H2-rich syngas from glycerol dry reforming over Ni-based catalysts supported on alumina from aluminum dross

Abstract The performance of Ni-based catalyst supported on γ-Al2O3 for glycerol dry reforming (GDR) reaction was investigated in the current study. γ-Al2O3 was prepared from aluminum dross (AD) before use as catalyst support. Al2O3 was extracted using three different techniques assisted with ultrasonication: acid leaching with ammonia precipitation, acid leaching with re-precipitation of HCl, and alkaline leaching with ammonium hydrogen carbonate. The results show that extracted γ-Al2O3 3 (EGA3) with the highest purity and the surface area of 267.5 m2 g−1 was produced from acid leaching with ammonia precipitation technique at a calcination temperature of 800 °C. A series of Ni/EGA3 (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) catalysts were tested and it was found that the catalytic activity was increased in the order of 5%Ni/EGA3