Influence of composition of MgAl2O4 supported NiCeO2ZrO2 catalysts on coke formation and catalyst stability for dry reforming of methane

Dry reforming of methane was studied over Ni catalysts supported on gamma Al2O3, Ceo(2), ZrO2 and MgAl2O4 (670 degrees C, 1.5 bar, 16-20 I CH4 ml(catalyst)(-1) h(-1)). It is shown that MgAl2O4 supported Ni catalysts promoted with both CeO2 and ZrO2 are promising catalysts for dry reforming of methane with carbon dioxide. Within a certain composition range, the simultaneous promotion with CeO2 and ZrO2 has great influence on the amount of coke and the catalyst service time. XRD analyses indicate that formation of crystalline CexZr1-xO2 mixed oxide phases occurs on double promotion. In particular, incorporation of low amounts of Zr in the CeO2 fluorite structure provides stable dry reforming catalysis. As shown with TPR, promotion leads to a higher reduced state of Ni. SEM, XRD and TPR analyses demonstrate that highly dispersed, doubly promoted Ni catalysts with a strong metal-support interaction are essential for stable dry reforming and suppression of the formation of carbon filaments. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.