Catalysis Letters, Vol.71, No.1-2, 49-54, 2001
Potential utilisation of Indonesia's Natuna natural gas field via methane dry reforming to synthesis gas
The utilisation of high CO2 content natural gas, such as that found at Natuna island in Indonesia, using methane dry reforming with carbon dioxide to synthesis gas is demonstrated. Highly active catalysts employed for coke-free, stable dry reforming include alumina-supported nickel, either as-prepared or doped with tungsten oxide or calcium oxide, and the supported group VIII metals. No deactivation was observed for the duration of any of the experiments (>70 h), and the methane conversion and product distributions were close to those predicted from thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. It is calculated that the application of dry reforming to the Natuna field alone, combined with known gas-to-liquids (GTL) technology, could provide liquid fuel to Indonesia for almost 18 years.