Carbon formation and sintering remain the main culprits regarding catalyst deactivation in the dry and bi-reforming of methane reactions (DRM and BRM, respectively). Nickel based catalysts (10 wt.%) supported on alumina (Al2O3) have shown no exception in this study, but can be improved by the addition of tin and ceria. The effect of two different Sn loadings on this base have been examined for the DRM reaction over 20 h, before selecting the most appropriate Sn/Ni ratio and promoting the alumina base with 20 wt.% of CeO2. This catalyst then underwent activity measurements over a range of temperatures and space velocities, before undergoing experimentation in BRM. It not only showed good levels of conversions for DRM, but exhibited stable conversions towards BRM, reaching an equilibrium H2/CO product ratio in the process. In fact, this work reveals how multicomponent Ni catalysts can be effectively utilised to produce flexible syngas streams from CO2/CH4 mixtures as an efficient route for CO2 utilisation

Biological substances based on proteins, including vaccines, antibodies, and enzymes, typically degrade at room temperature over time due to denaturation, as proteins unfold with loss of secondary and tertiary structure. Their storage and distribution therefore relies on a “cold chain” of continuous refrigeration; this is costly and not always effective, as any break in the chain leads to rapid loss of effectiveness and potency. Efforts have been made to make vaccines thermally stable using treatments including freeze-drying (lyophilisation), biomineralisation, and encapsulation in sugar glass and organic polymers. Here for the first time we show that proteins can be enclosed in a deposited silica “cage”, rendering them stable against denaturing thermal treatment and long-term ambient-temperature storage, and subsequently released into solution with their structure and function intact. This “ensilication” method produces a storable solid protein-loaded material without the need for desiccation or freeze-drying. Ensilication offers the prospect of a solution to the “cold chain” problem for biological materials, in particular for vaccines.

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