The critical role of intrinsic catalytic properties for enhanced dry reforming of methane (DRM): Recent advances, challenges and techno-feasibility assessments

Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is one of the most innovative techniques for reducing critical greenhouse gases (such as CO₂ and CH₄, among others) by converting them into beneficial products such as syngas, which have a variety of industrial applications. Despite the substantial improvements in the DRM process, scaling up DRM still faces considerable challenges in establishing an acceptable and effective catalytic system. There have been numerous review studies on the development of catalysts for DRM that concentrate on transition, noble metal-based catalysts, and the influence of process parameters. Meanwhile, the mutually reinforcing correlations between catalytic properties and DRM activity still require further research. It is important to have a meticulous understanding of the relationship between catalytic performance and physicochemical properties in order to design a catalytic system that is both highly efficient and commercially viable. Subsequently, this review emphasizes the cooperative relationships between catalytic DRM activity and catalytic characteristics like porosity, surface area, metal-support interaction, metal dispersion, oxygen vacancies, metal particle size, reducibility, and chemical composition acidity/basicity. The techno-feasibility assessments, including the characteristics of the technology, the costs of building the plant, the costs and revenues generated, and any non-economic factors involved, are also attained through a technical, economic analysis of DRM. It also discussed the challenges and opportunities for increasing syngas production through DRM. This review will be useful for academic and professional researchers and environmentalists looking for strategies to lower CO₂ and CH₄ emissions.