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Over the past few years, great attention is paid to syngas production processes from different resources especially from abundant sources, such as methane. This review of the literature is intended for syngas production from methane through the dry reforming (DRM) and the steam reforming of methane (SRM). The catalyst development for DRM and SRM represents the key factor to realize a commercial application through the utilization of more efficient catalytic systems. Due to the enormous amount of published literature in this field, the current work is mainly dedicated to the most recent achievements in the metal-oxide catalyst development for DRM and SRM in the past five years. Ni-based supported catalysts are considered the most widely used catalysts for DRM and SRM, which are commercially available; hence, this review has focused on the recent advancements achieved in Ni catalysts with special focus on the various attempts to address the catalyst deactivation challenge in both DRM and SRM applications. Furthermore, other catalytic systems, including Co-based catalysts, noble metals (Pt, Rh, Ru, and Ir), and bimetallic systems have been included in this literature review to understand the observed improvements in the catalytic activities and coke suppression property of these catalysts.

This study presents the thermodynamic modelling of hydrogen production from autothermal reforming of synthetic crude glycerol using the Peng-Robinson Stryjek-Vera thermodynamic model and Gibbs free energy minimization approach. In order to simulate the typical crude glycerol, a solution was prepared by mixing glycerol, methanol, soap, and fatty acids. The equilibrium compositions of the reforming gas were obtained and the impacts of the operating temperature, steam to crude glycerol ratio (S/SCG), and oxygen to crude glycerol ratio (O/SCG) on hydrogen production were investigated. Under isothermal conditions, the result showed that maximum hydrogen production is favoured at conditions of high temperatures, high S/SCG, and low O/SCG ratio. However, under thermoneutral conditions where no external heat is supplied to the reformer, results indicate that high hydrogen yield is realised at conditions of high temperatures, high S/SCG and high O/SCG ratio. Furthermore, it was concluded that under thermoneutral condition, steam to SCG ratio of 3.6, oxygen to SCG ratio of 0.75, and adiabatic temperature of 927 K yields maximum hydrogen.