METHANE CONVERSION TO SYNTHESIS GAS BY PARTIAL OXIDATION AND DRY REFORMING OVER RHENIUM CATALYSTS

Rhenium supported on gamma-alumina has been tested as a catalyst for the partial oxidation and dry reforming of methane at different temperatures. This is the first study to show that a non-group VIII metal catalyst can catalyse both these reactions to their thermodynamic equilibria, and give greater than 85% methane conversions at 1050 K. No carbon deposition was detected after 72 hours. The specific activities are comparable to those of other reported catalysts containing ruthenium, rhodium and iridium. However, the kinetic measurements show that the activity of the rhenium catalyst decreases dramatically at lower temperatures. Thus, at about 873 K, the rhenium catalyst gave less than 5% methane conversion, which is significantly lower than for other metals. This dramatic temperature effect on the catalytic activity can be attributed to the oxidation of the catalyst.