Development of Photothermal Catalyst from Biomass Ash (Bagasse) for Hydrogen Production via Dry Reforming of Methane (DRM): An Experimental Study

Conventional hydrogen production, as an alternative energy resource, has relied on fossil fuels to produce hydrogen, releasing CO(2) into the atmosphere. Hydrogen production via the dry forming of methane (DRM) process is a lucrative solution to utilize greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, by using them as raw materials in the DRM process. However, there are a few DRM processing issues, with one being the need to operate at a high temperature to gain high conversion of hydrogen, which is energy intensive. In this study, bagasse ash, which contains a high percentage of silicon dioxide, was designed and modified for catalytic support. Modification of silicon dioxide from bagasse ash was utilized as a waste material, and the performance of bagasse ash-derived catalysts interacting with light irradiation and reducing the amount of energy used in the DRM process was explored. The results showed that the performance of 3%Ni/SiO(2) bagasse ash WI was higher than that of 3%Ni/SiO(2) commercial SiO(2) in terms of the hydrogen product yield, with hydrogen generation initiated in the reaction at 300 °C. Using the same synthesis method, the current results suggested that bagasse ash-derived catalysts had better performance than commercial SiO(2)-derived catalysts when exposed to an Hg-Xe lamp. This indicated that silicon dioxide from bagasse ash as a catalyst support could help improve the hydrogen yield while lowering the temperature in the DRM reaction, resulting in less energy consumption in hydrogen production.