Fishbone derived-hydroxyapatite supported Ni-Zr nanocatalyst for CO2 methanation: Synergistic effects of support and zirconia

Herein, the effectiveness of nickel-zirconia nanocatalyst decorated on hydroxyapatite (HA) is examined as a potential candidate for the methanation of carbon dioxide (CO2). Co-impregnation was used to produce undoped nickel as well as zirconia-doped nickel catalysts that were supported on hydroxyapatite derived from fishbone. The prepared catalysts were characterized using several methods. With the molar ratio of H2/CO2 fixed at 4/1, the catalytic activity was evaluated through the CO2 methanation at low temperatures ranging of 250–––400 °C. A high dispersion of nickel particles over the catalyst surface with a size range of 30–––40 nm was provided as a function of HA and zirconia. This led to an improvement in the reducibility and CO2 adsorption capacity of the catalysts and an enhancement of the efficiency in CO2 methanation. At a reaction temperature of 400 °C, the data reveal that the 10Ni/HA sample doped with 4 wt% zirconia was the most effective. At this temperature, the CO2 conversion reached 92.9%, and the CH4 selectivity reached approximately 100%.