Ni/SBA-15 Catalysts for combined steam methane reforming and water gas shift—Prepared for use in catalytic membrane reactors

•Distribution and interaction between Ni and support define the catalyst performance.•The highest catalytic performance was obtained for a Ni loading of 25 wt.%.•SBA-15 prepared by SMG and HTM are good supports for Ni catalyst.•Ni/SBA-15 SGM catalyst can be employed for the development of catalyst hollow fibre.

This study focuses on the preparation, characterization and catalytic performance evaluation of Ni/SBA-15 catalysts for the combined steam methane reforming (SMR) and water gas shift (WGS) reaction. Specific efforts have been directed towards the impact of the SBA-15 preparation methods on further incorporating the resultant catalysts into the micro-structured ceramic hollow fibres for the development of more advanced membrane reactors. The effect of Ni loading (5–25 wt.%) on the catalytic performance was investigated using the SBA-15 prepared via a sol–gel method. Furthermore, the effect of SBA-15 preparation methods (sol–gel and hydrothermal methods) on the catalyst properties and performance were also systematically investigated in a packed-bed reactor, using a fixed Ni loading of 25 wt.%. For the purpose of comparison, a commercially available SBA-15 powder was also employed. Apart from the different distribution and particle size of Ni, the interaction between Ni and SBA-15 is considered as the major reason for the difference in catalytic performance.

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