Physicochemical study of supported cobalt-lanthanum oxide-based catalysts for Co2/H2 methanation reaction

A series of Ru/Co/La/Al2O3 supported on alumina (Al2O3) were prepared to investigate its catalytic study which aimed the performance of the catalyst. The potential catalysts were subjected to calcination at various temperatures in order to investigate the physicochemical properties of the oxides affected by the parameter. The samples were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (FESEM-EDX), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller analyses. It was found that phase evolutions took place after subjected to calcination at various temperatures. However, the calcination temperatures did not significantly affect the morphology, surface area, and particle size of the catalysts. The FESEM analysis revealed that fresh nanosized Ru/Co/La(5:35:60)/Al2O3 catalyst was obtained with agglomeration and not homogenously dispersed. In the reduction process, smaller particles were found to be more difficult to be reduced than the larger particles. From the EDX, the expected elements were observed, and aluminum (Al) was found to be the most dominant. Besides that, the XRD analysis performed on Ru/Co/La(5:35:60)/Al2O3 catalyst at calcination temperatures of 900, 1,000, and 1,100 A degrees C showed very low degree of crystallinity and were dominated by Al2O3 as the support.