Sustainable syngas production via thermal steam reforming of waste cooking oil using monometallic and bimetallic catalysts

Abstract

Syngas from waste cooking oil (WCO) was generated via catalytic steam reforming in a micro fixed bed reactor. This study investigates the impacts of temperature, steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio, and metal catalyst loading on dolomite and olivine supports, employing Ni and Fe metals. The synthesized catalysts exhibited enhanced activity compared to non-catalytic experiments during steam reforming. Specifically, 5%Ni/olivine catalyst yielded a significant proportion of CH4 and CO2 in the product gas, while the 5%Ni/dolomite catalyst achieved higher carbon conversion and hydrogen yield. The highest carbon and hydrogen conversions reached 76.78% and 81.41%, respectively, with H2/CO molar ratio of 1.09 when utilizing the % Ni-Fe/dolomite catalyst. This performance is attributed to the Ni-Fe active sites on dolomite catalysts that facilitated the water gas shift reaction through synergistic effects. Overall, this study proposes a sustainable approach for syngas production from WCO using readily available mineral-based catalysts. © 2025 The Author(s)