In this study, a ferrite catalyst has been prepared through a facile hydrothermal method using industrial Zn and Fe-rich electroplating sludge as raw materials and utilized for the first time as an efficient catalyst for methanation of syngas. The ferrite catalyst showed pretty good catalytic performance during the stability test at 340 degrees C for 300 h, meanwhile exhibited a higher resistance to thermal shock (600 degrees C for 12 h) than that of the catalyst prepared from pure chemical reagents or commercial methanation catalyst. More importantly, a high-calorie natural gas with heating value of 41.73 MJ Nm(-3) could be obtained via methanation of syngas over the ferrite catalyst derived from electroplating sludge. Thus, this work provides some new insights for utlising solid waste as raw material for methanation catalyst, which is very cheap. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.