Sustainable Biogas-to-Syngas Catalytic Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) Using a Novel Fleece Reactor

Driven by the growing global energy demand and the pursuit of carbon utilization goals, dry reforming of methane (DRM) has attracted considerable attention for its ability to convert CO 2 and CH 4 into syngas. Biogas, an eco-friendly product of processes such as anaerobic digestion, is primarily composed of CO 2 and CH 4 and ideally meets the feedstock requirements for DRM. In practice, biogas is generated via anaerobic digestion of livestock manure and other organic waste, providing a stable and sustainable source for the DRM reaction and thus enabling waste valorization. Supported Ni 0 catalysts have become a research focus in this field due to their high catalytic activity and moderate cost. Conventional particulate Ni 0 catalysts, however, are prone to carbon coking in fixed-bed applications and are difficult to effectively recover and regenerate after the reaction; thus, they are often being discarded, leading to resource waste and environmental burden. To address these issues, this study has designed a novel metal-sintered fleece catalyst support and developed a corresponding reactor. The effects of the catalyst preparation method, activation conditions, and the support structure on DRM performance have been systematically investigated. The spent Ni-based catalyst could be regenerated via calcination to restore catalytic activity and enable multiple cycles of use, significantly extending the catalyst’s lifespan and offering both economic and environmental benefits. Experimental results have demonstrated that the reactor achieved a conversion rate exceeding 80% with near-complete product selectivity.