Chinese chemists report new La catalyst for Syn Gas from carbon dioxide

[NNadir]

and methane.

This type of chemistry is of interest towards reducing Greenhouse gas emissions since some CO2 is recovered for synthetic processes. It also has the advantage of giving a better controlled reaction for the formation of syngas from (potentially biogenic) methane.

"Syngas (CO/H2) is an important feed for the Fischer-
Tropsch reaction, methanol synthesis, and other chemical
processes. Recently, research on syngas production
from methane (CH4) has been focused mainly on two
processes, i.e., catalytic partial oxidation of CH4 (CH4
+ 1/2O2 f CO + 2H2, ¢H ) -38 kJ/mol)1-3 and CO2
reforming of CH4 (CH4 + CO2 f 2CO + 2H2, ¢H ) 247
kJ/mol).4-9 (¢H is the enthalpy of reaction.) The partial
oxidation of CH4 is an exothermic reaction and has a
tendency to cause hot spots in catalyst beds. Therefore,
this process becomes hazardous and/or difficult to
control, particularly in a large-scale operation. The
overheating hazard of catalytic partial oxidation of CH4
can be lessened by coupling it with the endothermic CO2
reforming reaction...

...Previous reports from our laboratory have shown that
Pt/CoAl2O4/Al2O3 and Ni/Al2O3 catalysts were active for
the combined reaction in fixed-bed and fluidized-bed
reactors, respectively.14,16 Nevertheless, high mechanical
strength is necessary for the supports of industrial
catalysts, especially those used in fluidized-bed reactors.
Commercial microspherical silica (SiO2) has good mechanical
strength and is an excellent support for a
fluidized-bed reactor. Herein, we report syngas production
from the combined reaction in a fluidized-bed
reactor, using Ni/SiO2 catalysts that are promoted by
La2O3."

From the soon to be released edition of the Journal "Energy and Fuels."

[Maple]

1. Is there

any kind of a link for this...?

Good stuff!

[NNadir]

2. You need to be an ACS member and an on line subscriber to E&F.

The Journal Energy and Fuels will be available in good university libraries some time next week.

[Ian David]

3. What, isn't this OBVIOUS?

I did exactly the same thing for my final project for AP Chemistry in 10th grade. I got a B+

Yawn.








OK, I'm kidding.

I have no clue what you're talking about.

Is there a simple way to explain this?

[Ian David]

4. OK, if I understand...

Those little packets in stuff that say, "Silica Gel: Do Not Eat" are going to save us from Global Warming?

I hope so, because otherwise, if I can't eat them, what good are they?

[NNadir]

5. Right now the vast majority of the carbon sources on this planet

are fossil fuels. This work explores a means by which industrial chemists can do what plants routinely do, use carbon dioxide as a carbon source. Actually in the present case, only half the the carbon would be coming from carbon dioxide; the other half would come from methane which is usually obtained from fossil sources (natural gas). It is worth noting however that landfills, sewage plants, cow farts and human farts all are biogenic sources of methane. Actually there are methanogenic bacteria that can make methane from a wide variety of biomass.

I am not of the opinion that a large fraction, never mind the totality, or even the majority, of our energy or fixed carbon needs can be obtained from biomass. We can however, make a significant contribution from these sources.

It is well known that carbon dioxide can be directly hydrogenated to give syn-fuels, but the current means of doing so are expensive and energy intensive.

I hope this explanation is clear.

[Ian David]

6. Yep! I got it, thanks!

We can pull CO2 out of the air, and take the methane from natural gas and cowfarts to convert waste and greenhouse gasses into carbon and/or fuel.

Here's an idea:

Can you throw in some hydrogen and oxygen to convert those carbons into sugars and starches?