The role of CeO2-ZrO2 distribution on the Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst during the combined steam and CO2 reforming of methane

The effect of the distribution of CeO2-ZrO2 on Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst on the catalytic performance during the combined steam and carbon dioxide reforming of CH4 (CSCR) was investigated on two different catalysts prepared using a sequential impregnation and co-precipitation of Ni and CeO2-ZrO2 components. The CeO2-ZrO2 plays an important role in the CO2 conversion by enhancing a facile activation of CO2 with an adjacent contact with nickel crystallites. The CSCR catalysts prepared by the co-precipitation of nickel and CeO2-ZrO2 on MgAl2O4 support shows a catalytic activity superior to the catalyst prepared by sequential impregnation of nickel on the MgAl2O4 support with CeO2-ZrO2 due to the homogeneous distribution of CeO2-ZrO2 with the formation of small nickel crystallites and a large amount of active sites for CO2 adsorption.