CO ₂ green technologies, such as methanation, reverse water-gas shift (rWGS), and dry reforming of methane (DRM) in CO ₂ capture and direct utilization process are developed using Ni/CaO catal-sorbents.

A Ni/CaO catal-sorbent could be used to reduce the required thermal energy by converting the captured CO₂ to CH₄ under H₂ at temperatures lower than those required for conventional decarbonation.

In South Korea, where there are no resources such as natural gas or crude oil, research on alternative fuels has been actively conducted since the 1990s. The research on synthetic oil is subdivided into Coal to Liquid (CTL), Gas to Liquid (GTL), Biomass to Liquid (BTL), etc., and was developed with the focus on catalysts, their preparation, reactor types, and operation technologies according to the product to be obtained. In Fischer–Tropsch synthesis for synthetic oil from syngas, stability, CO conversion rate, and product selectivity of catalysts depends on the design of their components, such as their active material, promoter, and support. Most of the developed catalysts were Fe- and Co-based catalysts and were developed in spherical and cylindrical shapes according to the reactor type. Recently, hybrid catalysts in combination with cracking catalysts were developed to control the distribution of the product. In this review, we survey recent studies related to the design of catalysts for production of light hydrocarbons and middle distillates, including hybrid catalysts, encapsulated core–shell catalysts, catalysts with active materials with well-organized sizes and shapes, and catalysts with shape- and size-controlled supports. Finally, we introduce recent research and development (R&D) trends in the production of light hydrocarbons and middle distillates and in the catalytic processes being applied to the development of catalysts in Korea.

Highly efficient CO and syngas production in a cyclic system was proposed using coke-promoted Ni/CaO (C-Ni/CaO) catal-sorbent. The C-Ni/CaO exhibited high CO production in CO ₂ conversion and syngas production in CH ₄ conversion step, respectively.

In this study, a Ru-doped Ni pellet-type catalyst was prepared to produce hydrogen via steam methane reforming (SMR). A small amount of Ru addition on the Ni catalyst improved Ni dispersion, thus affording a higher catalytic activity than that of the Ni catalyst. During the daily startup and shutdown (DSS) operations, the CH₄ conversion of Ni catalysts significantly decreased because of Ni metal oxidation to NiAl₂O₄, which is not reduced completely at 700 °C. Conversely, the oxidized Ni species in the Ru–Ni catalyst can be reduced under SMR conditions because of H₂ spillover from the surface of Ru onto the surface of Ni. Consequently, the addition of a small quantity of Ru to the Ni catalyst can improve the catalytic activity and stability during the DSS operation.