Enhanced CH 4 production from corn-stalk pyrolysis using Ni-5CeO 2 /MCM-41 as a catalyst

Abstract

Production of syngas from lignocellulosic biomass though pyrolysis is a promising solution for the large-scale utilization of biomass. However, current pyrolysis approaches suffer from the relative low product yield and selectivity, limiting their practical application. To solve this problem, a series of nickel-based catalysts including Ni/MCM-41, Ni-5CeO 2 /MCM-41, and Ni-5La 2 O 3 /MCM-41 were prepared and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N 2 adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and H 2 -temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) analysis. It was observed that the simultaneous addition of Ni and CeO 2 to MCM-41 could increase the reducibility of Ni and the number of active Ni 0 sites on the surface of the catalyst. Consequently, Ni-5CeO 2 /MCM-41 gave a CH 4 yield of 14.6 mmol/g, which is remarkably higher than that (10.5 mmol/g) obtained in the absence of the catalyst. Meanwhile, the CO and H 2 yields increased slightly, while the CO 2 yield decreased slightly. Therefore, the improved CH 4 yield and selectivity was mainly due to the increased decomposition of tarry compounds catalyzed by Ni/MCM-41 with the assistance of CeO 2