Novel combination of 3D-printing and electrochemical deposition to design and prepare metallic honeycomb supported catalysts for dry reforming

Abstract

A multidisciplinary approach has been followed for the development of structured catalysts based on 3D-printed metallic honeycomb monoliths, which allows overcoming some of the barriers that limit the industrial application of significant catalytic processes such as those related to CO2 valorization. In particular, nickel and/or cerium-containing catalysts have been incorporated into stainless steel honeycombs and evaluated in the Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM) reaction. Moreover, taking advantage of the conductive nature of the metallic substrate, a methodology that allows the incorporation of the active phase by electrochemical deposition has been implemented. The prepared catalysts were characterized by SEM coupled EDX compositional analysis, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Temperature-Programmed Reduction. In contrast to the catalyst where cerium and nickel were co-deposited, the catalyst obtained by sequential electrodeposition of Ce (first) and Ni (second) proved to be highly active and stable in the DRM process, with conversions of both CH4 and CO2 above 90% and H2/CO ratio of ca. 0.8 at 750 ºC for more than 40 h. Moreover, the catalyst kept its good performance after doubling the flow proving its great potential for a real application at higher scale.