Stable nickel based nanofibrous oxygen carriers for chemical looping dry reforming of methane

Journal article, 2026

Chemical looping dry reforming (CLDR) of methane was one of the promising approaches for the valorisation of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4 into value added feedstocks. However, the performance of the oxygen carrier was a critical factor influencing process efficiency, longevity, carbon deposition, and syngas yield. In this study, Ni based and Ce promoted Ni based oxygen carriers were wet impregnated on Al2O3 nanofibers. The nanofibers were synthesized via electrospinning, a novel approach for producing oxygen carrier material. Oxygen carriers with different Ce loading were evaluated over a temperature range of 650–800 °C. The cyclic stability and reforming performance in terms of fuel conversions and product selectivities were evaluated for 30 consecutive redox cycles. The nanofibrous oxygen carriers exhibited excellent structural integrity and stable performance over multiple cycles. The Ce-promoted Ni-based oxygen carriers exhibited high selectivity compared to conventional Ni-based carriers, further they showed excellent resistance to carbon deposition at high temperatures, demonstrating their superior suitability for CLDR applications.