 2/1 steam/CO2
feed ratio together with the reaction heat for the endothermic biꢀreforming can be conveniently obtained by the
complete combustion of a quarter part of the overall used methane (natural gas) with oxygen of the air (oxidative biꢀ
reforming). Complete combustion of a part of methane followed by biꢀreforming leads to the production of metgas
(H2/CO in 2:1 mole ratio) for self sufficient exclusive methanol synthesis. The long sought after but elusive efficient
and selective oxygenation of methane to methanol, is thus achieved in an effective and economic way without any
oxidation byꢀproduct formation according to CH4 + 1/2O2 → CH3OH.
INTRODUCTION
Synthesis gas (syngas), a variable composition mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, is the
basis for the most significant FischerꢀTropsch chemicals. Syngas can be produced from virtually any carbon
containing source including fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) or biomass using varied reforming and gasification
processes. Natural gas and methane are, however, the preferred feedstocks because of their still existing abundance
as well as their wellꢀdeveloped transformation to syngas by steam, carbon dioxide dry reforming or partial oxidation
of methane with oxygen (Scheme 1).1 In comparison, coal and biomass require more complex and expensive
industrial processes for the preparation and purification of the produced syngas to levels acceptable for downstream
processes. Natural gas is also the main source for the large scale production of ammonia as well as synthetic fuels
and chemicals such as methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) and alkenes.2 Methanol and DME are superior fuels for
spark ignition (SI) engines and modified compression ignition (CI) Diesel engines, respectively. They are also
excellent fuels for fuel cells. Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) allow the generation of electric power directly from
liquid methanol close to room temperature.3ꢀ5 At the same time, methanol, with a current annual production capacity
of 100 million tonnes, is also the feedstock of choice for varied chemicals and consumer products. Methanol is not
only an excellent fuel and solvent but it can also be converted to ethylene and propylene in the soꢀcalled methanol to
olefin process (MTO)6,7 that is practiced on a large scale in the industry. Acidic zeolite catalysts such as SAPOꢀ34
and ZSMꢀ5 are usually used for these dehydrative coupling reactions providing ethylene and propylene with high
selectivity. The obtained olefins are mainly utilized in polymerization processes to afford polyethylene and
polypropylene or for the synthesis of hydrocarbons and their products. Methanol can also be converted to gasoline, in
the methanol to gasoline process (MTG).8 Generally, all products that are presently derived from petroleum oil or natural
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gas can be obtained from methanol. The production and potential of methanol for replacing oil and natural gas in the
framework of the “Methanol Economy” was discussed in some of our publications,9ꢀ12 patents13 and extensive
monographs by our group and other researchers.9,12,14ꢀ17 The present comprehensive paper reports the chemistry and
its significance of the selective, effective oxygenation of methane (natural gas) to methanol.
Syngas with a H2/CO ratio of about 2 (called metgas) is optimal for the synthesis of methanol.14 Steam reforming,
which is the most commonly used reforming technology for methane, produces syngas with a H2/CO ratio around 3.
Additional steps are therefore required to adjust the H2/CO ratio to 2/1. Carbon dioxide reforming of methane, also
called dry reforming, produces a syngas with a H2/CO ratio of about 1, which is too low for methanol production
and has also to be adjusted.18 Partial oxidation of methane with oxygen to give a H2/CO ratio of ≈2 is difficult to
control. Potentially, it leads to the formation of local hot spots resulting in catalyst deactivation from sintering,
which further decreases the selectivity for syngas and makes the process highly exothermic, raising safety
concerns.19 The combination of steam reforming and partial oxidation (autothermal reforming) usually produces a
H2/CO ratio higher than 2.1
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Scheme 1. Varied syngas production from carbon containing feedstocks
The production of a syngas mixture with a H2/CO ratio of 2/1 suitable for methanol synthesis in which dry
reforming is combined with steam reforming of natural gas in a single step was considered difficult. It was stated in
a monograph on syngas chemistry1 that the single step combination of steam and CO2 reforming to a 2:1 ratio
syngas is even more challenging under elevated pressures. Based on our studies, herein we describe a successful
single step reforming reaction to achieve this elusive goal, which we have called biꢀreforming.9,10,15
In the literature, the overwhelming majority of studies on dry18,20 and some combinations of dry and steam
reforming21ꢀ24 and partial oxidation25 have been conducted at atmospheric pressure and with pure methane. Some
studies were also carried out under lowꢀtemperature plasma conditions and atmospheric pressure, although with only
low methane conversions.26 In order to provide conditions closer to practical operations it is, however, preferable to
perform experiments under pressure. The advantage of operating biꢀreforming under higher pressure is also that the
produced metgas could be directly used in the methanol synthesis unit with little or no need for further compression
to reach the typical operating pressure of 50 to 100 bar.27 Due to experimental difficulties, reforming studies of
methane under pressure and elevated temperature are challenging to carry out compared with those at atmospheric
pressure. Only a limited number of studies under such conditions have been reported compared with those at
atmospheric pressure. Ni, Co, Pt, Ir, Rh, Pd and Ru based catalysts on various supports such as Al2O3, MgO, TiO2,
SiO2, ZrO2 as well as carbides of W, Mo, V, Nb, and Ta have been reported as catalysts for higher pressure dry
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reforming with CO2.28ꢀ38 The combination of dry and steam reforming of CH4 under pressure was also reported.
CeO2 promoted Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst was tested for this reaction and showed relatively stable activity for 20h at 10
bar.39,40 The Chiyoda corporation in Japan recently disclosed a catalyst based on “noble metals,” at a conference
which was active for extended periods of time (up to 10000h) under 19ꢀ20 bar pressure41 under conditions somewhat
similar to our reported10 conditions for methane biꢀreforming. Details about the composition of the used catalyst
were, however, not discussed. The patent literature indicates that it contains Ru and/or Rh on a basic support42 thus
essentially different from our catalysts.
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After preliminary communications,10,11 we herein report results obtained for biꢀreforming of pure methane as well
as natural gas at pressures of up to 42 bar for extended reaction times excluding noble metal containing catalysts.
We also discuss the advantage of oxidative biꢀreforming to produce metgas.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION
Chemicals and gases used
Nickel nitrate hexahydrate (Ni(NO3)2 • 6H2O, 99.999% trace metal basis) and cobalt nitrate hexahydrate
(Co(NO3)2 • 6H2O, 99.999%) were purchased from Aldrich. Magnesium oxide (MgO, 99.5% Mg) was purchased
from Strem Chemicals. Methane (UHP), CO2 (instrument grade), N2 (preꢀpurified grade), hydrogen (UHP, or any
>99%) and natural gas were obtained from Airgas and Gilmore Gas.
Preparation of catalysts (15ꢀNiOꢀMgO)
15.00 g of MgO support was mixed with 100 mL methanol. 10.305 g of Ni(NO3)2 • 6H2O dissolved in methanol
was then added to the dispersion and stirred overnight. Subsequently, methanol was removed under reduced pressure
on a rotavap and the obtained solid was dried overnight at 120 °C in an oven. The sample was then transferred to a
box furnace, heated to 550 °C and maintained at this temperature for 5h. After cooling, the catalyst was pulverized
The surface area of the obtained catalysteex was determined by the BET method giving an area of 54.1 m2/g. The
thermogravimetric and XRD analysis of the catalyst, 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO is shown in Figure S1ꢀ2. The catalysts with a
higher and lower NiO content as well as the one based on cobalt oxide were prepared using a similar procedure.
Pressurized flow reactor
The reactor for the biꢀreforming experiments was designed in collaboration with the Parr Instrument Company
and further modified after delivery to our specific requirements. A schematic of this pressurized system (up to 100
bar and 800ꢀ1000 °C) is shown in Figure S3ꢀ4. The flow rate of the feed gases are regulated by mass flow
controllers (MFC). After a mixing chamber, the gases are sent to the tubular reactor. The reaction occurs in the
alumina tube where the catalyst is placed. This is essential to maintain the integrity of the metal parts of the reactor
under these harsh conditions (high carbon activity). All the gases exiting at the bottom of the alumina tube are
directed to a condenser followed by a gas/liquid separator and a back pressure regulator modulating the reaction
pressure in the system. The gas/liquid separator is also connected via a forward pressure regulator to a gas transfer
line to a GC for onꢀline gas analysis. The entire system is controlled remotely by a process controller connected to a
computer.
The arrangement inside the catalytic reactor is shown in Figure 1. All parts, except for the catalyst, in contact
with the reactive gases at high temperature are composed of non porous and very low surface area alumina. The
catalyst is held in place by the alumina particles. Alumina particles and spheres are also placed on top of the catalyst
to improve the heat exchange with the entering gases before reaching the catalyst. The reaction gases are fed into the
reactor directly into the alumina tube. From the side of the alumina tube, a N2 “blanket” (generally 20 mL.minꢀ1) is
introduced. Therefore, the hot reactive gases are never in contact with the metallic wall of the reactor, protecting it
from possible deterioration due to metal dusting or carburization.
Initially, the biꢀreforming reactions were conducted directly in the metallic tubular reactors (Haynes 230)
without protection of any inner parts from the high carbon activity of the reaction gases. After a few reactions under
these conditions, the presence of a coke “ring” around the spool holding the catalyst in place was observed (Figure
S5ꢀ9). The formation of coke progressively impedes the gas passage resulting in reactor clogging and an increase in
pressure. After less than 40 hours the reactor was often clogged and severe metal dusting was observed. (Details are
given in the SI.)
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The system described is able to operate up to three reactions in parallel using three distinct tubular reactors. The
reaction conditions (pressure, temperature, flow rate) can be modulated independently. For example three reactions
can be run at different pressures at the same time (see Figure S4 for more details).
Reacting gases
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“Blanket” N2
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Reactor wall
(Haynes 230 alloy)
Alumina tube
TabularAl2O3
spheres
Catalyst mixed with
tabularAl2O3
TabularAl2O3
andAl2O3 spheres
Alumina spool 3”
Figure 1. Arrangement of the catalyst and filling material in the tubular reactor.
Testing of the catalysts
The results of a blank experiment indicated that no reforming reactions took place in the absence of the catalyst
(Figure S10). The catalyst (generally 100 mg) was mixed with 900 mg tabular alumina (60ꢀ200 mesh obtained from
Almatis, called diluent) and placed on top of tabular alumina in an alumina tube (inner diameter of 0.8 cm) inserted
into the metallic tubular reactor with an inner diameter of 1.25 cm. During activation, the catalyst was heated under
a hydrogen/nitrogen mixture (1/1) to 850°C in 1.5 hours and kept at this temperature for 3 hours. The gas was then
switched to nitrogen, set to the desired reaction pressure and temperature. The reaction gas mixture composed of
CO2, CH4 and N2 used as a reference was then introduced. Water, necessary for biꢀreforming was introduced into the
system using a high pressure pump and vaporized to steam in the upper part of the reactor before being mixed with
the other feed gases. Downstream of the reactor, the cooled products were analyzed by online GC using a TCD
detector (argon was used as a carrier gas): A Varian 450 series GC equipped with a gas handling valve system. Two
packed columns were used in series for the gas analysis: a 5 Å molecular sieve column and a Hayesep column.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The biꢀreforming reactions were conducted in the described pressurized tubular flow reactor system (Figure S3
and S4). Ni deposited on MgO has been used previously as an effective and stable catalyst for dry reforming
reaction.20 The high activity was believed to be the result of the formation of a solid solution. Due to the favorable
characteristics of NiO/MgO for dry reforming, this catalyst was selected and found to be active under our conditions
for the biꢀreforming reaction.
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Our studies directed to a new efficient production of methanol led to a successful single step reforming reaction of
methane as well as of natural or shale gas to the needed syngas mixture (2H2ꢀCO), which we have named biꢀ
reforming.10,14 The studied catalysts including varied metals such as V, Ti, Ga, Ca, Mo, Bi, Fe, Mn, Co, Nb, Zr, La
and Sn and their corresponding oxides were proved efficient on different supports including silica and alumina, but
preferentially NiO deposited on magnesium oxide was found ideal for the biꢀreforming reaction.
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In biꢀreforming, a syngas with an exclusive 2/1 ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide is obtained by the reaction
of methane, steam and CO2 in a ratio of 3/2/1 in high yield with no oxidative byꢀproducts. We call the gas mixture
with a ratio of H2/CO of 2/1 as “metgas” to differentiate it from syngas, which is used to describe any gas mixtures
of varying H2/CO ratio. These specific 2/1 H2/CO gas mixture (metgas) is suitable for the sole purpose of preparing
methanol (and its derived materials) with complete utilization of the hydrogen of the gas feed as shown in Eq. 13.
Biꢀreforming is also directly adjustable to various methane sources such as natural gas, biogas, shale gas or
coalbed methane containing varied amounts of CO2. Some natural gas fields and biogas contain substantial amounts
of CO2 in concentrations up to 50% or even higher.48 This CO2 is, otherwise, separated and vented into the
atmosphere (or in some cases captured and stored, CCS) to allow further processing of the natural gas or biogas.
CO2 emissions from diverse sources such as flue gases from various fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas, etc.) burning
power plants, exhaust of cement factories, other industries, natural sources and eventually from the air49 can also be
recycled to methanol through biꢀreforming.49ꢀ54 The biꢀreforming also aids in recycling of carbon dioxide (carbon
capture and recycling, CCR) to synthesize methanol, a valuable fuel and feedꢀstock. Mechanistic studies showed
that the formation of methanol is inhibited from a syngas that is carefully purified from CO2 and H2O, indicating
that methanol forms most probably via hydrogenation of CO2.55ꢀ59 Therefore, the role of CO is to scavenge the
oxygen atom from H2O and serve as a CO2 source through water gas shift reaction.55 Isotope labeling studies have
also confirmed that CO2 is indeed the main source of carbon in methanol synthesized from syngas.60
Biꢀreforming to metgas is readily adaptable for reforming varied natural and shale gas sources, which contain
higher (mainly C2ꢀC5) hydrocarbon homologues.
Metgas can also be made from such abundant sources as methane hydrates and biomass. Methane from shale gas
deposits, the economic exploitation of which was made recently viable through the implementation of new
technologies such as horizontal drilling and rock fracking using high pressure water, sand and chemical additives
(hydrofracking) has particularly increased the overall availability of methane. The environmental effects of some of
these technologies remains, however, unclear.61 We recently suggested a CO2 based dry fracking approach62 that
eliminates many of the problems associated with hydrofracking.
The combined reactions involved in biꢀreforming can also be performed in two separate steps, one for dry
reforming and another for steam reforming of natural (shale) gas, combining the two effluent product streams to
obtain the needed 2:1 ratio before sending it to the methanol synthesis unit. However, it is of great advantage to be
able to combine them into a single step allowing lower capital and operating costs as well as decreased process
complexity. The catalyst applied, need to be active at elevated temperature, stable over extended reaction times and
should be easily reactivated.
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Most side reactions, including CO disproportionation, CO2 and CO methanation (reverse of steam reforming) and
reductive coke (carbon) formation, are favored at lower temperatures and are suppressed under the conditions used
(Scheme 2). Methane reforming could be affected by coking involving the deposition of carbon in the form of soot,
whiskers or coke on the surface of the catalyst (reducing its activity) as well as on parts of the reformer and
downstream equipment, resulting in clogging and deterioration. The amount of carbon formed by CH4
decomposition and/or CO disproportionation (Boudouard reaction) varies with the reaction conditions and the
catalyst used. At higher temperatures (750 °C and above), it is suggested that most of the carbon deposited on the
catalyst originates from the CH4 decomposition reaction.1
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Scheme 2. Possible side reactions of methane biꢀreforming
The undesired formation of carbon deposits (coking) can be mostly alleviated by the use of excess steam and short
residence times in the reactor.1 Carbon deposition can also be suppressed through formulation of catalysts that are
more resistant to coking.
In a typical experiment the catalyst composed of 15% NiO on MgO (15ꢀNiOꢀMgO) was first activated at 850 °C
under a H2/N2 mixture. The biꢀreforming reactions were initially carried out at atmospheric pressure at 830 °C
applying a flow rate of 100 mL/min using a gas feed composition of CH4/CO2/H2O/N2 with a molar ratio of
3/1.0/2.0/2.25. Nitrogen served as an internal reference and did not participate in the reaction. Although high
conversions of CH4 and CO2 were achieved (86 % and 94.1 % respectively, Figure S11) it is not practical due to the
relatively low amount of gases that could be reacted in the industrial reformer at atmospheric pressure. In
accordance with the Le Chatelier principle, methane conversion decreases as a function of pressure in the biꢀ
reforming reaction. In order to partially compensate for the loss in methane conversion, an excess of CO2 and H2O
was used. At elevated pressures, the typical reaction was performed using a gas feed composition of
CH4/CO2/H2O/N2 with a molar ratio of 3/1.2/2.4/2.25. Applying an excess of steam is also advantageous because a
part of H2O is converted in water gas shift reaction, which is a typical (side) reaction taking place in reformers.
Further, the excess of steam decreases coking and thus helps maintaining the stable performance of the catalyst.
The catalyst (15ꢀNiOꢀMgO) showed stable activity for the biꢀreforming reaction at 830 °C, 7 bars and a flow rate
of 100 mL.minꢀ1 for the duration of the experiment (320 h) giving a stable CH4 and CO2 conversion of 71% and
62%, respectively (Figure 2a). Due to excess CO2 in the gas feed (CH4/CO2 ratio of 3/1.2 instead of 3/1
theoretically), the CO2 conversion was lower than the CH4 conversion. The corrected CO2 conversion based on the
theoretical CH4/CO2 ratio of 3/1 is however very close to the obtained CH4 conversion (Figure 2b). The yields of CO
and H2 based on methane conversion were about 71% and remained constant for the duration of the experiment
(Figure S12). The calculated selectivity for CO and H2 were close to 100% (Figure S12) as was the overall carbon
balance.
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(a)
CH4 Conversion
CO2 Conversion
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Figure 2 Biꢀreforming of methane over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO at 7 bar. (a) Raw CH4 and CO2 conversion data. (b) CO2
conversion based on the equivalent amount of CO2 that can be converted in biꢀreforming. (c) H2/CO ratio.
The H2/CO ratio was close to 2 and remained stable over the reaction period of 320 h (Figure 2c) and the catalyst
maintained its activity for the combined steam and CO2 reforming reactions (biꢀreforming) giving a metgas mixture
of H2/CO with a ratio of 2. This is in line with the accepted view that CO2 reforming on nickel catalyst can be
described by the same kinetics as steam reforming.20,63,64
Effect of temperature and pressure
To study the biꢀreforming reaction, the effect of parameters such as temperature, pressure and CH4/steam/CO2
ratio were investigated.
When the temperature was increased from 830 °C to 910 °C, the conversion of both CH4 and CO2 increased
(Figure 3a). Methane conversion increased by 15% to reach 86% at 910 °C. CO2 conversion, on the other hand,
increased by 17% to 79%. The H2/CO ratio decreased slightly going from 1.99 to 1.97 when the temperature was
increased from 830 °C to 910 °C (Figure 3b). As expected from thermodynamic considerations, the conversion of
CH4 decreased with increasing pressure (Le Chatelier’s principle), from 71% at 7 bar to about 42% at 42 bar, as
shown in Figure 4a. On the other hand, the H2/CO ratio increased slightly from 1.99 to 2.03 when the pressure was
increased from 7 bar to 42 bar (Figure 4b). Doubling the amount of water and CO2 (CH4/CO2/H2O with a molar ratio
of 3/2.4/4.8) at 7 bar substantially increased the CH4 conversion from 71% to 85%. At the same time, the desirable
H2/CO ratio stayed at ≈2. It should also be added here that although the coke formation did not result in continuous
deterioration of catalytic activity even at lower CH4 to H2O ratio (3.0/2.4), doubling the amount of steam (CH4/H2O
of 3.0/4.8) further decreased coking from 2.35 to 0.47 weight% of the catalyst and diluent material. Carbon content
of the used catalysts was determined by thermogravimetric analysis by gradually heating the sample to 800 °C in a
flow of air (30 mL.minꢀ1) and monitoring the weight loss.
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Figure 3. Effect of temperature on the biꢀreforming of methane over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO catalyst. (a) Methane and CO2
conversion. (b) H2/CO ratio.
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Figure 4. Effect of pressure on the biꢀreforming of methane over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO catalyst. (a) Methane and CO2
conversion. (b) H2/CO ratio.
Effect of gas hourly space velocity (GHSV)
In order to study the activity of the catalyst, the ratio between the amount of feed gas entering the reactor and the
amount of catalyst was varied (variation of gas hourly space velocity). Reforming reactions being endothermic,
increasing the gas flow would progressively reduce the temperature over the catalyst bed. The temperature profile of
the reactor during a biꢀreforming reaction over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO showed that with a gas flow rate of 100 mL.minꢀ1
(GHSV of 6 × 104 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1), the temperature decreased to a minimum of about 800 °C (Figure S13). When the
flow was doubled to 200 mL.minꢀ1 (GHSV of 12 × 104 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1), the temperature decreased further with an apex at
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about 782 °C. On the other hand, by varying the catalyst amount and keeping the flow rate at 100 mL.minꢀ1, the
temperature decrease is relatively similar as long as the activity of the catalyst is maintained.
Accordingly, the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) was increased tenfold from 6 × 104 to 6 × 105 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1 by
decreasing the amount of catalyst used from 0.1g to 0.01g but keeping the same gas feed and flow rate. Compared to
the reaction with a GHSV of 6 × 104 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1, methane conversion practically did not change and remained stable
for more than 170 hours (Figure 5). Carbon dioxide conversion also remained similar to the one observed with a
lower GHSV whereas the H2/CO ratio decreased to about 1.95ꢀ1.97. On the other hand, increasing the amount of
catalyst to 1g to obtain a a GHSV of 6 × 103 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1 resulted in a somewhat higher methane conversion of 77%
and a H2/CO ratio close to 2 (Figure S14).
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It can be concluded that even with 10 or 100 times higher GHSVs, the catalyst still remains highly active for the
biꢀreforming reaction.
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Figure 5. Biꢀreforming of methane over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO catalyst at 7 bar. GHSV of 6 × 105 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1 catalyst. (a)
Raw CH4 and CO2 conversion data as well as corrected CO2 conversion. (b) H2/CO ratio.
Effect of NiO loading of the NiO/MgO catalyst
Although nickel is a more cost effective metal than noble metals, the nickel loading of the applied catalyst still
affects its final cost for a given process. Varying nickel loading from 5% to 35% NiO on MgO had only a minimal
effect on the biꢀreforming reaction at 7 bar (Figure S15). Methane conversion was stable in all cases at around 70ꢀ
72%. It can be concluded that increasing the NiO loading from 5 to 35% did not result in higher activity or
selectivity under the present conditions.
Bi-reforming of natural gas
In order to study conditions adaptable to practical application, the 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO catalyst was also tested under
pressure for the biꢀreforming of natural gas. While containing predominantly methane, the natural gas mixture used
for these experiments contained also ethane, propane, butane as well as higher hydrocarbons (please see Table S3
for more details about the composition). No hydrocarbons other than methane were detected in the gaseous products,
indicating that all higher hydrocarbons were also converted on the metallic sites of the catalyst to metgas and some
methane.1 They could also contribute to form some carbonaceous deposits. From Figure 6a, it can be seen that at 7
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bar, an essentially stable CO2 and natural gas conversion was observed for the duration of the experiment (160 h).
Natural gas (mainly methane) and CO2 conversions were about 70% and 67%, respectively.
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Figure 6. Biꢀreforming of natural gas over 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO catalyst from 7 bar to 28 bar. (a) Raw CH4 and CO2
conversion data. (b) H2/CO ratio.
As observed in the case of pure methane, natural gas and carbon dioxide conversion decreased with increasing
pressure. From ≈70% at 7 bar, natural gas conversion decreased to 61% at 14 bar, 55% at 21 bar and 51% at 28 bar
(Figure S16). The catalyst showed, however, no noticeable decline in its activity over time depending on the
pressure.
The H2/CO ratio did only slightly increase with increasing pressure from about 1.90 at 7 bar to 1.92 at 14 bar, 1.96
at 21 bar and 2.01 at 28 bar (Figure 6b) indicating that the increase in pressure seemed to actually have a positive
effect on the H2/CO ratio. A similar trend, although less pronounced, was also observed when using pure methane
instead of natural gas (vide supra). This observation correlates with the lower relative conversion of CO2 with
increasing pressure and could indicate that at higher pressure, the steam reforming reaction is somewhat favored
compared to the dry reforming reaction. In the water gas shift (WGS) reaction, the mole number remains unchanged.
Therefore the equilibrium composition should not be affected by the pressure. However, in the case of lower
conversion, more water is present in the gas mixture, which could possibly favor the WGS reaction leading to higher
hydrogen content in the products.
At 7 bar, the H2/CO ratio remained stable for more than 160 h at around 1.9 (Figure 6b). The somewhat lower
H2/CO ratio compared to the reaction with pure methane is in line with the presence of higher hydrocarbons
exhibiting a lower hydrogen/carbon (H/C) ratio. As the alkane chain length increases, the H/C ratio is getting closer
to 2. Whereas methane has the highest possible H/C ratio of 4, ethane, propane and butane have a decreasing H/C
ratio of 3, 2.7 and 2.5, respectively. When the ratio of water and CO2 compared to the hydrocarbon feed is kept
identical, this leads to a lower H2/CO ratio. However, when the amount of water in the gas feed is increased, a
H2/CO ratio of 2 according to eq. 14. should be relatively easily achievable and this was indeed observed when the
water flow rate was increased by approximately 10%.
When NiO/MgO with a NiO content of 35% was tested for the biꢀreforming of natural gas at 100 psi with a
slightly higher water flow rate, stable activity was observed for more than 240 h. The natural gas conversion was
almost constant at about 72% (Figure S17) and a H2/CO ratio around 2 was obtained, which remained stable for the
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duration of the experiment (240 hours, Figure 7). Using the same catalyst, the conversion of natural gas was similar
to the conversion of pure methane (see Figure S17). The H2/CO ratio was also similar. The conversion of CO2,
however, was slightly lower (57 %) than in the case of methane (63%). A lower conversion of CO2 is to be expected
from the reaction of CO2 with natural gas, which contains beside methane also higher alkanes. Regardless of the
alkane, only one mole of CO2 for three moles of alkane is required to obtain a H2/CO ratio of 2 according to the eq.
14. Only the amount of water has to be increased with higher alkanes to achieve a H2/CO ratio of 2. By modulating
the ratio of steam and CO2 compared to the alkane mixture in the gas feed, the H2/CO ratio could therefore be easily
adjusted to the desired one, indicating that the method can be adapted to natural gas resources with various
hydrocarbon compositions and CO2 content.
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Figure 7. H2/CO ratio of biꢀreforming of natural gas over 35ꢀNiOꢀMgO with higher flow rate of water at 7 bar.
Effect of a higher GHSV over 35-NiO-MgO catalyst
Keeping the same flow rate (100 mL.minꢀ1) and ratio of CO2/CH4/H2O but decreasing the amount of catalyst (35ꢀ
NiOꢀMgO) fivefold, the GHSV effectively increased fivefold from 6 × 104 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1 to 3 × 105 mL.hꢀ1.gꢀ1. At this
higher GHSV, the conversion of natural gas was stable at about 70% over the duration of the experiment (Figure
S18a). The natural gas conversion was only slightly lower than the one observed at a higher catalyst loading. The
CO2 conversion also decreased only slightly from 57% to 55% at a higher GHSV. On the other hand, the H2/CO
ratio increased somewhat to 2.03 from 2.00 compared to the reaction with a lower GHSV (Figure S18b).
Similar to the results obtained with pure methane, a lower catalyst loading did not result in a significant lowering
of activity or selectivity in the conversion of natural gas.
Bi-reforming over CoO/MgO catalyst
We also studied the use of CoO catalyst instead of NiO on MgO. Cobalt has often been studied as a potential
candidate for reforming reactions.65 The behavior of cobalt on basic supports (MgO, CaO, SrO and BaO) in the dry
reforming reaction was studied by Ruckenstein et al.66ꢀ68 Among these basic supports, only MgO displayed a high
and stable activity.68 Accordingly, we therefore performed the reaction of biꢀreforming on a catalyst based on cobalt
supported on MgO prepared in the same way as the one containing nickel. This catalyst contained 15% CoO on
MgO and was consequently named 15ꢀCoOꢀMgO. In the biꢀreforming of methane, this catalyst had a relatively
stable activity for the duration of the reaction (≈100 h, Figure S19a). The conversion of methane (71%) was
comparable to the one obtained with the catalyst containing the same nickel oxide loading but the conversion of CO2
on the other hand was higher, about 66% compared to 62% on 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO, resulting in a lower H2/CO ratio of
about 1.93. The use of natural gas instead of pure methane had a detrimental effect on 15ꢀCoOꢀMgO, with initial
natural gas and CO2 conversion lower than in the equivalent reaction with 15ꢀNiOꢀMgO (Figure S19b).
Furthermore, the activity of the catalyst decreased progressively during the reaction to end at about 63% CH4
conversion and 56% CO2 conversion after 100 h on stream. The cobaltꢀbased catalyst seems therefore to suffer from
some deactivation, which was not observed in the case of nickel. On the other hand, even as the conversions of both
methane and CO2 decreased, the H2/CO ratio remained relatively stable at around 1.95 (Figure S19c). Although the
H2/CO ratio remained stable and the natural gas conversion increased from 64% at 830 °C to 77% at 870 °C and
82% at 890 °C, the deactivation pattern of 15ꢀCoOꢀMgO is a major drawback for prolonged operation.
Self sufficient oxidative bi-reforming of methane or natural gas
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Similar to steam and dry reforming, biꢀreforming is an endothermic reaction which requires heat input. While it
is possible to heat the reaction via any external heat, it is advantageous to have a self sufficient way to supply the
heat required for the biꢀreforming reaction. This is achieved by initial complete combustion of one quarter of overall
methane or natural gas used with oxygen. Besides heat, it also produces a 2:1 ratio of H2O/CO2 (Figure 8) needed
for the biꢀreforming reaction. The gaseous 2:1 H2O/CO2 feed from the complete combustion reaction is then mixed
with three equivalents of fresh methane to perform the biꢀreforming reaction and obtain metgas for subsequent
methanol synthesis.69 Besides providing the 2:1 ratio H2O / CO2 mixture, the burning of methane also provides the
energy required for the subsequent endothermic biꢀreforming reaction. We name this reaction, oxidative bi-
reforming.11 The overall process is self sufficient and converts methane or natural gas exclusively to metgas for
subsequent methanol synthesis without any byproducts.
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Figure 8. Oxidative biꢀreforming.
Significance of exclusive and effective oxygenation of methane or natural gas to methanol
In studies in the late 1970s, Olah et al. discovered that if methane was reacted with hydrogen peroxide in a
superacidic media, the methyloxonium ion is formed selectively without further oxidation products (Eq. 15). The
reason is that the insertion of incipient “+OH” derived from H3O2+ (protonated hydrogen peroxide) into a methane Cꢀ
+
H bond via electrophilic oxygenation results in methanol in its protonated form, CH3OH2 , protecting it from
thermodynamically favored further oxidation and accounting for the observed high selectivity.70,71 Using hydrogen
peroxide in superacids is, however, not suited for practical applications.
When triflic acid was used as a superacid, methyl triflate was formed, protecting methanol from further oxidation.
This reaction with subsequent hydrolysis is applicable to smaller scale laboratory preparation of methanol (Eq. 16).
Periana et al. subsequently developed, a method, wherein the oxidation of methane takes place in concentrated
sulfuric acid or oleum with Hg and Ptꢀbased catalysts forming methyl hydrogen sulfate. The obtained methyl
hydrogen sulfate is also not prone to further oxidation and can be subsequently hydrolyzed to methanol.72ꢀ
75However, the use of sulfuric acid or oleum and thus the high cost of the process make it impractical.
Given the fundamental difficulty mentioned in direct selective oxidation of methane to methanol, the combination
of biꢀreforming or oxidative biꢀreforming of methane or natural gas to metgas for subsequent methanol synthesis is a
new, highly efficient and economical way to achieve the long sought after efficient exclusive conversion of methane
to methanol.
The described oxidative biꢀreforming of methane with subsequent conversion of metgas to methanol is
essentially a complete exclusive oxygenation of methane or natural gas to methanol. The pathway shown in Figure 8
represents the efficient oxygenation of methane with insertion of a single oxygen atom exclusively to methanol in
contrast to any oxidation of methane (Scheme 3 and Eq. 17ꢀ18). It thus differs fundamentally from the previously
much studied partial oxidation of methane, which inevitable proceeds to the more thermodynamically favored
oxidation byꢀproducts from formaldehyde to formic acid and CO and finally carbon dioxide, the fully oxidized
product of methane (Scheme 3).
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Scheme 3. Methane oxidation products.
Direct selective oxidation of methane despite, extensive studies, is only able to produce methanol in extremely
low yield (generally 1ꢀ3 %). Attempts to increase yields while keeping high selectivity were unsuccessful,
preventing any practical scale application.76ꢀ80 In the forgoings, we have thus achieved via oxidative biꢀreforming of
methane (or natural gas) an efficient and selective production of metgas for exclusive methanol synthesis in high
yields without further oxidation sideꢀproducts. The overall reaction is thus exclusive oxygenation of methane to
methanol (Scheme 4).
Scheme 4. Oxidative biꢀreforming of methane to metgas for methanol synthesis.
CONCLUSIONS
We have shown that NiOꢀMgO and related catalysts are active in a pressurized tubular flow reactor at 7ꢀ42 bar
and 830ꢀ910 °C for biꢀreforming to convert methane or natural gas in a single step exclusively to metgas, a mixture
of hydrogen and carbon monoxide with a specific H2/CO ratio of 2/1 for subsequent widely practiced methanol
synthesis. Furthermore, the direct conversion of methane (natural gas) is made self sufficient by combustion of one
quarter of used methane (or natural gas) produces not only the needed reaction heat but also the necessary
2H2O/CO2 mixture for the biꢀreforming reaction.
A long elusive but never reached goal of hydrocarbon chemistry for the effective selective oxygenation of
methane (natural gas) with oxygen of the air, to methanol without any oxidation byꢀproducts favored by
thermodynamics was thus achieved. The reported biꢀreforming allows the captured CO2 of coal burning power
plants, and cement plans and other industries to be recycled (CCR) instead of just sequesting (CCS). It thus can
render CO2 producing industries to continue their essential contribution to our life in an economic and
environmentally favorable way while safeguarding the environment.
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
Supporting Information
Additional experimental details. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Authors
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* olah@usc.edu, goeppert@usc.edu, gprakash@usc.edu.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
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Support of our work by the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute and the United States Department of Energy is
gratefully acknowledged. The authors also thank Almatis for providing the tabular alumina.
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