Abstract
Metal-based nanocatalysts have emerged as important materials to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into hydrocarbon fuels in order to deal with global climate issues and solve growing energy needs. Here, mesoporous silica–alumina (SA) nanocomposites are synthesized by a facile sol–gel method using citric acid monohydrate with different Si/Al molar ratios (X = 0.1–10), followed by impregnating cobalt on them. The resulting Co/SA-X catalysts are characterized by various techniques and utilized in the production of substitute natural gas through CO2 methanation as a renewable energy storage system. The porous structure of the supports with suitable particle size distribution and superior reduction behavior provides the catalysts with high stability. The Si/Al molar ratio and Co loading are optimized at 0.5 and 15 wt%, respectively, achieving a high CO2 conversion of 78.5% and CH4 selectivity of 89%. Alternatively, different amounts of cobalt are loaded on the selected support (SA-0.5), while also investigating various parameters such as the feed ratio (H2/CO2 molar ratio), gas hourly space velocity, and catalyst stability. By increasing the feed ratio to 4, the CO2 conversion and CH4 selectivity are enhanced to 83 and 90%, respectively, indicating the excellent performance of the SA-supported nanocatalysts to address both the environmental concerns and the needs for sustainable energy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Z. Wang, G. Wang, C. Louis, L. Delannoy, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 47, 91 (2021)
I. Hussain, A. Jalil, N. Hassan, M. Hamid, J. Energy Chem. 62, 377 (2021)
P. Frontera, A. Macario, M. Ferraro, P. Antonucci, Catalysts 7, 59 (2017)
S. Sahebdelfar, M.T. Ravanchi, J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 134, 14 (2015)
J.A.H. Lalinde, P. Roongruangsree, J. Ilsemann, M. Baeumer, J. Kopyscinski, Chem. Eng. J. 390, 124629 (2020)
M. Tawalbeh, R.M.N. Javed, A. Al-Othman, F. Almomani, Energy Convers. Manag. 279, 116755 (2023)
R. Daroughegi, F. Meshkani, M. Rezaei, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 42, 15115 (2017)
H. Habazaki, M. Yamasaki, B.-P. Zhang, A. Kawashima, S. Kohno, T. Takai, K. Hashimoto, Appl. Catal. A: Gen. 172, 131 (1998)
A.N. Fatsikostas, X.E. Verykios, J. Catal. 225, 439 (2004)
J. Li, X. Mei, L. Zhang, Z. Yu, Q. Liu, T. Wei, W. Wu, D. Dong, L. Xu, X. Hu, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 45, 3815 (2020)
M.S. Batista, R.K. Santos, E.M. Assaf, J.M. Assaf, E.A. Ticianelli, J. Power. Sour. 134, 27 (2004)
W. Nabgan, T.A.T. Abdullah, R. Mat, B. Nabgan, A.A. Jalil, L. Firmansyah, S. Triwahyono, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 42, 8975 (2017)
C. Liang, H. Tian, G. Gao, S. Zhang, Q. Liu, D. Dong, X. Hu, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 45, 531 (2020)
J. Li, Z. Wang, Y. Ma, C. Xu, S. Zhou, ACS Omega 8, 12339 (2023)
S. Itkulova, Y. Nurmakanov, S. Kussanova, Y. Boleubayev, Catal. Today 299, 272 (2018)
G.I. Siakavelas, N.D. Charisiou, A. AlKhoori, S. AlKhoori, V. Sebastian, S.J. Hinder, M.A. Baker, I. Yentekakis, K. Polychronopoulou, M.A. Goula, J. CO2 Util. 51, 101618 (2021)
G.I. Siakavelas, N.D. Charisiou, S. AlKhoori, A.A. AlKhoori, V. Sebastian, S.J. Hinder, M.A. Baker, I. Yentekakis, K. Polychronopoulou, M.A. Goula, Appl. Catal. B 282, 119562 (2021)
Y. Wei, J. Ji, F. Liang, D. Ma, Z. Zhang, Y. Du, Z. Pang, H. Wang, Q. Li, G. Shi, Ceram. Int. 49, 26910 (2023)
X. Yang, F. Tan, D. Wang, Q. Feng, D. Qiu, D. Dang, X. Wang, Ceram. Int. 47, 27316 (2021)
P. Dumrongbunditkul, T. Witoon, M. Chareonpanich, T. Mungcharoen, Ceram. Int. 42, 10444 (2016)
X. Feng, K. Wang, M. Zhou, F. Li, J. Liu, M. Zhao, L. Zhao, X. Song, P. Zhang, L. Gao, Ceram. Int. 47, 12366 (2021)
W. Li, X. Nie, X. Jiang, A. Zhang, F. Ding, M. Liu, Z. Liu, X. Guo, C. Song, Appl. Catal. B 220, 397 (2018)
Y. Zhao, V. Girelli, O. Ersen and D. P. Debecker, J. Catal. (2023)
Q. Zheng, R. Farrauto, A. Chau Nguyen, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 55, 6768 (2016)
H. Fu, S. Sun, H. Lian, J. CO2 Util. 69, 102415 (2023)
F. Namvar, M. Hajizadeh-Oghaz, M.A. Mahdi, S.H. Ganduh, F. Meshkani, M. Salavati-Niasari, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 48, 3862 (2023)
S. Abate, C. Mebrahtu, E. Giglio, F. Deorsola, S. Bensaid, S. Perathoner, R. Pirone, G. Centi, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 55, 4451 (2016)
Y. Li, Q. Zhang, R. Chai, G. Zhao, Y. Liu, Y. Lu, ChemCatChem 7, 1427 (2015)
H. Zhang, D. Yunyun, F. Weiping, L. Yixin, Chin. J. Catal. 34, 330 (2013)
S.V. Moghaddam, M. Rezaei, F. Meshkani, R. Daroughegi, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 43, 19038 (2018)
X. Li, Q. Xia, K. Peng, X. Liu, N. Essayem, Y. Wang, Catal. Sci. Technol. 6, 7586 (2016)
J. Shariati, A. Haghtalab, A. Mosayebi, J. Energy Chem. 28, 9 (2019)
G.B. Nuernberg, H.V. Fajardo, D.Z. Mezalira, T.J. Casarin, L.F. Probst, N.L. Carreño, Fuel 87, 1698 (2008)
S.K. Saraswat, K. Pant, Int. J. Chem. Mol. Eng. 9, 485 (2015)
H. Lu, C. Jiang, Z. Ding, W. Wang, W. Chu, Y. Feng, J. Energy Chem. 25, 387 (2016)
C. Sangwichien, G. Aranovich, M. Donohue, Colloids Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. 206, 313 (2002)
A. Alayat, D. Mcllroy, A.G. McDonald, Fuel Process. Technol. 169, 132 (2018)
Z. Niazi, M. Ashjari, Y. Janqamsari, Microporous Mesoporous Mater. 332, 111682 (2022)
A.M. Alayat, E. Echeverria, D.N. Mcllroy, A.G. McDonald, J. Fuel Chem. Technol. 46, 957 (2018)
A. Alayat, E. Echeverria, F. Sotoudehniakarani, D.N. Mcllroy, A.G. McDonald, Mater. 12, 1810 (2019)
Y.H. Ikuhara, T. Saito, S. Takahashi, Y. Sasaki, T. Hirayama, J. Am. Ceram. 95, 524 (2012)
P. Shafiee, S.M. Alavi, M. Rezaei, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 46, 3933 (2021)
D. Han, Y. Kim, H. Byun, W. Cho, Y. Baek, Catalysts 10, 1201 (2020)
M.M. Jaffar, M.A. Nahil, P.T. Williams, Energy Technol. 7, 1900795 (2019)
L. Xu, F. Wang, M. Chen, J. Zhang, K. Yuan, L. Wang, K. Wu, G. Xu, W. Chen, ChemCatChem 8, 2536 (2016)
J. Sun, Y. Wang, H. Zou, X. Guo, Z.-J. Wang, J. Energy Chem. 29, 3 (2019)
S.J. Han, Y. Bang, J. Yoo, J.G. Seo, I.K. Song, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 38, 8285 (2013)
S. Rahmani, M. Rezaei, F. Meshkani, J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 20, 1346 (2014)
T.A. Le, M.S. Kim, S.H. Lee, E.D. Park, Top. Catal. 60, 714 (2017)
B. Alrafei, I. Polaert, A. Ledoux, F. Azzolina-Jury, Catal. Today 346, 23 (2020)
L. Zhou, Q. Wang, L. Ma, J. Chen, J. Ma, Z. Zi, Catal. Lett. 145, 612 (2015)
M. Romero-Sáez, A. Dongil, N. Benito, R. Espinoza-González, N. Escalona, F. Gracia, Appl. Catal. B 237, 817 (2018)
M.-J. Kim, J.-R. Youn, H.J. Kim, M.W. Seo, D. Lee, K.S. Go, K.B. Lee, S.G. Jeon, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 45, 24595 (2020)
Y. Ma, J. Liu, M. Chu, J. Yue, Y. Cui, G. Xu, Catal. Lett. 152, 872 (2022)
W. Gac, W. Zawadzki, M. Rotko, G. Słowik, M. Greluk, Top. Catal. 62, 524 (2019)
R. Daroughegi, F. Meshkani, M. Rezaei, Chem. Eng. Sci. 230, 116194 (2021)
S.V. Moghaddam, M. Rezaei, F. Meshkani, Energy Technol. 8, 1900778 (2020)
L. Ajroudi, N. Mliki, L. Bessais, V. Madigou, S. Villain, C. Leroux, Mater. Res. Bull. 59, 49 (2014)
T. Kavitha, S. Haider, T. Kamal, M. Ul-Islam, J. Alloys Compd. 704, 296 (2017)
V.S. Kiran, S. Sumathi, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 421, 113 (2017)
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express gratitude to the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Kashan, for financial support (grant pazhouhaneh) to this study.
Funding
This work was financially supported by the University of Kashan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MM was involved in investigation, data curation, formal analysis, methodology, resources, and writing. MA and FM were involved in conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, validation, and review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no potential conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Mehrabi, M., Ashjari, M. & Meshkani, F. Cobalt supported on silica–alumina nanocomposite for use in CO2 methanation process: effects of Si/Al molar ratio and Co loading on catalytic activity. Res Chem Intermed 50, 219–238 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-023-05164-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-023-05164-7