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DRY REFORMING OF METHANE ON RHODIUM AND NICKEL SUBSTITUTED
PYROCHLORE CATALYSTS

A Thesis

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the
Louisiana State University and
Agricultural and Mechanical College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
In
The Department of Chemical Engineering

By
Sarthak Gaur
B.E. BharatiVidyapeeth University, M.S. University of Missouri-Rolla
May 2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work would not have been possible without the motivation, guidance and challenges
presented by my advisor Dr. Jerry Spivey. I have learnt a lot from him over the period of last two
years that would go a long way in making me a better and stronger person in my future
endeavors. I wish toexpress my gratitude to Dr. Gregory L. Griffin and Dr. Challa Kumar for
being a part of my thesis committee and providing constructive criticism and insight on this
thesis and heterogeneous catalysis in general.
This study is supported as part of the Center for Atomic Level Catalyst Design, an Energy
Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science,Office of
Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0001058. Their funding is highly
acknowledged.
I am grateful to Daniel Haynes at U.S. DoE NETL, for his important suggestions and advice that
helped me to learn carrying out my experiments meticulously. It was a privilege to work with
highly motivated colleagues like Dr. Mayank Gupta, Dr. Andrew Campos, Mr. Nitin Kumar, Ms.Miranda Smith, Ms. Nachal Subramanian, and Mr. Devendra Pakhare who provided a great work
environment. I am especially thankful to Miranda, Nitin and Nachal for teaching me how to use
the laboratory equipments. It was great to have discussions with Devendra, Nitin and Miranda.
Their insight and suggestions were invaluable in helping me getting started during the initial
stages of myresearch.
Thanks are also due to Ms. Kimberly Hutchison in the Department of Soil Science at NC State
University for doing ICP-OES for the catalyst samples. I am also thankful to Mr. Kirk Scammon
at the University of Central Florida for helping me in characterizing the fresh catalyst samples.
I would also thank my friends especially Venky Subramanian, Rahul Kantharia, and Datta
Gaikwadwho made my stay in Baton Rouge a pleasant one.
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Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Dr. Indu B. Gaur and Dr. Rajendra K. Sharma for their
unconditional love and faith in me. Without their support and motivation, I could have never
reached this far.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................................................. ii
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................1
1.1. Reforming Process ...........................................................................................................2
1.2. Current Challenges With DRM.......................................................................................3
1.3. Pyrochlore Based Catalysts for DRM ..............................................................................4
1.4. Thermodynamics of Dry Reforming ................................................................................7
1.4.1. Thermodynamic Equilibrium Reactant And Product Distribution........................8
1.5. Objectives...