*Catalysts for the Simultaneous Production of Syngas and Carbon Nanofilaments… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101320*

minimize the negative climate impacts caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels. In that sense, biogas will play an important role in the future. The biogas primary energy has increased 70% between 2008 and 2013 [42] and its production is expected to double in 2022 up to 45 � <sup>10</sup><sup>9</sup> <sup>m</sup><sup>3</sup> . Biogas is a gas consisting primarily of methane and carbon dioxide generated from anaerobic digestion of organic matter from agricultural waste, landfills, urban wastewater and industrial wastewater. It is considered, therefore, a renewable energy source [43].

Based on the residue, biogas can contain traces of other compounds that hinder its use in the production of energy, making it necessary to install costly purification systems. Among them, the most significant are H2S, NH3, halogenated hydrocarbons and siloxanes. Biogas has traditionally been regarded a non-value by-product usually burned in flares to avoid hazards to humans and the environment and then released into the atmosphere. Recently, various options for biogas use such as heat, electricity, mixed heat and energy or the manufacturing of bio-methane have been suggested. Nevertheless, from an economical point of view, all the previous biogas applications depend on government feed in tariff policies. Besides, different countries like Malaysia, Germany, Spain or Italy, have reduced or even removed the cost-based compensation creating an unstable scenario for the renewable energy producers [44]. Therefore, the manufacturing of fresh biogas products is not only interesting but essential in order to reduce the obstacles to profitability.

One of the alternatives considered is the manufacturing of syngas that consists of a blend of H2 and CO and is the basis of C1 chemistry [45]. Depending on the syngas H2:CO ratio, it can be used to produce methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), liquid hydrocarbons (Fischer-Tropsch process) or H2. Syngas can be acquired from several procedures such as methane steam reforming, partial methane oxidation or dry methane reforming.
