Hydrophobic SiO2 supported Fe-Ni bimetallic catalyst for the production of high-calorie synthetic natural gas

Hydrophobic SiO 2 -supported Fe-Ni bimetallic catalysts were synthesized by facile hydrothermal method, followed by grind-mixing process. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were appointed as robust catalysts in the methanation process to improve the calorific value of the natural gas. Notably, the functionalization of SiO 2 surface with a hydrophobic layer was performed using a fluorinated alkyl group, as a critical step to prohibit the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction and consequently produce low amount of CO 2 content during the methanation process. The obtained catalytic results demonstrated that Fe 1.5 Ni 1.5 catalyst exhibited an excellent CO conversion of 95.2% at 320 °C with a natural gas calorific value of 56.4 MJ Nm −3 , which is much higher than the previously reported results when traditional Ni-based catalysts used. Moreover, the modified hydrophobic catalyst exhibited a lower CO 2 selectivity compared with unmodified one. This study provides a new and promising insight for the design and development of high-calorie SNG product.