Natural Kaolin-Based Ni Catalysts for CO Methanation: On the Effect of Ce Enhancement and Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis.

Natural kaolin-based Ni catalysts have been developed for low-temperature CO methanation. The catalysts were prepared via a one-step co-impregnation of Ni and Ce onto a natural kaolin-derived metakaolin using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method as an acid-/base-free synthesis method. The influences of microwave irradiation and Ce promotion on the catalytic enhancement including the CO conversion, CH selectivity, and CH yield were experimentally investigated by a catalytic test of as-prepared catalysts in a fixed-bed tubular reactor.