Coffee Pulp Gasification for Syngas Obtention and Methane Production Simulation Using Ni Catalysts Supported on Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ in a Packed Bed Reactor

The methanation of CO₂ is of great interest in power-to-gas systems and contributes to the mitigation of climate change through carbon dioxide capture and the subsequent production of high-added-value products. This study investigated CO₂ methanation with three Ni catalysts supported on Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂, which were simulated using a mathematical model of a packed bed reactor designed based on their chemical kinetics reported in the literature. The simulated reactive system was fed with syngas obtained from residual coffee pulp obtained after a solvent phytochemical extraction process under several gasification conditions. The results reflect a high degree of influence of the catalyst support, preparation method, and syngas composition on CO₂ and H₂ conversions and CH₄ selectivity. For all the syngas compositions, the Ni/ZrO₂ catalysts showed the best values for CO₂ conversion and H₂ conversion for the Ni/Al₂O₃ catalyst except in gasification at 700 °C and using the Ni/ZrO₂p catalyst.