| Molybdenum carbide catalysts have been studied for oxidative reforming, in particular, the effect on reforming activity of the method by which they were synthesized, their stability under conditions of varying mass transfer, and the measurement of their inherent reaction kinetics. These catalysts show promise as possible alternatives to both conventional supported nickel catalysts, as well as to the rare and expensive noble metal catalysts. Samples of Mo 2C were synthesized in house and compared to a commercial sample of Mo2C for the CO2 (dry) reforming of methane. It was found that high surface areas, previously thought to be important for activity, were not a property of the Mo2C, but instead were attributable to large amounts of excess carbon. This carbon had a detrimental effect on catalyst stability under dry reforming conditions, because it enhanced deposition of refractory carbon via methane cracking. The commercial sample of Mo 2C, while of low surface area and containing no excess carbon, behaved more stably over time. In another investigation, Mo2C was studied for its stability under varying mass transfer conditions, because of evidence showing that the Mo2C can undergo redox chemistry at reforming conditions. Under dry reforming conditions, it was found that some feed mixtures are net oxidizing, but that oxidation in the presence of such feed mixtures could be prevented by operating under mass transfer limited conditions, which resulted in sufficiently high partial pressures of CO and H2 in the catalyst boundary layer. Similar stability was achieved by co-feeding CO to the catalyst bed, which allowed for stable operation under conditions that were not mass transfer limited. Using this approach, measurements of the intrinsic reaction kinetics of Mo2C for dry reforming were successfully achieved. These results pointed to a strong dependence of dry reforming rate on both CH4 and CO2 partial pressures, as well as evidence for a reaction mechanism unique from that over noble metals. The measured activation energy for dry reforming over Mo2C was 41.2 kcal/mol, higher than published values for noble metals, suggesting that solid state phenomena play a significant mechanistic role. |
