Efficient CO2 methanation over Ni/Al2O3 coated structured catalysts

•3D-printed catalysts were manufactured, functionalized and tested in CO2 methanation.•Coating suspension affects the properties of catalytic coatings.•3D-structured catalysts were found to be more efficient than conventional powder packed bed.

In this work, CO2 methanation was studied over macro-porous metal structures coated with Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The results were benchmarked with conventional Ni/Al2O3 powder catalyst which was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and characterized by several physico-chemical techniques. Macro-porous catalytic supports were manufactured by innovative and highly reproducible robocasting technique − three dimensional fibre deposition (3DFD). Supports were coated with Ni/Al2O3 suspension to achieve sufficient catalytic coating. After characterization, catalytic structures were tested in a tubular reactor in CO2 methanation reaction at temperatures between 250 and 450°C. This study shows the effect of the coating suspension composition on the properties of catalytic coatings, as well as how CO2 conversion, methane selectivity and catalyst stability are affected by the architecture of the structured catalyst.

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