Industrial-scale nanocrystalline Ni–Mo–MgO catalysts for hybrid reforming of waste to fuels
Abstract
Strategies for lowering carbon emissions from hydrocarbons and waste must overcome the challenges related to catalyst durability and the presorting of waste. Reforming low-value carbon sources with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) offers an industrial-scale pathway for recycling waste streams into fuels and chemicals. We developed a nickel-molybdenum alloy nanocatalyst on single-crystalline magnesium oxide (NiMoCat) in pellet form on a kilogram scale suitable for high-pressure industrial reactors. Aliphatic hydrocarbons (methane, n -butane) and aromatics (benzene, toluene) under pressurized CO 2 yielded quantitative syngas without methanation or undesired oxidative by-products, such as butadiene or polyaromatics. Scaled-up NiMoCat maintains activity during long-term operation and enables a two-step process involving gasification of unsorted waste followed by hybrid reforming under realistic flue gas or CO 2 flow. A detailed life-cycle analysis of biogas-to-dimethyl ether conversion showcases a scalable, sustainable CO 2 utilization compatible with current fuel and chemical infrastructures.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (14)
Seok-Jin Kim
Oxide & Organic Nanomaterials for Energy & Environment (ONE) Lab, Chemistry Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Raghu V. Maligal-Ganesh
Oxide & Organic Nanomaterials for Energy & Environment (ONE) Lab, Chemistry Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Javeed Mahmood
Oxide & Organic Nanomaterials for Energy & Environment (ONE) Lab, Chemistry Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Phil Woong Kang
Oxide & Organic Nanomaterials for Energy & Environment (ONE) Lab, Chemistry Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Aadesh Harale
Research and Development Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman S. AlSuhaibani
Research and Development Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Qingyuan Hu
Research and Development Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Ammar H. Alahmed
Research and Development Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Aqil Jamal
Research and Development Center, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Rukaiyat Suleiman
Clean Energy Research Platform, PSE, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Husain Baaqel
Clean Energy Research Platform, PSE, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Mert Atilhan
Department of Chemical and Paper Engineering, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, USA.
S. Mani Sarathy
Division of Sciences, Krea University, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Cafer T. Yavuz
Oxide & Organic Nanomaterials for Energy & Environment (ONE) Lab, Chemistry Program, Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.