Microwave discharge catalyzed CH4-CO2 reforming by bifunctional catalyst of Fe-Ni loaded on graphitized bio-char

Microwave-assisted reforming is an emerging alternative to conventional reforming. However, high energy consumption in reforming process hinders the development of the technology. In this work, an innovative method of microwave discharge catalyzed (MDC) CH4-CO2 reforming was proposed, which utilized a bifunctional catalyst of Fe-Ni loaded on graphitized bio-char as inducing medium of microwave discharge and catalyst for the reforming reaction. The behaviors of MDC CH4-CO2 reforming was investigated quantitatively by experimental studies involving microwave discharge and reforming reaction as well as kinetic analysis. Then, the possible path of MDC CH4-CO2 reforming was put forward. The results showed that the bifunctional catalyst not only generated a significant thermal effect but also enhanced the discharge intensity to 7.7 V at the steady stage, enabling the conversion of CO2 and CH4 to remain at 76.1 % and 73.5 %, respectively. It was noting that activation energy of MDC CH4-CO2 reforming reduced to 25.05 kJ/mol in the presence of bifunctional catalyst while also obtaining H2 to CO ratio of 0.96. These results highlight catalytic activity of the bifunctional catalyst on the reforming reaction. More interestingly, microwave discharge could directly excite reactant gases to generate some active groups, exerting plasma effect on the reforming reaction.