Partial oxidation of butane to syngas using nano-structure Ni/zeolite catalysts

In this study, performance of nano-structure Ni over different zeolite supports in partial oxidation of butane was investigated. First, partial oxidation process was performed without catalyst to evaluation of optimal conditions. For in situ reduction of catalysts, H2 produced from homogenous reaction was used. Catalytic partial oxidation was carried out using nano-structure nickel catalysts supported by ZSM5, mordenite and Y. Each catalyst was synthesized through reverse microemulsion method. The catalysts were characterized by BET surface area, XRD, SEM and TGA. Highest butane conversion (≈89%) observed in the presence of Ni/Y catalyst. Also Ni/Y shows the highest overall selectivity to CO and H2 as the most desired partial oxidation products. Results from TGA showed that the minimum quantity of formatted coke was related to Ni/Y, which confirmed the stability of butane conversion versus time for this catalyst.