Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
The methanation of CO2 has been studied by using reduced Ni(II)-bearing ferrite (NixFe3-xO4-δ; x=0.39, δ=0.1∼0.2) in an H2/CO2 mixed gas flow system. A yield of 31% and a high selectivity of 89% were obtained in the methanation for 6h using the H2-reduced Ni(II)-bearing ferrite. The X-ray diffractometry showed that the reduced Ni(II)-bearing ferrite during the methanation retained the spinel-type structure whose lattice constant increased from 0.8375 to 0.8379 nm. The chemical analysis corroborated an increase in the mole ratio of Fe2+/Fetotal in the Ni(II)-bearing ferrite. These results suggest that oxygen-deficient sites were formed in the spinel structure of the reduced Ni(II)-bearing ferrite. It has been found from the analysis using the Langmuir isotherm for dissociative adsorption that CO2 is adsorbed onto oxygen-deficient sites to be decomposed to an elemental carbon and two oxygen-deficient ions. The methanation of CO2 is considered to proceed owing to the oxygen deficient sites. It is considered that the methanation consists of three elementary reaction steps: 1) Formation of oxygen-deficient sites by H2-reduction, 2) Reduction of CO2 to carbon and Incorporation of two oxygen ions of the CO2 into the oxygen-deficient sites, and 3) Hydrogenation of the deposited carbon to CH4.